. 2371 EUNICE STREET, BERKELEY, CA 94708 Dedicated to the preservation and restoration of public paths, steps and walkways in Berkeley for the use and enjoyment of all. Berkeley’s Berkeley Path Wanderers Association is a grassroots volunteer group of community members who have come together to increase public awareness of the City of Berkeley’s pathways. BPWA hopes to accomplish this goal through volunteer-led path walks; identification and accurate mapping of A Newsletter of the Berkeley Path Wanderers Association, Fall 1999 Vol. 2 No. 4 Berkeley’s complete path network; and eventual restoration of paths that have been ATHS blocked or obscured. We hope the final P outcome of the community effort will be the A Walk in the Eastshore State Park preservation and on-going maintenance of all The Bayshore Trail the paths, lanes and steps throughout Berkeley. now extends from the Richmond Marina to Point Isabel. The seg- ment from Point Isabel Meetings south to the Albany Bulb 7-9 pm Live Oak Park Recreation Center is nearing completion. Nov. 18 General Meeting Walking south from Flat Land paths the Albany Bulb, along possible speakers: Susan the privately owned Schwartz & Zasa Swanson waterfront of Golden Gate Fields, you can Jan. 20 Board Meeting enter the new Eastshore Feb. 17 General Meeting State Park south of Gilman. There is Pedestrian Transportations wonderful exploring in the undevel- near a remnant of the marsh at the con- by Christy Camp oped park from Seabreeze Market at fluence of Middle and Cerrito Creeks. University Avenue and Frontage Road, Firm land lay behind the sandy cres- Mar. 16 Board Meeting to the Albany Bulb with its sandy beach, cent from north of Strawberry Creek to Apr. 20 General Meeting lagoons, and squatter-created art. about today’s Delaware. (Here Jacob’s Rose Walk talk Landing, built in 1853, became the by John Underhill The Pre-Gold Rush Waterfront nucleus of Oceanview.) Starting at about The Spanish exploring San Francisco today’s Virginia Street, however, a brack- Bay found an unusual bayfront in what ish slough ran north behind the bight. Path Walks RAIN OR SHINE is now Berkeley. Largely because of the Along with tidal bay water, it was fed Saturdays at 10:00 am (allow 2-3 hours) strong tidal currents opposite the Golden by Schoolhouse Creek at its south end, Gate, salt marshes and willow groves did by Codornices Creek spilling over a January 22 Strawberry Creek (East) Janet Byron, leader 848-4008 not dominate. Instead, a crescent of sand, low, grassy plain, and by Marin Creek Meet at Center St. at Berkeley Farmers the Berkeley Bight, stretched along most near today’s Buchanan, where the slough Market - Ecology Center Booth of the Berkeley waterfront. This gradu- reached the Bay. The Codornices chan- ally sloping sandy beach lay about where nel between the Freeway and Golden February 26 Strawberry Creek (West) today’s I-80/I-580 freeway runs now. Gate Fields roughly follows the slough’s Sue Fernstrom, leader 215-0873 One notable break in the beach, the course. Meet at Le Conte & La Loma willow marsh at the mouth of Strawberry West of the slough, the sandy crescent April 1 Park Hills Paths Creek, was edged by a Native American ended at a jutting sandstone remnant Charlie Bowen, leader 540-7223 village. Similar villages lay at the marshy of an old chain of hills. This outcrop, Meet at Shasta & Grizzly Peak mouth of larger Temescal Creek in today’s called El Cerrito del Sud or Southern Emeryville, and on the northeast side of Little Hill by the Spanish, was renamed Volunteer to lead a walk: 524-4715 Albany Hill, where rocks with mortar Fleming Point, for a goldrush-era San holes worn by Ohlone women remain BPWA 2371 Eunice Street Berkeley, CA 04708 your membership Renew DUESJANUARY ARE 2000DUE . Dedicated to the preservation and restoration of public paths, steps and walkways in Berkeley for the use and enjoyment of all. Francisco butcher who bought it from lower University Avenue. But the wharf’s completed in late 1998. The next step is Domingo Peralta, son of the Spanish massive timbers remain, making humps the planning and actual creating of the park. land grantee. The top of Fleming Point, in the road as the garbage rots and The former dump has become a significant now Golden Gate Fields racetrack, has subsides. wildlife refuge, supporting, among other been leveled, but the rocky bit of golden Plans advanced for this new Berkeley/ creatures, chorus frogs, rabbits, ground sandstone bluff on the Bay side is the Albany waterfront have been many and squirrels, geese, ducks, shorebirds, egrets, only remaining fragment of the area’s various. The railroad secretly bought up herons, rails, falcons, harriers, and kingfish- original shoreline. the privately owned Berkeley tidelands ers. It also is a magnet for trash, squatters, and advanced plans for a huge com- and invasive pest plants. Industry and Destruction of the Beach mercial port, only to deadlock against Strawberry Creek’s mouth now is an From the 1850s until about 1920, farm- another plan, with piers running at unprepossessing pipe on the south side ers and town dwellers in Oceanview, right angles to its desires. In the 1940s of University, west of Seabreeze Market. Berkeley, and Albany, and even vaca- an international airport was proposed; Schoolhouse Creek also ends in a pipe, tioning San Franciscans enjoyed the in the 1950s a virtual town doubling where the broad Meadow narrows to the beach. But they also destroyed it, haul- the size of Berkeley. A plan for a North Basin Strip. These creeks could be ing off sand for construction. Worlds Fair site would have filled from daylighted, with Schoolhouse in particular With completion of the Union Pacific Richmond to Oakland. becoming a salt marsh or willow marsh. railroad in 1869, the area became indus- The small salt marsh south of Buchanan, Eastshore State Park, Shoreline Trail trial: soap, paint, cigars, starch, flour, at the mouth of Codornices and Marin lumber, beer, tanning, and canning were In 1982, conservationists were galvanized Creeks, is owned by Golden Gate Fields, among the products. Most spectacular by plans by Catellus (successor to the and is badly in need of restoration and were the dynamite plants. Driven out railroad’s land holdings) for 3.8 million enlargement. Completing the East Bay of the San Francisco dunes after causing square feet of development. The proposal Shoreline Trail is another challenge. The too many explosions, dynamite manu- led to the founding of Citizens for the only missing link between Richmond and facturing briefly found a home on the Eastshore State Park (CESP), a coalition Emeryville is now Golden Gate Fields. north side of Fleming Point in the 1870s led by the San Francisco Bay, Golden Gate As you explore, think of what you would before the continuing explosions drove Audubon Society, and the Sierra Club. like to see here, and make your ideas known. it northwest of Albany Hill and finally Their lobbying led to creation of the state to Point Pinole. park; purchase of the land was finally Story by Susan Schwartz Filling the Waterfront Berkeley Path Wanderers’ has received a $2000 Berkeley Parks Mini-Grant to improve Lead a Walk If you would like to lead a walk for Most of the filling of the waterfront dirt paths with better drainage and grading, wood chip surfaces, and wood edging and took place after 1924, when garbage the month of January ’00 or beyond steps where needed. In the coming year, we will improve at least three of the following collection became a city responsibility. please call Jacque at 524-4715. paths: Acacia Walk, Keeler Avenue Path (north half), Mosswood Lane, Oak Street In Albany, construction debris created the peninsula now called the Albany Path Walk, Sterling Path, and Twin Path. The grant pays for materials; volunteer work Adopt a Path Bulb. In Berkeley, garbage fill moved parties will do the rest. About a dozen not-too-steep paths could be improved by vol- Call Tom for details at 525-4064. gradually north from the boundary at unteers in this way, providing needed emergency routes as well as pleasant walking. Boy Codornices Creek. Fill turned the Scouts from Troop 19 are interested in taking on some of these as Eagle projects; and if Berkeley Wharf, first built in 1875, into you can help with materials or construction expertise, please Call 848-9358 Berkeley General Plan 2000-2020 (2nd Draft) BPWA is pleased that many of our suggestions were included in the 2nd Draft Berkeley General Plan, which is now available for public review at the Planning & Development Department, at Berkeley libraries, and the City’s web page at www.ci.berkeley.ca.us. Members may want to check out the following references: BERKELEY 2020: A Vision . “our public system. Improve those pathways dedicated street features, such as gateways, lighting pathway system through the City will be but not improved for public use . Develop and stairways. p 70 much improved.” p 8 and maintain a complete and accurate POLICY OS-9 (Improvements). Restoring GENERAL PLAN GOALS AND STRATEGIES inventory of Berkeley’s Pathway Network, impassable or obstructed public paths. p 71 GOAL #1. 5 Restore creeks, natural habitat to include all known paths . Work with ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT POLICY EM-38 areas, and the City pathway system. GOAL residents and interest groups adjacent (Citizen Efforts). Encourage citizen efforts to #2. 5 Repair and improve . public assets to pathways to prepare a “Top Priority restore ecological resources and open space such as the pathway system to encourage Improvement List” for pathway restoration areas, such as pathways and stairways.
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