PRFO Blair Park Rally
Blair Park Backers Show Off Latest Plans for Sports Field
On a beautiful October Sunday morning, Blair Park enthusiasts gathered in Piedmont Park to view the latest plans developed by Piedmont Recreation Facilities Organization (PRFO) for the proposed sports field.
Jessica Berg, PRFO President, and project architect Clarence Mamuyac were on hand to answer questions. Mayor Dean Barbieri was among those who attended and chatted with project supporters.
Residents viewed elaborate color plans, while children participated in games, crafts, and nibbled on treats. Signs were in the upper main Piedmont Park near the Excedra.
The final plan offers some new ideas about the sports facility proposed for the Blair Park site in Moraga Canyon. In contrast to earlier versions submitted to the City, the final plan is for Phase I only, and consists of one field instead of two. Instead of the formerly proposed second field, the design presents a “glade” with native plantings and no street barriers. The 300x 150-foot field has been moved 30 feet to the east; the baseball diamond has been moved to the east end of the field near Moraga Avenue. There is still a restroom but the concession stand was eliminated. The retaining walls and fences above the walls have been lowered slightly, and the retaining wall stretching along Moraga Avenue is made of “mechanically strengthened earth” instead of concrete. There are a total of 40 parking spaces. A street level sidewalk and bicycle lane have been added along the length of the park. There are two pedestrian crosswalks, one at Red Rock Road with a pedestrian-operated traffic signal, and one at Maxwelton Avenue. A mini-roundabout has been added uphill from the Maxwelton crosswalk. For prior article and full details go to:
http://www.piedmontcivic.org/2011/10/20/latest-plan-released-for-blair-park-sports-field/
Some comments made by those present were:
What happened to the pedestrian overpass for people to get from one side of Moraga to the other? Backing up traffic with stop lights triggered by children would be a persistent problem.
What happened to the second practice field? According to Berg, the field was eliminated until funding becomes available to develop the “glade” into a practice field.
As children ran around in their sports uniforms, the adults mingled and talked about the prospect of another field for young children.
As I drive on Moraga, I’m having trouble picturing a mini-roundabout. Is there any way to show it, using tape/paint/something? Is the round-about on Nova a mini one and is this the size being proposed for Moraga? So many questions!!!
Hi Nancy,
The proposed mini-roundabout would be much smaller than the Nova one. I’ve posted some detailed comments about issues that ought to be analyzed in the revised CEQA documentation in the comments of this article on Patch: http://piedmont.patch.com/articles/final-blair-park-master-plan-released
As I understand it, the City and PRFO are going with a CEQA addendum, which does not require public review or circulation prior to approval, despite the major changes in the project since the EIR was done (chiefly the removal of the pedestrian bridge). The more defensible approach would be to do a Supplemental EIR, which would have a mandatory public review and comment period.
Nancy, Tim is correct and the Maxwelton miniroundabout (“MMR”) will be 51′ across. One difference between the Nova roundabout and the MMR is that a mini cannot have built up elements (bushes, trees, etc.) Miniroundabouts must be mountable by emergency vehicles so the MMR will essentially be a flat cement disk with perhaps a single visual element in the middle.
The traffic lane will also be narrowed to 10′ or less at the MMR. An obvious concern is cars coming down Moraga Avenue, hitting the MMR, and losing control with the new crosswalk immediately below.