[Friends of Billy Goat Hill Park] Community Open Air Meeting on Trail Design - Monday May 18th at 4:30pm Beacon St

[The Ghotbi Family]

Neighbors,
You may have heard that the design for the Walter Haas - Beacon St Trail was approved at the Capital Committee of the Rec & Park Commission on May 6th.

Following voiced and written complaints to Lisa Wayne that the community was not notified with sufficient advanced notice and there are significant trail design elements that differ from the December 10th consensus criteria, Lisa Wayne has offered an 'Open Air' Meeting next Monday evening:

Dear Interested Stakeholders and Neighbors,
Thank you for all your participation in developing the concept plan for the Walter Haas Connector Trail. San Francisco Recreation and Park Department would like to invite you to attend an open air Open House on Monday May 18th 4:30 to 7pm to review the proposed concept plan. The meeting will be held on site and participants are welcome to come by whenever is convenient during this time. At the open house, you will be able to see proposed path of the trail directly staked out on the site, understand the elements of the proposed plan in context, and provide any final input you have before the plan goes to the full Recreation and Parks Department Commission.
Staff will be stationed on Beacon Street across from Billy Goat Hill from 4:30 to 7:00. If you are not able to attend, please feel free to send any comments on the plan to me. Thanks and hope to see you there. Lisa
Lisa Wayne
Open Space Manager

To our knowledge, there has been little to no discussion with the neighbors and stakeholders beyond the neighbors adjacent to the trail. Based only on the Rec & Park presentation materials, there appears to surprising design elements that do not meet the consensus agreement. Examples where the proposal does not meet the consensus criteria:

1) Earthen trail winding to follow topography with entry stairs at top and bottom
2) Lessen impact to site
3) Lessen potential for erosion
4) Follow land like the current trail
5) Use no more steps than necessary
6) Minimize tree removal

If you are interested in learning more and voicing your input on the trail design, please join this meeting and/or send a note to Lisa Wayne or the Rec & Park Commission.

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Posted By The Ghotbi Family to Friends of Billy Goat Hill Park at 5/13/2015 08:52:00 AM

[David Ehrlich]

Could somebody elaborate how the current proposal does not meet the consensus criteria?  I thought it looked pretty good at first glance.

 

Thanks!

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[Jane]

David,

I have to agree-I am equally perplexed and I know the proposal very well. Rec & Park have worked hard to take into account all the consensus criteria.

Jane

[Lisa and Mo]

All:

I was asked to assemble some of the issues and concerns that I've heard from neighbors about the trail proposal. Overall, people are not opposed to the trail in general but the proposed path is causing concerns. Here are some of the concerns voiced regarding the trail in the context of the consensus criteria.

Design elements that do not appear to meet the consensus agreement that we all worked so hard to achieve at this long meeting in December:

 

1) "Alternative 2 - Trail Connection (winding to follow topography with entry stairs at top and bottom)"  - the proposal presented at the Capital Committee does not follow the natural topography, it introduces additional switchback trail to the hill and an additional turn that require box stairs. 

 

2) "Lessen impact to site" - the trail has been centralized to the middle of land forcing the need for additional switchbacks, additional stairs, more trail square footage and it is now going through a dense tree grove that has been undisturbed to date. The design seems to have maximized impact to the site.

 

3) "Lessen potential for erosion" - the potential for erosion around the trail area is now significantly higher with the box stair switchbacks in the center of the hill and in areas of the hill not currently traveled by the existing social trail.

 

4) "Follow land like current trail" - the proposed design carves a new trail into the hill instead of building off the existing social trail.  

 

5) "Use no more steps than necessary" - by centralizing the trail to the middle of the land, the proposed design forces more switchbacks and box steps than necessary. Entry stairs at top and bottom PLUS box steps at two switchbacks. 

 

6) "Minimize tree removal" - Your report states that only 5 hazardous trees will be removed but the proposed trail map takes a route that puts box step turns through two groves of existing trees that have been relatively undisturbed to date.

There are additional concerns voiced by various neighbors about the number of stairs in this design and how difficult these are for older hikers who have knee problems, especially if there is no railing. Apparently an earthen trail is easier for the older joints. 

Hope this helps.

Lisa

[Alan Gevins]

Hi Lisa,

Thanks for your email outlining the final objections to the upper Billy Goat Hill trail proposal.  It must have taken a chunk out of a busy day for you, and I think that everyone appreciates your efforts on behalf of the community.

Observing the back and forth discussions about the trail over the past year or so at both publics meetings and via email, I think that the democratic process has worked well, if somewhat slowly.  I think the City folks have done an exemplary job of implementing their strategic plan of making better use of undeveloped public land while taking into consideration the concerns of those taxpayers living adjacent to the trail whose privacy would be most impacted.

For my part, I have hiked the trail from time to time over the years and have found it  shut in and somewhat oppressive in its current state. I think the proposed path would be more pleasant for hikers. The most significant change from the current state will be that the entry points at top and bottom will be much easier to traverse. My remaining concern is not with the design of the trail but with the safety of folks, especially children, crossing Beacon Street to go from one trail segment to the other. I think a proper crosswalk with stop signs would ameliorate the danger from speeding cars.

Let's move forward together and get onto the next neighborhood project which seems like it will be taming the through traffic on Miguel and Beacon Streets.

It's all good; Illuminate --Alan Gevins & Lita Sam-Vargas

[David Ehrlich]

Thanks Lisa.  This makes the issues more clear.

[Kenneth Mills]

What a gentle commentary. Yea! 

The add-on about the cross walk is arguably unarguable.

Lisa's et al tireless work for our neighborhood is so appreciated.

Thanks.

Ken Mills

[Alan Gevins]

Hi Ken,

Thanks for the kind feedback about my note that many of us in the 'hood are ready to focus on the next issue affecting our collective and individual QOL -- speeding cars using our quiet residential streets as a thoroughfare from Upper Market to the Mission.

Yes, kudos to Lisa! And kudos also to David Ehrlich who has been single handedly maintaining the peace in Billy Goat Hill late at night when the partiers are often rowdy, as well as to the Ehrlich family for ceaselessly hauling many bags of trash off the hill.

It's all good; Illuminate --Alan