‘Water Trail' gives better access to Bay

Editorial
Tuesday, October 18, 2005

The wide choice of outdoor recreation activities appealing to a range of enthusiasts is one of the things that put the Bay Area among the urban areas with the best quality of life. The San Francisco Bay Area Water Trail, a legislative measure just signed into law by Gov. Schwarzenegger, opens the way to add another such gem to our shoreline.

Calling it a “water trail” is something of a misnomer. This will not be a connected series of pathways like the Bay Trail walking and bicycling route. Rather, the proposed Bay Area Water Trail is envisioned as a mapped series of convenient access points where kayaks, canoes, windsurfing boards and other nonmotorized small craft can be unloaded from car tops and launched into the Bay.

Advocates of the Water Trail, such as Bay Access, say they have identified more than 80 potential launch sites around the Bay, including San Francisco's Crissy Field. Preferred sites offer safe parking and are near hotels or campsites.

The Water Trail does not budget any money or require any new launching sites to be built. What it does is direct the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission to prepare a plan of potential sites within two years, which would be implemented by the California Coastal Conservancy. At some point in the future, the conservancy might finance minor construction improvements.

Empowering more people to get up close and personal with the Bay Area's largest open space aside from the Pacific Ocean is likely to not only provide new ways to have fun and relax on the Bay, but also to foster a feeling among local residents that they are connected to this unique public resource.

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