Heads up re:
ROAD CLOSURES in Marin Headlands and access to Cavallo Point
and Ft. Baker----------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, February 27, 2010 (SF Chronicle)
Improving access to Marin Headlands grandeur
Peter Fimrite, Chronicle Staff Writer
http://www.nps.gov/goga/parknews/2009-09025.htm
Hikers, bikers and motorists will be cut off from several roads and a
large scenic overlook in the Marin Headlands for much of the year while
federal contractors improve access to historic military fortifications and
world-famous coastal panoramas.
The work is part of a reconfiguration by the Golden Gate National
Recreation Area of the network of former seacoast defenses on the
southernmost end of Marin County.
Dubbed Project Headlands, the improvements over the next four years will
represent the most dramatic change to the often fog- and wind-swept region
since the military abandoned the dunes and rugged cliffs in the late
1960s.The project will require the upper part of the road to the top of Hawk
Hill and the road connecting Fort Baker with Sausalito to be closed for
long stretches so workers can build new overlooks, bike lanes and widen
the area's most popular routes.
All of it is now part of the 77,500-acre Golden Gate National Recreation
Area, which was formed in an effort to prevent developments like the city
of 20,000 called Marincello that was planned for the area after the
military pulled up stakes. Lots of tourists
The $8.7 million first phase of the plan will include construction of a
roundabout at the intersection of Conzelman and McCullough roads, where
rental-car-driving tourists now frequently turn around, creating a hazard.
A bicycle lane will be added for the hundreds of cyclists who ride up the
hill on weekends.
The turnout and parking area at Battery Spencer will be widened next year
and pedestrian crossings and a walkway will be added. The work, which will
continue in 2012 and 2013, will also include native plant restoration and
habitat improvements for the mission blue butterfly, red-legged frog and
steelhead trout, according to the plan. Closures start Monday
The closures will start Monday with East Road, which is used by many
bicyclists to ride from the Golden Gate Bridge through Fort Baker, into
Sausalito and back. That route will be closed to all traffic from 7 a.m.
to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday until the end of May, according to
Alexandra Picavet, the recreation area spokeswoman. People heading to Fort
Baker should use Bunker Road, she said.
Starting April 1, Conzelman Road will be closed to everyone, including
pedestrians and bicyclists, starting at the intersection of McCullough
Road. The closing of that road, which will continue until the beginning of
October, will cut off the blustery peak known as Hawk Hill that serves as
a coastal flyway for migrating hawks and raptors.
Picavet said intermittent traffic controls will be implemented on
McCullough Road down to the Rodeo Valley, but bicycles will be prohibited.
The Point Bonita lighthouse will continue to be accessible using Bunker
Road, and the Kirby Cove campground will remain open during the
renovation.
"The improvements will be amazing," Picavet said. "It will be hugely
better for bicyclists when it is done.
