When I ran for my last term on the San Mateo City Council in 2001, I promised voters that I would only support the Bay Meadows II development if it included a park equal in size, 16 acres, to Central Park. This was very important because we were creating a new mini city with multiple housing units, big corporate buildings and some retail in a heavily urban area surrounded by freeways and major intersections. There needed to be a significant amount of open space for this to work. I told the developers that I would not vote for the project unless it included a huge park.
They did their bit and provided a 12-acre parcel of land on 28th Avenue. The rest of the acreage was provided in smaller parks /open space throughout the development. The idea was to have a place of peace and quiet where people could come and walk around the perimeter, sit on a bench or play pick up ball with their kids on the grassy expanse. It was never intended to put a building on the site. Now the area is used for an occasional soccer game but most of the time it is an area similar to the green surrounding the flag pole at Central Park, where you can just hang out and forget you are surrounded by big buildings and traffic and freeways, have a pickup game of volleyball with friends, kick a ball around with your toddler or just lie in the grass and soak up the sun.
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Now the City Council is considering putting a recreation center, life center or aquatic center in Bay Meadows Park, one of the few areas left in the main part of the city where there is open space. Do we really need another recreation center? There was a time when we were bemoaning the fact that we had so many rec centers compared to other cities. The expense was becoming too much of a drain on city finances when the economy was not doing well. The city handed over the operations of the once Central Park Recreation Center to Self-Help for the Elderly as a way to save money. We already have six recreation/community centers in the major geographical areas of the city. One in the north, the Martin Luther King Center, east of 101 at the North Shoreview Recreation Center, and two in the south, Beresford Recreation Center and the Senior Center just across the street. The city also runs Joinville Pool and the Coyote Point Golf Course. Plus, Shoreline Park is a large area of open space with hiking, biking and pedestrian trails. Its beauty lies in its natural setting. Those using the park choose their own activities. There is no rec center there. These are wonderful offerings and serve an important function. But do we need another rec center at Bay Meadows? The community which lives adjacent to the park is against it because of the loss of open space and the traffic it will bring. And there will of course be a need for parking. Ouch! This is a transit-oriented development which is supposed to discourage automobile use. Residents are expected to walk or bike more than the rest of us. It’s not unusual to find two cars parked in the two-car garages during the weekday.
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One of the suggested uses is an aquatic park. Swimming pools are expensive to maintain. None of the operational costs seems to be listed in the information provided. According to the city’s staff report, it is recommended that Joinville Pool, in need of costly repairs, be razed and replaced with a new rec center. Perhaps it makes more sense to use the $58.6 million in estimated constructions costs for the preferred alternative or the $39.3 million version for the aquatic park at Bay Meadows, to repair Joinville Pool.
In the Bay Meadows area, there is a gym in the shopping center anchored by Whole Foods and nearby Hillsdale Shopping Center is planning to include a bowling alley and another gym. There are swimming pools at the 24-hour gyms, the Peninsula Family Y, College of San Mateo and Equinox. And the high schools have pools which are mostly used during school hours except for practices and meets but go mainly unused on weekends. There are more than enough recreational opportunities in our city but insufficient open space. The council should consider both the quality of life and financial burden of building and staffing a new center before making their decision.
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(2) comments
Excellent article Sue
Thank goodness a previous wise council years ago placed Sugarloaf on the ballot to remain in open space in perpetuity!
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.