community builds a playground at Burckhalter Park

Adiverse group of 150-200 volunteers and city employees came together on Friday to build a new playground at Burckhalter Park on Edwards Avenue. Morgan Stanley brokerage not only put up a lot of money to make this happen, but sent out about 45 volunteers to help build it. I heard about the project through councilmember Desley Brooks' office, but while I was there I ran into people I know via other Oakland connections including College Avenue Presbyterian, the Oakland Fire Department, and Oakland Urban Paths.

It was great weather for the build (though maybe a bit too warm for those working in full sun), and it was a festive event, with a DJ playing music, lunch for the participants, and a lively camaraderie between different groups working on different parts of the project. While the playground structure was getting a lot of the attention, volunteers were also putting in new plantings, cleaning up the park, constructing picnic tables and benches, and even creating a casual outdoor classroom area.

I talked with Clinton Pugh, who is the park supervisor (and grew up nearby), and he was excited not just about the work being done on Friday, but the longer-term potential of getting the community more involved in taking care of parks in East Oakland. I also talked with Alameda County Community Food Bank executive director Susan Bateson, who told me about some of the other work that Morgan Stanley is helping fund, a mobile food pantry to help cover the needs of school children through the summer months. According to the story on ABC 7 News, it's all part of a larger "Healthy Cities" initiative that Morgan Stanley is sponsoring. They're also partnering with La Clinica de la Raza to provide health screenings for children.

I was too busy with work to stay long, but I really wish I could have been there all day. A big thank you to everyone who helped make this happen, including KaBOOM! who brought their playground expertise (and a lot of workers, too, I think). And an extra special thank you to the volunteers (hi, Nancy!) who did tons of prep work in the days and weeks leading up to the event.

Lots more pictures from the build:

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If you're the curious sort like me and wondering about the name "Burckhalter", I don't yet know why the park name is usually spelled 'Burkhalter' but the tennis courts, nearby elementary school and Burckhalter Avenue are spelled 'Burckhalter'. But the school (and doubtless the other sites) are named for astronomer Charles Burckhalter. He was a teacher at the original Oakland High School, and the director of the Chabot Observatory for 38 years, overseeing its initial growth and move to Mountain Blvd. in Leona Heights. He also invented an apparatus to help take better pictures of solar eclipses, and plumbed the depths of Lake Tahoe (with a champagne bottle) to determine its 1,645 foot depth, a measurement later confirmed by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey.

urban paths: Rock and Walk II

Saturday was another Oakland Urban Paths walk focused on geology. Led by geology writer Andrew Alden, we explored part of the Hayward Fault in Eastmont Hills and the King Estates Open Space.

Thirty people and two dogs joined us for the short but vigorous walk which featured no stairs, only one improved walkway and lots of dirt paths. After climbing to the ridge, we walked into the nearby King Estates Open Space. The open space straddles the ridge, with views across I-580 to the hills and sweeping views out over the bay.

Andrew Alden

Andrew pointed out the approximate path of the fault, and noted features that indicate its presence. For example, the smaller ridges towards the west appear somewhat truncated. That's because the land to the west is moving northward relative to the main ridge. The Hayward fault is a strike-slip fault, which means most of the movement is horizontal. The movement over time is relatively small, so there aren't dramatic effects like those that can be seen in Parkfield, California. But if you know what to look for, you can see possible evidence of the ground moving.

Andrew adds: aseismic creep on the Hayward fault takes place at various rates between zero and 8-10 millimeters per year. Aseismic creep is measurable surface displacement along a fault in the absence of notable earthquakes, i.e., movement not from an earthquake. Less than 10 millimeters per year is a very small amount, but over a couple of years it is enough to crack pavement, twist doorways, etc.

We walked down the hill and past Holy Redeemer College to some of the streets off of Golf Links Road. While the cracks in the sidewalks, driveways and streets might be just from the hill sliding, given the proximity to the fault it seems likely some of it is from the movement along the fault. I also wondered about the two now empty lots above Golf Links—simple landslide, or caused by the fault? Regardless, the fault does present a significant risk in the event of an earthquake. These days, anyone who buys a house near a known fault line in California has to sign a special form saying they acknowledge the risk. And everyone who lives in earthquake country should be prepared with an emergency kit and a plan.

cracked sidewalk

We walked along several streets and back up over the ridge to our starting point. Along the way I chatted with a number of neighbors who wondered what the group was. Everyone I talked with was pleased to have the group exploring their neighborhood, and I was happy to learn about a group of neighbors that had recently cleaned up the one paved walkway we encountered along with the rest of the neighborhood.

Another fun, informative walk. Many thanks to Andrew for leading the walk and sharing his knowledge of geography. And thanks to everyone who joined us!

Lots more pictures:


Check out the USGS page on the Hayward Fault for some interesting maps.

Click here for a map of our route:

signs: Famous Chinese Food

Famous Chinese Food

Famous perhaps, but not famous enough to keep from closing. This sign is on MacArthur near 76th, and it appears to have been some time since the restaurant was a going concern.

unequal parking enforcement

There's an article on SF Gate about unequal parking enforcement in different areas of Oakland. A memo from senior parking enforcement supervisor Ronald Abernathy tells parking officers to give "courtesy notices" for parking on the sidewalk and parking in the wrong direction in Montclair and Broadway Terrace (AKA Upper Rockridge). Residents of East Oakland get a $40 to $100 ticket instead.

While there are some narrow streets in the hills that can require creative parking to keep the roads clear, other parts of Oakland have them, too (the article mentions Outlook Avenue which runs through Millsmont and Eastmont Hills.) Unequal enforcement of the parking regs is just wrong. Now that some parking officers have brought this to public attention, hopefully it'll get fixed quickly.