Breakthrough near on Vargas Park?
By Matt Artz
Monday, April 21st, 2008 at 4:58 pm in Fremont.
It seems the East Bay Regional Park District is closing in on an agreement with Fremont over how to pay for improving access roads to the planned Vargas Plateau Regional Park.
The park district wants to open the park this fall, but both the city and residents around Vargas and Morrison Canyon roads want it to postpone the opening until improvements are made to both roads, which will be used to access the park.
District Assistant General Manager Dave Collins told me today that district and city were getting close to a deal on how to pay for road improvements and that some of the money would likely come from a new bond measure the district is proposing, assuming that voters approve it.
We’ll have a story on the proposed bond measure in Tuesday’s paper.
For more on the bond measure, click here.
For the perspective of a mountain biker group threatening to oppose the measure, click here.
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April 29th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Speaking of the Vargas plateau, has anyone else spotted mountain lions in the Fremont/Union City hills? If so, you can let us know at http://www.ibabuzz.com/hayword/2008/04/24/where-the-wild-cats-are/ and we’ll put it on the map!
July 18th, 2008 at 1:11 am
Some of the proposals have suggested closing lower Morrison Canyon Road rather than improving it. Unfortunately, this will prevent any access the park for pedestrians or bicyclists. The reason is that the only remaining access is along Vargas road; unfortunately, this road is only accessable via Interstate 680 (off limits to pedestrians and bicyclists), making it impossible for anyone who is not in a motor vehicle to legally visit the park.
While the park district has proposed two trail heads along Canyon Heights drive, these sections of trail would be through private property and there is no assurance that the owner will ever grant access. As a result, closure of Morrison Canyon Road will make it exceedingly inconvenient for the local residents to visit the park. It is ironic that a park that is supposed to encourage enjoyment of the local natural setting can only be accessed with a motor vehicles. Good job EBRPD!
July 18th, 2008 at 11:45 am
I’d like to expand on the mountain biker’s perspective. There are some cyclists in the East Bay who are using the bond measure funding as a bargaining chip. These are cyclists who have exhausted every avenue to fair representation conceivable. I for one, am voting for the measure simply because I find the cost to me well worth the benefits I receive considering my personal use for the parks, on a bike or otherwise.
There are though, a growing segment of trail users who have been active in tying to reach compromises with the District only to be shut out of planning and use decisions because of a deep seeded bias among the park districts board.
The EBRPD’s board is not a very diverse bunch, and their overall position on mountain biking has been to minimize access. It has been a futile endeavor trying to get access to the most prized part of the sport - ridable single track trails. Concern over the dearth of single track trails is not limited to mountain bikers alone. EBRPD’s trail system is the product of bulldozing 10 foot wide fire roads through ranch land. As a result, the trail network is sterile and uninviting. I think every park user would benefit from more compact, multi use trails.
While I praise the district of their work. Perhaps allocation of the park resources can be applied to the benefit of every major user group. There are many ways to this end. Some users want these issues addressed before signing on to the bond measure.
July 18th, 2008 at 11:54 am
I agree with the comment written by Larry Edelson. Unfortunately, the CEQA Lead Agent for development of the EBRPD was the EBRPD. They declared a Negative Declaration without reading documents submitted to them from the public. Access to their development, which all developers must assure, was not reviewed in their environmental evaluation. Morrison Canyon Road and Vargas Rd. belong to the City of Fremont, transfered “as is” from the County. Now the City has to consider how important and expensive to widden the inherited Morrison Canyon Rd. The last City Engineer I talked with stated they would need to canal the creek, remove the riparian habitat to widen the road to City standards. More cutting into the hills would not give us the width we would need, and slides are far too common.
EBRPD’s should be do what all developers in non-urban areas must do which is a complete EIR to identify access to their Park prior to opening, and not just dump on economic stressed City of Fremont. Our Community of Fremont cares about our parks and many use Morrison Canyon Road, for a rural environment.
July 21st, 2008 at 11:10 am
A column in the Oakland Tribune addressed this topic over the weekend. While I disagree that transportation and delta issues should be an influencing factor when renewing the districts funding, the author does raise some common issues that the EBRPD should address before voters issue a blank check.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_9937383?source=most_emailed
July 21st, 2008 at 11:36 am
The EBRPD, East Bay Park District, Has done a fantastic job of aquiring land and developing it into recreational area’s. The expiring bond has been the biggest bang for the buck.
The Park District operates 65 parks, covering over 98,000 acres in its two-county jurisdiction, with more than 1,150 miles of trails.
Check for your self. http://www.ebparks.org/parks
Please support the November ballot measure
August 11th, 2008 at 12:29 am
In regards to Marty’s comments concerning the EBRPD’s policy on bicycle use of trains, I too would like a more balanced approach. What I find particularly upsetting when I ride my bike up the legally accessible trail is the number of hikers who cut the trail and damage the are severly damaging the landscape. It is ironic that the District has such a negative opinion regarding bicycles, but takes little effort to cite hikers that are obviously violating necessary restrictions against cutting marked trails. These people seem to have little regard for the damage the inflict as the take a more steep cut down a hill including excessive soil compaction and erosion.
Mountain bikes generally cannot handle the steep grades of the trail cutters. When I ride single track, I keep to a safe speed both to avoid the obvious dangers of falls and collisions, but also to avoid the unnecessary damage of tire slides and skids. It is certainly the case that you can have moutain bikes use trails appropriately while inconsiderate hikers cause considerable damage. Conversely, bikers need to be respectful of the other users and how to minimize their impact to the terrain. An ingnorant bias against bicycles is not the answer, nor is a blind eye toward pedestrian missteps.
August 11th, 2008 at 12:39 am
Orange paint designating the location of a future gate has appeared at the base of Morrison Canyon Road just before the steep portion of the grade begins about 200 yards east of Canyon Heights Drive (at mile post 0.5).
A gate that allows residents, located just before mile post 1 (and beyond the location of the gate), to continue to access their property while still allowing access to bikes and hikers is a good compromise. However, the City of Fremont should go through a proper public review and discussion of this change to a public road.
The CVC requires that for a local government to remove a road from service, it must no longer be needed for traffic. It is therefore essential that the residents that will be stranded behind this gate be provided a suitable way to access their properties.