Gateway Park Project Enters Environmental Review Phase

Park planners and the public came together in West Oakland on November 14, 2013, for an open house that showcased the current Gateway Park design and launched the environmental review phase of the project. The open house was enthusiastically attended by nearly 100 local residents, interested community members and stakeholder agency representatives.

The proposed park covers about 170 acres and extends from the waterfront near the Oakland touchdown of the new Bay Bridge East Span to Mandela Parkway in West Oakland. It would provide a distinctive entryway to the East Bay and offer connections to the new bicycle/pedestrian path on the East Span. On tap for the future park are a number of exciting amenities including public shoreline access, an event venue in a historic industrial building, local art installations, a children’s port-themed playground and a fishing pier.

The park is proposed by the Gateway Park Working Group, a consortium of nine local, regional and state agencies that includes the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA). The project is subject to environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). As the lead CEQA agency, BATA released a “Notice of Preparation (NOP) of a Draft Environmental Impact Report” on November 1, 2013, and is accepting comments on the NOP through December 6, 2013.

At the end of the comment period, the project team will consider public and agency input and begin preparing a draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Assessment (EIR/EA) for release later in 2014, with a final version planned for spring 2015.

Due to limited funding and a varying timeline of when different portions of land become available, the park is likely to be constructed in phases. Individual segments will open to the public as they are completed, and remaining segments will be constructed as funding allows and as land becomes available. The project is being developed in anticipation of private sector and philanthropic participation.

More information about Gateway Park and materials from the November 14 meeting are available at baybridgegatewaypark.org

— Karin Betts

See also:

• Gateway Park Plans Take Off
  
  October 31, 2013