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Thanks for beautiful bridge

Curtis Manning Berkeley
Tuesday January 08, 2002

The Daily Planet received a copy of this letter addressed to the mayor and City Council: 

As a West Berkeley resident and past Ocean View “meddler” in city affairs, I want to thank the city of Berkeley for its investment of considerable effort and expense in providing a pedestrian overcrossing of the freeway just south of University Ave. My thanks include Mayor Dean, the City Council, the Planning Department, various commissioners, and interested citizenry who pushed for a quality bridge, and last but not least, the tax payers.  

This bridge, now nearing completion, is a substantial mitigation for the injury done to the Ocean View neighborhood when the railroad and freeway conspired to rob us of our access to the beach and the Bay.  

But it is not just a bridge – it is a grand and ample bridge. I applaud the designers who, with that arched shape, mimic the curve of the old Bay shore in Aquatic Park. Rather than an imposition, it is pleasing to the eye.  

To those who think the city spent too much money on this project, I say it is always better to do something well, for it will continue to repay us for years.  

There is still much to do – land acquisitions, the restoration of the beach, and lots of effort to keep zealots from over-developing the land – but this piece of infrastructure sets a new high standard for what is to follow – that is, the Shoreline Park. 

 

Curtis Manning  

Berkeley