February 10, 2006

Meeting on Lake Cunningham Plan draws community input

Revised designs for proposed skate park shown

By Michelle Hecht
Staff Writer

On Feb. 7, San Jose Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services held a second community meeting to discuss the Lake Cunningham Master Plan and a proposed skate park. This followed two workshop meetings on Oct. 26 and Dec. 14 to discuss the design of the skate facility.

Rick DeNardo (right), a veteran skateboarder from East Palo Alto, shares with Vince Vasconi his 10 years of skateboard park design ideas at community workshops held in October and December of 2005 planning the Lake Cunningham Regional Skateboard Park.

“PRNS and our office did quite a good job at reaching out to people that frequently use the park and therefore know about different areas of the park, know the issues and are well-versed,” said Graham Grossman, council aide to Dave Cortese. “The community members that were there were really representative of the community that uses Cunningham frequently.”

Grossman added there was a good turnout of about 15 to 18 residents.

“We wanted to give the community the opportunity to look at Lake Cunningham as a whole,” said Brian Hartsell, Parks Manager for PRNS.

According to Hartsell, the meeting began with a review of the current Master Plan and the elements that have been completed since its 1990 approval. These include Raging Waters, a marina complex and fishing piers, a meadow surrounded by picnic grounds, two play areas, three public restrooms, a rough outdoor amphitheater, maintenance yard and the lake with its related pathways and landscape.

PRNS also outlined items in the plan not yet achieved, such as additional parking, landscaping along the face of Capitol Expressway and down Cunningham Avenue, an additional restroom, formal development of the amphitheater, and a park headquarters building adjacent to the existing marina with office and community meeting space.

Funding is not currently in place for these items with the exception of the perimeter landscape improvements along Capitol Expressway and Cunningham Avenue, which is now completing its design phase. Hartsell said they expect to award a contract for that in the next three to six months.

Funding is earmarked for a skate park for use by skateboarders, in-line skaters and bicyclists, which had not been included in the original Master Plan. According to Hartsell, that was one of the reasons they approached the community in the recent meetings – to work towards amending the Master Plan to allow for the inclusion of the facility.

Around the same time of the Master Plan, PRNS developed a separate document called a Green Print – the department’s long-range planning guide, which mapped development strategy over a 20-year period. Within the Green Print, there is a reference to putting a neighborhood skate park in each council district with one larger regional facility at Lake Cunningham.

PRNS is working with Beals Alliance, a consultant group, along with Wormhoudt Inc., a specialty skate park design firm. At the meeting, they addressed plans for the 40,000 square foot skate facility.

“There was a new design layout proposed,” said Grossman, recounting the physical terrain and elements that were planned out in detail with 3D maps. “It’s still in the planning process obviously, but they had the landscaping. It looked like it was a lot more thought out than previously.”

PRNS covered many aspects of the skate park, including a building to house a small staff, a concession area, restrooms, maintenance equipment storage, picnic facilities and a viewing area for the general public. The ability to support special events, the potential for evening use and emergency access were also discussed.

Additionally, PRNS discussed issues of water runoff that currently occur in the area and how the inclusion of the skate park would improve the situation.

PRNS also looked into ensuring the location of the park would not interfere or detrimentally impact the surrounding residents either visually and/or through emission of sound, said Hartsell.

“In the past, there’s been a big issue between the skaters and the community – they tend to clash on a lot of issues about safety, about noise – but surprisingly, at this meeting, there were a lot of ideas proposed that the community
members saw as beneficial,” said Grossman.

“There was a dialogue that was more about compromise,” he added.

He described one current offer by skaters to volunteer their time at a native plant garden located near the proposed skate park. “The skaters were very amendable,” Grossman said.

Concerns of increased traffic were raised in conjunction with the skate park, but Hartsell said early indications are that it won’t be problematic.

“The community is very sensitive to traffic in general,” said Hartsell.

During the meeting, the community also made suggestions for Lake Cunningham.

“A couple community members echoed a popular theme. They wanted more plants native to this area, which would require less maintenance and be more aesthetically pleasing,” said Grossman. “They had also mentioned more trails through the park, more walking trails.”

Additionally, “they thought that elements of access to the facility could be improved,” added Hartsell. “There was a desire expressed on the part of the community for safer access to Lake Cunningham.”

Community members suggested a pedestrian over-crossing from the White Road side of the park going east to the Pleasant Hills Golf Course site, where future residential development is likely.

Similarly, community members recommended a pedestrian over-crossing on the Capitol Expressway part of the park heading west because of the speed of traffic and the road’s width.

A desire was also expressed by some community members for a direct access point into the park from the corner of Capitol Expressway and Cunningham Avenue, where people must currently walk a half-mile down the avenue to reach the nearest entrance at Cunningham and White Road.

Hartsell said PRNS will review the suggestions and could make recommendations to further amend the Master Plan. These discussions and ideas would be brought back to the community at subsequent community meetings.

“It’s a dialogue with the community and we ultimately reach some level of agreement as to what would be included and what isn’t,” said Hartsell.

Hartsell added that PRNS will soon take the outcome of the community meetings in the form of a Master Plan amendment to the city council for approval. But before that occurs, another community meeting is likely, followed by an environmental review, which can take several months, he said.

“I think we are looking at getting that amended Master Plan sometime in the fall,” said Hartsell. “Then we would develop the actual plans and specs, the blueprints for the park.”

The project would then go out for a bid and an award of construction.

“If all is successful, we’re hoping to award a construction contract in the spring of 2007 and complete the work in 2008,” Hartsell said.