Politics & Government
Council Affirms Recreational Use in Ohlone Greenway Pact with BART
While the El Cerrito City Council adopted the "transportation corridor" emphasis that BART wanted for the Ohlone Greenway, the council also proclaimed the Greenway as a continuous open space and a recreational resource for the city.
The El Cerrito City Council Monday night unanimously passed an improvement and maintenance agreement with BART for the Ohlone Greenway that includes language supporting recreational use of the long ribbon of land known also as "the BART path."
The new 25-year license agreement is similar to the one the city signed with BART in 1986 and governs city responsibility for improvements like the bike and pedestrian paths and playgrounds on the BART-owned property beneath the elevated tracks.
According to the staff report to the council, BART required that the new agreement include the city's recognition that the BART-owned property is primarily a mass transit corridor to be utilized as a part of the local transportation system and not significant for recreational use.
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The council's 4-to-0 vote (with Mayor Ann Cheng absent) adopted alternative language stating that the city's Ohlone Greenway Master Plan "identifies the Ohlone Greenway first as an important transportation corridor, but also recognizes its function as a continuous open space and a recreational resource in the City."
