 |
| I know, how about we build a freeway bridge over your park? |
It's not over until it's over: The San Francisco
Board of Supervisors has allowed Lennar to go ahead with a Hunters Point housing development proposal that includes a 41-foot wide bridge bridge over Yosemite Slough. But that doesn't mean there's been an end to haggling over the 10,000-unit housing development on the grounds of the old Hunters Point Shipyard.
The bridge stands to mess up a $30 million state park proposed in and
around the muck at the slough's edges -- wetlands in enviro-speak. The bridge, and the traffic it will generate, threatened to undermine the
park. So the
California State Parks Foundation is holding negotiation
sessions with developer Lennar aimed at mitigating damage from the
bridge. The group had dropped formal opposition to the project after
plans for a much wider bridge were put on hold. The two parties hope to brainstorm ways to ensure the bridge doesn't ruin the new
park.
"There are many other issues that need to be worked out. We're talking broadly about the character and impacts of the bridge," said Elizabeth Goldstein, executive director of the Parks Foundation.
As designed, the bridge could make it difficult to see much of anything from down in a slough -- a problem when you want people to come hang out in your park. Traffic circulation could also be re-designed in a way to lessen the impact on wildlife in the area, Goldstein said.
"I don't want to talk about the details. But I'd b delighted to talk broadly, " she said. "In general terms, the objective is to create a bridge that will be compatible with the function sof the park. We're hopeful we'll finish negotiations in the next two or three days."
Follow us on Twitter at @TheSnitchSF and @SFWeekly