For years, environmental concerns have stalemated development in Hunters Point. And even though the plan’s been approved, the concerns being raised aren’t over. The Sierra Club and Audubon Society are filing a lawsuit against a proposed pedestrian, cyclist, and bus bridge that they claim will threaten residents and the local habitat.
Although the California State Parks Foundation once stood in solidarity with the two environmental groups, it appears to now be more receptive to the idea if they can come up with a better proposal.
Arthur Feinstein, Vice Chair of the Sierra Club San Francisco Bay Chapter Executive Committee sees it as more than just an issue of intrusion. “Taking away 23 acres of land from Candlestick Point State Park and putting a bridge through the park’s nature area is just another example of how the needs of this community are being ignored,” he says.
Complications of the project also include expanding the bridge if a new 49er Stadium gets built on shipyard property. The battle itself is a complex tangle of modernization, community development, environmental concerns, and a community that feels perpetually marginalized by city officials attempting to move it forward without looking back at all that needs to be done.
