Records Request Reveals Details of Blair Park Plan

Way back on March 21, City Council gave to the Piedmont Recreational Facilities Organization's proposal to develop new sports fields in Blair Park. Along with the go-ahead, the council asked the proponent group to provide detailed plans for the project and a list of options for traffic safety around the park that is situated on busy Moraga Avenue.

In April and May, PRFO's architect Clarence Mamuyac provided those documents to City Administrator Geoff Grote. Just last week, Grote shared them in response to a public records request from Ralph Catalano, who lives above Blair Park on Alta Avenue and has repeatedly voiced his concerns about the planned development.

The content of the documents is largely familiar. But the documents do reveal that amenities that helped sell the project to city officials are not included in plans for the first phase of construction, and what to do to mitigate traffic concerns is still being worked out.

Master plan drawings that Mamuyac forwarded to Grote April 1 are seemingly identical to what he presented to City Council March 21, showing a 300' by 150' turf field that would include a youth baseball/softball diamond, and a smaller grassy field next to it.

Traffic safety options sent to Grote April 7 point to a plan for roundabouts at the entrances to the parking lots on either end of the park—which PRFO first pitched at the hearing on the project—as the best alternative to putting in a pedestrian-activated crosswalk at the intersection of Red Rock Road and Moraga Avenue, the solution recommended in the certified environmental impact report for the project.

Analysis prepared by PRFO's traffic consultant says that while motorists traveling up to 35 mph down Moraga would have the necessary 250 feet of sight distance to stop for a crosswalk at Red Rock, a pedestrian would need to be able to see 440 feet in order to be sure it was safe to cross. Putting in roundabouts would slow traffic to 15 mph or 20 mph, requiring much less sight distance.

On May 10, Mamuyac submitted another possibility that might be even better. Instead of putting in roundabouts, it would improve sight lines for motorists and pedestrians at Red Rock Road by moving the west parking lot's exit driveway 30 feet to the east.

That adjustment, the architect suggested, would provide incidental benefits: less grading for the project overall, a smaller retaining wall, and reduced visual impact from the berm to be constructed along Moraga Avenue, as the softball/baseball diamond would have to be shifted to the other side of the park and the dugout would be installed closer to the existing grade. The alternative would furthermore make room for a sidewalk along the road for the entire length of the park.

But moving the exit would also trigger a modest reduction in the size of the grassy field and Mamuyac indicated that the master plan submitted April 1 had not yet been changed.

Also on May 10, Mamuyac emailed Grote outlining the elements to be built during the first phase of construction.

In Phase I, PRFO would build the turf field, two parking lots providing 40 total spaces and a small restroom building, and level out a "meadow" at the east end of the park.

In response a to request from Grote for more detail about what would be built in Phase II, Mamuyac explained in a May 24 communication that the grassy field, a concession building and a dog run would also be constructed then.

It was because of the grassy field that the concluded PRFO's plan provided more of the playing space sorely needed by youth sports groups in Piedmont than that had been presented. That was key, along with the addition of amenities beyond fields, for which the project was characterized as multi-use, in the commission's recommendation that City Council approve the project.

At the March 21 hearing where the project got City Council's nod, the proponents speculated Phase I would cost $5 million and Phase II another $1.5 million. Grote suggested in a May 19 email that PRFO submit detailed estimates for all the individual elements of the project by May 23 or May 24. PRFO has yet to reply in writing.

CORRECTION: The softball/baseball diamond was described as a "Little League" diamond in an earlier version of this story. Piedmont Baseball Softball Foundation teams are associated with the PONY league.