Moffett Bay Trail Opening?
Submitted by Paul Hartke on November 17, 2008 - 10:47am
Hello all,
Does anyone have more info on the Moffett Bay Trail Opening? The fall '08 Spinning Crank stated that: "The Moffett segment of the Bay Trail should be open this fall as part of Phase 1 of the South Bay Salt Ponds Restoration Project. Prior to a dedication ceremony, a waterfowl count needs to be completed but birds don’t keep a fixed schedule so we’re hoping for November."
Thanks.
Paul
Submitted by Mark Eliot on August 22, 2009 - 6:38pm.
SVBC recently sent a letter on this to Eshoo, Boxer, and Feinstein. We'll see if they can unstick the wheels of progress, as it were.
See: http://bikesiliconvalley.org/files/documents/letters/090812%20NASA%20Tra...
Submitted by Paul Hartke on September 25, 2009 - 10:55am.
Hi Mark,
Any response from the elected officials?
Thanks.
Paul
Submitted by Mark Eliot on September 25, 2009 - 11:11am.
Hi Paul,
I haven't heard anything from Corinne about a response, but I'll ask her.
-M
Submitted by Paul Hartke on October 13, 2009 - 5:54am.
Hi Mark,
Following up on this... It would be helpful to know if there are particular staffers to contact.
Thanks.
Paul
Submitted by Mark Eliot on October 13, 2009 - 1:24pm.
Paul,
I just called Anna Eshoo's office. According to Jon Allen, her field representative in the Palo Alto office, he's been in contact with NASA fairly regularly -- every month or so. The last he heard there were "lots of lawyers reviewing documents." I'm not sure what that means and he didn't either. He sent them an email this morning asking about the current state of things and says that they usually respond promptly. When he hears back, he'll send me an email, which I will post here.
Jon's probably the guy to contact in the future. (650) 323-2984.
-M
Submitted by MJK on August 24, 2009 - 9:51pm.
I thought the delay was regarding a fence. I can wait in any event.
Submitted by MJK on June 21, 2009 - 6:21pm.
This is never going to happen, is it? :(
Submitted by alexa on May 18, 2009 - 4:37am.
Not everyone is as excited about the new trail. One potentially problematic aspect is the impact human activity could have on wildlife and plants in previously closed areas.
masini de inchiriat
Submitted by Paul Hartke on March 17, 2009 - 7:21am.
Update from San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex Visitor Services:
"The most recent meeting was yesterday. At that time representatives from NASA announced that they require a fence to be build along one section of the trail before it can be open to the public. And the transfer of ownership of the bridge has yet to be finalized. With that news, the April 22 opening date for the trail was deemed unrealistic. No new opening date was suggested.
We would like to see the trail open as soon as possible and are still working toward that end. I apologize for the delay."
Submitted by Paul Hartke on January 27, 2009 - 1:29pm.
[Hat tip to user maiki who posted this in another forum. -Paul]
Land transfer delays Bay Trail opening
News - Friday, January 16, 2009
http://www.mv-voice.com/story.php?story_id=4786
The opening of a long-awaited Bay Trail connection around Moffett Field is being delayed as officials wait for a small piece of it to be transferred from the Cargill Salt Co. to NASA.
Bay Trail project manager Laura Thompson said that at one point Cargill was willing to open the trail before transferring the small piece of land, but a later decision was made by Cargill executives against it.
Once completed, the 500-mile trail will encircle the waterfront of San Francisco and San Pablo bays. More than half of the trail has been completed, and the Moffett section would make an important connection from Palo Alto and Mountain View to Sunnyvale through Alviso.
The section would have opened in November 2008, but now will have to wait until sometime this spring, Thompson said.
"The trail exists — we just need to take the gates down," she said.
Submitted by Jack Lueder on January 12, 2009 - 9:48pm.
The Moffett- Bay Trail segment opening is alive and waiting on a crucial Dept of Defense signature in Washington DC. As you can imagine, signatures are not easy to get just before a change in Administration. Meanwhile, local organizations (including SVBC) are keeping the Opening Event on the front burner but on a T-30 day hold till the go-ahead signature. There are no known deal-killer issues and the physical trail is ready.
Submitted by Bill Kornfeld on January 9, 2009 - 12:03pm.
I would hope that everyone reading this will call the Fish & Wildlife Service and express concern about the delay. It would be helpful if someone could post phone numbers for the point people at Cargill and/or Nasa so similar calls can be made.
Submitted by MJK on December 10, 2008 - 9:15pm.
This is killing me. I'm so eager for this to happen! I guess that means it will open in February or March?
Submitted by Bill Kornfeld on December 10, 2008 - 7:13pm.
I called again this afternoon. There is a bridge which is apparently owned by Cargill, the ownership of which must be transferred to Hasa (so Nasa can lease it to the Fish & Wildlife Service) and, as well, a "couple of permits" need to be issued before the trail can be opened. It's impossible before sometime in January for all this to happen and the person I spoke to "was hoping" it would be completed by Spring. You have to wonder, though, what Cargill's incentive would be to transfer it's ownership rights to the bridge without compensation and what Nasa's motivation would be to spend money to buy it.
Submitted by John Krug on November 21, 2008 - 8:26pm.
Paul,
I received a call from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife spokesperson today. She indicated the the Moffett Trail still has few items yet to be completed prior to the opening; a couple of permits and a land transfer to be finalized. The opening date could be as early as December or as late as early spring 2009. Nothing more concrete than that. The spokesperson did say that they were committed to the opening of the trail and that they were very much in favor of public use of the trail.
Regards, John
Submitted by John Krug on November 20, 2008 - 8:31pm.
Paul,
I called the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday and left a message requesting the opening date for the trail. I'll let you know when/if I get a response. If you also want to call them, the phone number is 510.792.0222, extension 39.
Regards, John