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Gateway Park (AKA Royce Beach, AKA Radio Beach, AKA Toll Pl

 
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Riptide



Joined: 15 Jan 2011
Posts: 411

PostPosted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 12:58 pm    Post subject: Gateway Park (AKA Royce Beach, AKA Radio Beach, AKA Toll Pl Reply with quote

http://www.sfba.org/call-to-action/gateway-park-aka-royce-beach-aka-radio-beach-aka-toll-plaza-eir-has-been-released-for-public-review

Problem Description
The Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) has issued a draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for Gateway Park, which includes Royce Beach, called Radio Beach in the report (us BoardSailors know this to be "Royces Beach" or "Toll Plaza")

While parts of the EIR call for allowing existing uses—"Radio Beach would remain accessible to the public as under current conditions.”, the EIR designates the site for passive recreation. We cannot imagine any form of recreation more active than kiteboarding.

Further, the EIR calls for fencing of the area to the east of the beach, and identifies a need for only five (5) parking spaces. We are concerned that these designations may make it more difficult to use Royce Beach for kiteboarding.

What SFBA is doing about this
SFBA has begun discussions with the East Bay Regional Park District and the Port of Oakland, which owns the land, to express our concern that existing use must be recognized and protected. We will prepare EIR comments that provide the strongest case possible for protecting access.

What you can do to help

It is important to identify the historic pattern of use that has occurred at the site, and how many people actually use the site at peak periods so those uses can be recognized and protected. We need help from our members to establish when they started using the site, how often they use it, whether it is particularly valuable for uses like learning to kiteboard, and so forth.

A brief letter or e-mail should be sent to:

Peter Lee, Assistant Director, Bay Area Toll Authority
375 Beale St, Suite 800
San Francisco, CA 94105

or emailed to plee@bayareametro.gov

No later than Wednesday, March 14, 2018 at 5PM. Please provide copies to SFBA as well at sfbaboard@gmail.com.

SAMPLE LETTER FOR KITEBOARDERS

Your name and address
Date

Mr. Peter Lee
Assistant Director, Bay Area Toll Authority
375 Beale St, Suite 800
San Francisco, CA 94105

Subject: Draft EIR for Gateway Park

Dear Mr. Lee:

I am a kiteboarder who has used Radio Beach for recreational water access for the past ____ years. Please note that although the draft EIR refers to this kiteboarding site as Radio Beach, it is known to the kIteboarding community as Royce’s Beach. I use this site approximately ___ times per month (or year). When I sail there, I try to park adjacent to _____, and I have seen as many as ___ other sailors at the site during these times.

Among my concerns, the draft EIR designates this site for only passive recreation, and I cannot think of anything more active than kite boarding. Consistent with this designation, it appears there are plans for only a handful of parking spaces (five), and infrastructure such as fencing adjacent to the kiteboarding rigging and launch area, which would make the beach unsafe and therefore unusable for this existing water contact recreational use.

Please ensure that all policies and findings in the final EIR fully support this existing water contact recreational activity.

Thank you very much,

Your signature

Your name (typed under your signature)


Cc: San Francisco Board sailing Association
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Riptide



Joined: 15 Jan 2011
Posts: 411

PostPosted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 1:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Windsurfers should be supportive of this effort as you can windsurf off this beach, also we need as many access points in the bay as possible to reduce crowding and being stuck in rush hour traffic trying to get to someplace to sail after work.

Here is the entire EIR 517 pages.

https://mtc.ca.gov/sites/default/files/Gateway_Park_DEIR_Report_January_2018_WEB.pdf
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