Pizza On Broadway & Other Bits
Domino's has opened their new store on Broadway between 3rd & 4th Streets, and they deliver! Their phone number is 510.452.2600.

Sadly, we lost the China Tea House Bistro on Broadway between 2nd & 3rd Streets.

A new restaurant will open in the Spring in the old Barclay's space. Rumor has it that it will be a "Asian Fusion" type restaurant. (This comes from a bartender at the restaurant at PacBell, er SBC Park, who used to work with the chef that is opening up the new restaurant.)

Meanwhile, if you're in the mood for cake, stop by Jack London Mail on Tuesday, December 20th for their big 3rd birthday party from 5pm to 7pm.

Also food related... bring your Alameda County Community Food Bank donations to Jack London Mail through December 27th.

Hope to see a few people at the Developer Meeting tomorrow (12/15) being held at the Covenant House space (aka Jerry Brown's old We the People Auditorium) on Harrison between 2nd & 3rd Streets.

Cheers!

p.s. - I would LOVE LOVE LOVE it if someone else has a story or two or three to post here. It's about community news, not just news from one household...
Posted 12/14/2005

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