Blue Greenway Initiative Campaign Highlights

Blue Greenway Policies Established
August, 2005
Members of the Blue Greenway Steering Committee reach consensus and adopt the Blue Greenway and Bay Trail Policies to be presented to the Blue Greenway Task Force. The policies customize established Bay Trail Policies to ensure relevancy and consistency for San Francisco’s southern waterfront.

Blue Greenway Steering Committee Retreat
July, 2005
Members of the Blue Greenway Steering Committee meet for a half-day retreat in order to discuss next steps for the initiative. The National Park Service leads an Opportunities and Constraints Mapping Exercise to capture current and future development projects. The Steering Committee agrees to approach the Mayor’s Office to create a Blue Greenway Task Force to create a Vision and Action Plan for the initiative.

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Southern Waterfront Citizen Planning Institute
— World Waterfront Symposium
June, 2005
In conjunction with UN World Environment Day, NPC and SPUR host a third Citizen Planning Institute to bring together major stakeholders to continue the Blue Greenway vision. The event explores successful waterfront models from the Bay Area and around the world in the hopes of gleaning best practices to apply to the City’s southern waterfront. Speakers and presenters include California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier, Oakland Vice Mayor Jane Brunner, Port Authority’s Dan Hodapp, and distinguished Yale professor and urban planner Alex Garvin.

EDAW Intern Program
June, 2005
The Port Authority, NPC, SPUR and others sponsor EDAW’s award-winning Intern Program consisting of an intensive 2-week design charrette focusing on Pier 70. 21 students from around the globe work hand-in-hand with EDAW professionals to engage the community to create a vision plan for the area. The team’s final vision includes a diverse working waterfront district that embraces its distinctive arts and industrial character, connects to the local communities, reveals its maritime history and activates the water's edge.

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Blue Greenway Public Outreach Tours
Winter – Spring of 2005
The Blue Greenway partners with San Francisco Beautiful, Bicycle Coalition, Bay Access, India Basin Neighborhood Association, Network for Elders, and others, to host a series of public outreach tours along the Southern waterfront to raise awareness of issues and opportunities. The tours include a kayak tour, bicycle tour, sailboat tour, 5k Bayview Walk-a-Thon, and Yosemite Slough hike. These tours will continue in the future.

Southern Waterfront Citizen Planning Institute
December, 2004
NPC and SPUR hosts a follow-up Citizen Planning Institute bringing together major stakeholders to continue the Blue Greenway vision. The event includes a keynote discussion by distinguished landscape architect, Walter Hood. Participants break up into three work groups facilitated by professionals from the field. The work groups include Access and Programming, Design, and Environmental Clean-Up. Deliverables are established to continue efforts through World Environment Day in June, 2005.

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National Park Service Rivers & Trails Conservation Assistance
Technical Assistance Grant
October, 2004
The Blue Greenway project is selected for the Rivers and Trails Conservation Assistance Grant program offered by the National Park Service. The program provides technical assistance to coordinate the creation of an Opportunities and Constraints Mapping Project, utilizing GIS technology to capture all appropriate layers of ownership, environmental issues, constraints, etc.

Imagine the Way Event
September, 2004
The Blue Greenway sponsors “Imagine the Way”, a public outreach campaign event to engage the community in the Blue Greenway planning process. The event is held at both Heron’s Head Park and Shoreline Park in India Basin and includes speeches of support, music, birding and nature tours, art exhibits, bicycle and kayak tours.

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Blue Greenway Steering Committee Takes Shape
June, 2004
The Blue Greenway Steering Committee is created to represent appropriate city agencies, environmental activists, non-profit organizations, neighborhood associations, and public policy groups.

Strengthening the Coalition
June, 2004
The Blue Greenway begins a coalition outreach campaign geared toward stakeholders including city agencies, environmental groups, neighborhood associations, development firms, and others in order to form a unified vision for San Francisco’s Southern waterfront

Green Envy Report
December, 2003
The Neighborhood Parks Council (NPC) publishes a report, “Green Envy: Achieving Equity in Open Space” identifying significant gaps in parks and playgrounds along the Eastern side of the City, especially along the waterfront corridor.

Waterfront Citizen Planning Institute
May, 2003
NPC, SPUR, and San Francisco State University host a day long waterfront conference with over 100 participants representing city agencies, environmental activists, non-profit organizations, neighborhood associations, and concerned residents. Among other results of the day was a strong, identified need for a concrete example of improved waterfront planning with a recreation focus through the creation of a trail from SBC Park to the Southern border. The “Blue Greenway Trail Project” is an outgrowth of this collective desire.

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