The meeting to scope out ferry terminal possibilities was held at the Library in Albany on Thursday, March 15. There were those for a terminal at Buchanan Street, and those against it. The presentations to the WTA were low-key and civil.
The one comment which really caught our attention was made by the new director of the Waterfront Committee. He made reference to the tree sitters in the Cal oak trees, and predicted that similar obstructive activity might greet attempts to build a ferry terminal in Albany. He said Berkeley wants the ferry, so let them have it. He said that Berkeley has offered to provide a shuttle service from the terminal to Golden Gate Fields--to carry gamblers back and forth on race days. Actually, we're not sure he said this last thing.
But our source within the U.C. Berkeley administration did tell us that, contrary to the position of the city, Cal would love for Albany to have the ferry. "Unless we get a quake powerful enough to shake those sitters out of the trees, having them lured over to Albany by ferry terminal construction is our best shot, even though it's a long one," she said.
Make no mistake about it, we at this site are all green, and not just on Saint Patty's Day either. So we are happy to pass along energy saving tips as we come across them.
As the photo below illustrates, this clever Albany car owner has disabled one of his headlights, so when he forgets to turn his lights off, his battery runs down only half as fast.
As the photo (left) illustrates, the pedestrian crosswalks on lower Solano Avenue can be a bit confusing, since there are three different corridors to chose from. We asked city officials to explain them better and received the following instructions for their use, which we happily pass along to you as a public service:
--The somewhat smaller #2 corridor on the right between the heavy yellow line and the fainter yellow line is 50% safe and may be be used as a backup if, but only if, the #1 corridor is too crowded with pedestrians to let you pass easily.
--The very narrow #3 corridor on the left is only 10% safe and should be resorted to only in extraordinary circumstances, like if the Post Office is about to close.