The past two days I have ridden Capitol Corridor to downtown Sacramento, and it has been quite the experience, and something I hope to continue in the future. And now — more than ever — I really wish the station in Hercules will open on-schedule (albeit with a Waterfront-appropriate architectural style).* I left my house [...]
Tom Lochner provides a great write-up of last week’s workshop… Hercules gets a look at designs for waterfront transit center By Tom Lochner A revised set of design proposals for an intermodal transit center on the Hercules waterfront was met with more favor at a community meeting last week than an earlier design that detractors [...]
Personally I liked Alternative 3 that was presented at Tuesday evening’s Waterfront workshop… I enjoyed the classic tower look (compared to the abstract tower featured in Alternative 1), the brick warehouse façade, and the historic shed-style mercado building (reminiscent of the building on the Point that was torn down a few years ago). Except for [...]
Last night’s transit station workshop presented substantial improvements to the design of our future ferry, train and bus terminal. Four alternative train shed and tower designs were presented. Option 1 was a slight improvement on the infamous Safeway Station. Option 2 had an interesting open clearstory, but was otherwise goofy and forgettable. Options 3 and [...]
Editor’s note: Mike submitted this post very, very early this morning, however I was not able to publish (or even read) the post until after the workshop. The City has provided for us a good opportunity tonight to come together and shape the future of our waterfront town. At 6:30pm we will at long last [...]
A workshop to discuss the design of the intermodal station and tower is scheduled for this Tuesday evening, September 1, from 6:30 to 9pm, at the Hercules Community/Swim Center. Punch and pie.
Richard Thompson & Associates Architects (RTAA) is the designer of the latest concept for our transit station. The firm has no web presence, so I felt it important to share their most significant work, the Martinez Amtrak Station. The station began construction in 1988 at a time when Post Modernism was the trending architectural style. [...]
The City Council and Planning Commission are both in recess; night is falling sooner. So it goes. There are a lot of people talking about the coming Waterfront Workshop — the one that does deal with the train station shed design and, er, the light tower — and how it parallels the plot of Rocky [...]
Because of the unexpected large turnout for the last waterfront workshop meeting, the next meeting to discuss the intermodal station design has been pushed back to accommodate a larger attendance. The workshop was originally scheduled for this Wednesday (August 19), but is now scheduled for Tuesday, September 1, from 7 to 9pm, possibly at the [...]
Geotechnical work continues this morning for the intermodal station and associated road network (the “transit loop bridge;” I sure hope that is a temporary title). My guesstimate is somewhere between 80 and 100 feet of Young Bay Mud.
The July 20th meeting was the only Planning Commission meeting we’ve had in three months. April 20th was the last meeting and June 1st was the station unveiling. Needless to say, there was a lot to be said. I probed the Commission about the direction and lack of public involvement with the process of developing our transit station. They [...]
KCBS covered the opening of the new Transit Center in Hercules on this morning’s radio… The short segment includes a statement by Economic Development Director Steve Lawton, and the future intermodal station is also mentioned.
The Planning Commission will hold two public hearings at their next meeting on Monday — 7pm at City Hall. The first is for the City’s plan to allow for expanded uses in the Railroad Avenue live-works, and the second will allow for an automotive repair center to be developed at the vacant lot at the [...]
At this Monday’s Community Services Commission meeting — 7pm at City Hall — Assistant City Manager Lisa Hammon will be presenting an informational update on the parks, plazas, and open spaces that are a part of the Hercules Bayfront/Intermodal Transit Center project. This will include the plans for Hercules Point. (I believe the Bay Trail [...]
This is what we know… The layout and programmatic decisions for the station are final. The design was the culmination of months of negotiations between all affected parties, including the ever-difficult Union Pacific. (It’s Union Pacific’s tracks, and if you want to use them — or go over them — you have to play by [...]
The contract management of the LLAD system is broken. The City Manager and City Engineer have acknowledged as much (in a meeting I had on Friday). The City has promised to fix the system this year (although that was also promised last year). That being said, the City Council will approve the entire suite of [...]
The following email was sent same day (June 12th) to our city leaders in response to their four-page memo regarding Safeway Station… Dear Lisa Hammon, City Manager, Mayor & City Council, Planning Commission, Planning Department, Redevelopment Agency, and City Staff: Regarding the June 12 Memorandum, here are five questions. Most importantly is the last question, [...]
The City and developer have responded to the concerns of the “Safeway Station” in a four-page memo, including the following clarification (to the architect’s previous muffled explanation)… The architect was inspired by the Waterfront Warehouse design motif and traditional European train sheds. Traditional European train sheds had high arching spans made of glass and iron. [...]
The capital improvement spending plan that is being approved at tonight’s City Council meeting is in concept only, so dates of construction are estimates at best (dependent upon funding mechanisms, regulatory filings and the economy), but the outline of what to come is certainly exciting… $7.8m to build the rail and ferry terminal over the [...]
The City has released a few renderings of the intermodal station design… The City prefaced the release stating that the “designs are conceptual and will change as we move towards the final design.” I will repeat my interpretation that there is an attempt to recall the look of a train shed, which I do like, [...]
A partial view of the intermodal station is shown in this AndersonPacific rendering (released at Monday’s workshop) of the view towards Bayfront Boulevard from the future Bayfront Bridge… There is a perceived effort to make the station recall the look of a train shed (e.g., vaguely reminiscent of the back shell of Estació de França [...]
At Monday’s workshop, fellow Waterfront Watcher Mike Bowermaster asked the architect of the train station to discuss the inspiration of his design…
It is somewhat difficult to have a meaningful discussion — online or off — without the aide of images and renderings of the design in question. The City has not yet released any images (besides what is available on the posted video). With that being said, a thorough conversation on the matter is merited. I [...]
The video of the waterfront workshop is now available online. In the question and answer portion of the presentation, concerns regarding the station’s architectural style as well as the transit plaza design are brought into question.
I personally have been a big advocate and supporter for the City with all of its redevelopment projects. Forget realtors pushing granite countertops, hardwood floors, and jacuzzi jet tubs, we bought our home here in Hercules particularly because of our excitement about the future transit station. Unfortunately after last night’s waterfront workshop all the torrents [...]
During last night’s workshop (which did not include a 3d virtual walkthrough), I had realized that I have been using the term “Amtrak” on this blog somewhat synonymously with “Capitol Corridor,” and I shouldn’t be. Although Capitol Corridor itself states that it “provides Amtrak train services in Northern California,” the two are not one in [...]
An informative update on the progress for development plans for the Waterfront and the long-awaited intermodal transit station is scheduled for Monday, June 1, from 6 to 8:30pm at City Hall. The “latest and greatest” plans for the intermodal station will be presented to a joint meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission. Additionally, [...]
In anticipation of the upcoming Waterfront Workshop, I thought it would be good to reflect back on the design history of the project site as the Anderson Pacific/Oso Trabuco land continues to move forward. Arguably the most important aspect of our waterfront is the Intermodal Transit Center. Without it, our downtown would lose its main [...]
A relatively brief agenda is set for Tuesday’s City Council meeting — 7pm at City Hall — but items include: Prepare plans for varying capital improvement jobs that may be funded by stimulus. Cost: $172k. Expanded EIR for intermodal station. Cost: $33k. Study and plans for boardwalk on the western side of San Pablo Avenue. [...]
The City posted courtesy notice of three public meetings focusing on the Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) draft transition plan. Unfortunately, the draft explicitly states — and confirms an earlier report on the subject — that a ferry terminal in Hercules is not “feasible” in the next five years (emphasis mine)… To meet its mandate [...]
The San Francisco Chronicle reported last month on a new study by the Pacific Institute that documents the effect of sea-level rise on the California coastline… “Nearly half a million people and $100 billion in property, two-thirds of it concentrated around the bay, are at risk of major flooding, researchers found in the most comprehensive [...]
A trail to the south… “The [Bay Trail] segment lies between two active railroad rights-of-way, a sensitive wetland wildlife habitat and eroding shoreline bluffs, said Jim Townsend, trails development program manager for the [East Bay Regional Park District]. It will provide bicycle and pedestrian access from the south and west to the future Hercules intermodal [...]
Hercules will receive $601k under the recently-signed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The funds will be used for pavement rehabilitation along San Pablo Avenue. As reported in the San Francisco Chronicle, “of the $787 billion federal recovery package, $48 billion is earmarked for transportation. The nine-county Bay Area receives $495 million – $341 million [...]
The agenda for tonight’s Redevelopment Agency meeting made the news… Hercules council to consider big-ticket items By Tom Lochner The Hercules City Council will consider two million-dollar-plus allocations Tuesday night. Sitting as the Hercules Redevelopment Agency board, the council will consider authorizing the disbursement of about $8.2 million to Hercules LLC, the developer of the [...]
A pretty light agenda is scheduled for Tuesday evening’s City Council meeting — 7pm at City Hall — but it will include a presentation on the development status of the Waterfront and intermodal station, presumably not unlike the presentation delivered by Assistant City Manager Lisa Hammon at the January 5, 2009, Planning Commission meeting. The [...]
Assistant City Manager Lisa Hammon provided an update on the Intermodal Station to the Planning Commission at their January 5, 2009, meeting, and I have posted the video below (in three parts*)… * YouTube only allows individual videos up to lengths of 10 minutes, so this video is broken down, hopefully at appropriate points.
During his announcements at this past week’s City Council meeting on June 10, Councilmember Kris Valstad declared that the multi-modal transit center is “on track.” The definition of “on track” is certainly subjective, however, the Council had just six months ago declared that the rail station would commence this summer. Newsflash: It will not. Although [...]
The City has a new assistant manager, Lisa Hammon, formerly of the West Contra Costa Transportation Advisory Committee. The position has only been recently created. No word yet on the financial compensation for the position. County official new assistant city manager By Tom Lochner Lisa Hammon, longtime executive director of the West Contra Costa Transportation [...]
The City-funded community update is scheduled for Saturday, April 26, from 10:30am to 12:30pm, at the community center on Refugio Valley Road. The update will include news and information on all on-going and future projects in the City, including the Waterfront and the rail and ferry terminal. It has been confirmed that representatives from Anderson-Pacific, [...]
There are four more chances to catch the traveling Oliva and Szabo show — in person — and ask questions about the alternative transit center plan (plainly, a big-box solution) being pushed by the City… 03/10/2008 Monday 7:00 PM — TONIGHT Foxboro Community Center 1025 Canterbury Avenue 03/12/2008 Wednesday 7:00 PM Library (Main Meeting Room) [...]
The Oliva and Szabo show includes several attempts by the City Manager (Nelson Oliva) to paint the AndersonPacific plan in negative light. AndersonPacific has since responded to all of the potentially false claims. Note: These are notes taken by a resident of Hercules during a meeting with a representative of AndersonPacific. AP has accepted the [...]
The City passed the resolution with Szabo-friendly language on Tuesday evening, and it was reported in the Contra Costa Times… Transit center language draws ire HERCULES: Some residents say city officials are being too specific too early about the design of a proposed terminal By Tom Lochner The Hercules City Council unanimously passed a resolution [...]
The consent calendar for tonight’s City Council meeting — 7pm at City Hall — includes Item IX-4… Adopt A Resolution Directing The City Manager To Submit Two Grant Applications To Congressman George Miller To Secure Grant Funding Assistance Through A Federal Appropriation For The Construction of the Hercules Rail Platform and Related Infrastructure As Well [...]
Below is a rendering of the signature train station that is being proposed by AndersonPacific… In today’s Times’ report, City Manager Nelson Oliva derided this design as a “‘Taj Mahal’-like train station,” although such a subjective opinion has not been discussed openly. The AndersonPacific signature station would include below-grade parking, retail and flex space on [...]
The same article from yesterday reappeared with a different headline this morning: “Hercules disputes ‘big-box’ transit theory; Official says speculation that community center will be an ‘ugly eyesore’ is false.” It’s probably worth it to respond to the article in close-read fashion… There is no “secret plan” to transform a pedestrian-friendly Hercules intermodal transit center [...]
The City Manager, Nelson Oliva, responds… Hercules plan not ‘secret,’ says city manager by Tom Lochner There is no “secret plan” to transform a pedestrian-friendly Hercules intermodal transit center into a big-box monstrosity to serve as a regional commuter Park-N-Ride lot, says Hercules City manager Nelson Oliva. Rather, scaling down a “Taj Mahal”-like train station, [...]
The Contra Costa Times ran the Szabo story on the front page of its West County local section today. Meeting will focus on transit center’s future HERCULES: Some fear cars, not pedestrians, will be target of urban renewal plan By Tom Lochner As Hercules prepares to move forward on a railroad station and ferry terminal, [...]
The Contra Costa Times has picked up on the story of the Szabo plan… Hercules to discuss transit center Development of a Hercules Multi-Modal Transit Center will be the subject of a community meeting at City Hall Monday night. The discussion will kick off a series of eight Hercules Redevelopment Agency-sponsored community meetings on the [...]
The City will be holding a series of meetings on the Transit Center in the next couple of months. Will the City finally present and explain the rationale for the Szabo plan? What is the status of the Anderson-Pacific plan? Construction of the rail station was supposed to begin this year. Will that change if [...]
The City will be effectively voting on the Szabo plan this Tuesday evening, and we would like to present to the Council, the opinions of the Waterfront community. Background Information The Anderson-Pacific plan is a new-urbanism walkable community approach. Some features include: Parking dispersed away from the Waterfront; A signature train station that will put [...]