Lake Merritt Redevelopment Plan Update
Unfortunately, the City doesn't have a good website to show you all the plans for the makeover of Lake Merritt, so you'll have to trust me when I tell you that it's pretty cool. There will be new trails for running (decomposed granite) and a much wider path for walkers, skate boarders, strollers, etc. This past Wednesday Council Members Nancy Nadel and Pat Kernighan hosted a "Town Hall" type meeting where plans were unveiled, along with the announcement that they would be removing a large number of trees.

Tribune Headline Focuses on Sensationalism
Today's Tribune article headlined the removal of the trees, but didn't seem balanced as to why trees are being removed or the fact that there is a net gain of trees once the project is complete. Many of the trees planted around Lake Merritt were abandoned there or were planted specifically because they grow fast. Many of the trees around the lake have suffered from lack of maintenance over the years and are either dying, or in some cases are already dead. Others are unhealthy or crowding other trees. Then there's the area around 12th Street in front of the Kaiser Auditorium where all the trees are being removed to enable a complete change.

More trees will be put in than taken out, so there's ultimately a net gain of trees. New trees will be trees that last for 100 years, not less. The new trees won't all be the same size - they'll look as if they were planted over time, which is how it should have been if the Park had kept up maintenance.

Reducing Lanes, Reclaiming Parkland
By reducing 12th Street from twelve lanes of traffic to six, and widening the Lake Merritt Channel so that it becomes navigable from the Estuary, the City is planning major changes in grading in that area, which means that they plan to remove (and possibly replant) all of the trees in that area. By regrading that end of the lake, they'll be adding an area that looked like an ampitheatre, but that they called an "event plaza". They'll also be creating a bio-swale to help keep the lake clean by filtering the water from the run-offs. They're also creating a marsh area along the Lake Merritt Channel which will be good for the birds.

Lakeshore Avenue will also be reduced from four lanes to two, enabling the widening of pathways without decreasing green space.

You Can't Have It All
Some members of the Public asked about a dog park, which is not part of the current plan. There was some talk of a dog park being put in adjacent to the Lakeview Library, but it would not be a part of Lake Merritt. It was funny to hear some people hiss at this, but yet some of the hissers were the same people not wanting bikes anywhere in the park because Lake Merritt is a bird sanctuary. Speaking of birds, the City was noticably quite on the subject of the geese. Jack London District local, Steve Lowe, laughingly suggested that the new Boathouse Restaurant serve Roast Goose. Very funny, Steve! That's one way to keep the goose population under control.

Learn More, Get Involved
If you would like to learn more about the trees being removed, there is a Tree Tour this Saturday, December 3rd from 9am to Noon starting from the Lake Merritt Pergola on El Embarcadero (just off Lakeshore). You can also attend the next Measure DD Meeting January 23, 2006 from 7pm-9pm at the Lakeside Garden Center inside the park.
Posted 12/02/2005