Not What We’d Call Parkland

Yesterday I received a mailer from the No on Y campaign. The heading said to vote no on giving away city parkland to a developer. It also stated that the Veronica Meadows project would greatly worsen the traffic on Las Positas. Both statements are misleading and untrue.

Allowing the developer to build a bridge is not giving away land. The city will continue to own that land. Secondly, to call the property parkland is an extreme exaggeration. There is no entrance, no parking lot, no functional park. This undeveloped property is overgrown with many non-native plants and weeds. There are palm trees with dead fronds hanging down like long skirts. They are an extreme fire hazard for the entire Las Positas area. The city does not trim nor maintain them like they do the palms bordering real parks like Shoreline Park. Also, the photo on the mailer is totally misleading. It shows a very pastoral section of land, beautifully maintained. This is far from the truth. Just drive down Las Positas and see how “undeveloped” it really is.

The second exaggeration is that approving the building of the bridge will worsen the traffic on Las Positas. Without the bridge, the residents of Veronica Meadows will have to use Las Positas the entire way to Cliff Drive to access through Alan Road, thus greatly increasing congestion at the intersection of Cliff and Las Positas.

Please vote yes on Y. It’s a win/win! – Randi Rice, S.B.