Today’s San Francisco Chronicle had a little squib about the future Oscar Park, which will occupy some of the space below the new bus ramps accessing the terminal.
Park near Transbay Transit Center being designed
Stephanie Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, January 2, 2012
If approved, the Transbay Transit Center would create a new, high-density downtown core with 1.3 million square feet of office space and 16,500 square feet of retail space, all in support of the Transbay Terminal, the city’s new transit hub.
The plans for the new area include Oscar Park, a 1.4-acre public space that would sit between First and Second streets and between Howard and Harrison streets, though its future is in doubt because the city’s redevelopment agency is expected to be shuttered.
The park would be separate from the 5.4-acre City Park planned for the roof of the center’s bus and rail terminal. What Oscar Park would look like, exactly, has yet to be determined. Architects are beginning work this winter and plan to release conceptual designs in March. The project’s estimated cost ranges from $12 million to $15 million.
Oscar Park won’t be an idyllic green pasture. Its distinctly urban setting sets the tone: An off-ramp from the Bay Bridge hovers overhead.
But the presence of the ramp isn’t expected to deter visitors, said Scott Cataffa of CMG Landscape Architecture, the firm designing the park. Most of the noise comes from drivers during morning rush hour, he noted, and the park would be used mostly in afternoons and evenings.
“We approach this as turning the whole off-ramp thing on its head,” said Mike Grisso, senior project manager from the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency.
That means the sidewalk along Essex Street could be widened from about 5 feet to as much as 40 feet. The traffic lanes would shrink, making way for a possible bike and pedestrian lane off the Bay Bridge and a grove of redwood trees.
The southwest corner of Folsom and Essex streets, which is now a fenced-in dirt lot, could be a dog park, basketball court or climbing gym.
And the main hub of activity could be a sloping surface between Clementina and Folsom streets, greeting those who reach the end of the vibrant corridor envisioned for Folsom. Now a parking lot, the space could play host to a plaza with a row of merchants underneath, a grove of trees or even a beach.
“There’s a real need for open space in this neighborhood,” Grisso said. “We try to take every opportunity we have to expand recreation opportunities in this neighborhood.”
The other ideas being floated by neighbors include a beer garden, a spot to watch outdoor movies and a farmers’ market. Whatever Oscar Park looks like, it won’t be a lawn and a set of swings.
“The best spaces,” Cataffa said, “are flexible.”