We knew that Friends of Moraga Canyon had organized a protest against Blair Park development, and decided to check out the scene earlier today. There were between 75 and 100 protesters on the scene, all making their “Save Moraga Canyon” opinions known to passers-by…who pretty much all honked hello.
As a citizen reporter, I decided to stop and sniff around. So many Blair Park neighbors lined up along Moraga Avenue, armed with their signs, kids and dogs. They also stuck around beyond the planned hour-long rally.
Neighbors have different reasons for opposing soccer field development on the site, currently under review by Piedmont City Council. Today many protesters offered up environment risks related to wildlife, earthquakes, watershed, sound and urbanization – but traffic and safety topped the list. We can paraphrase here:
- “Can you even imagine kids around here, there’s no room!”
- “My kids do play soccer across the street, and it’s already tough on game days.”
- “No one would be able to exit parking lots if they were built here.”
There’s some unease about the months ahead, but Oaklanders and Piedmonters on site today are pretty united about keeping Blair Park intact. We’ll all see what happens in the coming months.
More info: Piedmont City Council is holding a environment review scoping meeting for the Moraga Canyon Sports Fields, next Tuesday, December 8th – in the Piedmont Community Hall, 711 Highland Avenue (map). Click to read the public notice, meeting agenda, environmental review schedule, environmental notice and initial fields study.
Today in Montclair, 94611 
If we really want to “Save Moraga Canyon”, close it to through traffic. Do so at the entrance to the parking lot. Put in the barricades that can be bypassed by bikes and emergency vehicles.
Riding up Moraga on Sunday, the traffic was heavy in both directions. Constant flow of traffic. Driving down the hill, it is hard to maintain the 25 MPH speed limit in Piedmont. Speed bumps?
My Moraga/Harbord Neighborhood Group and nearby neighborhood groups have been trying for more than eight years to improve the traffic situation here, working with the City of Oakland traffic engineers. Because Moraga Avenue is a fire/ambulance route for emergency response to Highway 13, no speed bumps permitted. No stop signs, no traffic lights because the road curves too much to permit the required line-of-sight.
What we need is for drivers to adhere to the speed limit which varies from 20 mph to 30 mph. It is mostly 30 mph in Oakland, then drops to 25 in Piedmont. This is a residential street, not a highway. I’ll skip the stories of car crashes here and the dead deer. Stories of hostile drivers who think they are unknown to others and who freak out if someone is driving 30 mph.
EVERYONE: PLEASE SLOW DOWN! Take it easy, enjoy the scenery, respect us,your neighbors. Hundreds of us will appreciate it!