Belvedere parks panel wants lane rehabs back on track

Belvedere’s parks committee is asking the city to renew its effort to improve public walking lanes, an initiative that was put on hold several years ago amid budget constraints.

In a Nov. 14 report to the City Council, the Parks, Open Spaces and Lanes Committee named lane repairs as its top priority among 12 it would like the city to consider next fiscal year. The semi-annual report is the first under the committee’s new charter, updated in March, to better provide regular advice and recommendations to the council.

Other initiatives of interest include removing dead and dying trees on private lands to reduce fire hazards, monitoring the effects of private projects on public lands; and eliminating view obstructions.

The desire to improve the city’s 17 public walking lanes is not a new one. In 2017, the city established a five-year program to revamp the lanes, aiming to contribute $100,000 and securing $200,000 in donations to complete each project.

The city successfully revamped Golden Gate Lane, which runs between Golden Gate and Belvedere avenues, though the project ran about $150,000 over budget. It also has about $150,000 in funding in its five-year budget for plans to create a walking lane at a swath of open space called Artist’s View, which runs from Belvedere Avenue to a rocky beach at the city’s southernmost tip.

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