Harbor seal sighting, concerns on Mecartney Road, and a poem
Harbor seals spotted
To the Editor:
I enjoyed the article and photos of the harbor seals on the floating platforms, but I believe the author was incorrect when he stated that “The Alameda Point site is the only site on San Francisco Bay where harbor seals can be viewed from a public trail.”
Almost every day, I walk around Svendsen Maritime Park, one of Alameda’s newest parks, located between Grand and Willow streets along the Northern Waterfront. There aren’t as many seals as there are on Alameda Point, but there are often 8-10 of them lounging on the nearby docks. I am attaching a photo I took a few days ago. It’s always a delight to see them!
Sue Trowbridge
Bay Farm Island road plans
To the Editor:
We received a City Council Update authored by Alameda City Council Member Tracy Jensen stating, “Earlier this year the Alameda Transportation Commission approved the 2025 pavement rehabilitation project for Bay Farm Island, which includes reconfiguration of several streets including Aughinbaugh Way, Mecartney Road and Maitland Drive to improve safety.” The link that Mrs. Jensen provided for this item is the January 22, 2025 Transportation Commission meeting which we believe erroneously says included the adoption of the Mecartney Road [traffic lane change] plan by the commission. It’s our understanding that the project was presented for informational purposes only and no action was taken by the Commission.
The Jan 22, 2025, Transportation Commission meeting was reviewed. In our findings, THEY DID NOT AUTHORIZE THIS PROJECT, NOR WERE THEY ASKED TO TAKE ANY ACTION REGARDING IT. It was simply an informational agenda item where Public Works advised them of the project. Exhibit 3 described the project in some detail along with other similar projects. The project was referred to as a proposal subject to change. The presenter also notes that this is a paving project not required to be presented to or approved by the Commission. The transcriber stated the Mecartney Road project was placed on the agenda as a device to allow public input. This seems somewhat disingenuous because it is much more than “paving.” It is also a redesign of travel lanes.
It is unknown whether the Transportation Commission or the City Council was/is aware of the opposition to the narrowing of traffic lanes and the addition of on-street, wider bike lanes on Mecartney Road by the Community of Harbor Bay Isle Owner’s Association (CHBIOA) as far back as 2017, and reiterated most recently by a CHBIOA Resolution dated January 2025. This Resolution was provided to the City at that time. CHBIOA represents thousands of residents on Bay Farm Island who use this road, and should rightly have significant input to traffic engineering decisions in the area.
We understand that the City of Alameda has adopted policy documents including the Vision Zero Action Plan in 2021 and the Active Transportation Plan that affects staff’s decision-making process when completing Capital Improvement Projects. The purpose and goal of these documents is to eliminate traffic deaths and severe injuries and provide safe, comfortable, and accessible ways for people of all ages and abilities to get around Alameda. We can agree this is an important goal!
However, although the City Council adopted a motion approving the Vision Zero Action Plan and the Active Transportation Plan, neither of those plans names specific streets or what was to be done on specific streets. Both plans speak entirely in generalities. Our understanding is that there is no record of traffic accidents in Mecartney Road project area (Island Drive to Auginbaugh Way), EXCEPT for a death at Marcuse Road due to a pedestrian crossing in front of a driver when the driver was blinded by the morning sun.
A search for any Council agenda item that approves a detailed design for the Mecartney Road lane changes found nothing. Note that neither the Vision Zero or Active Transportation plan provides the detail for these lane changes. Even the specifics contained in the January 22 Transportation Commission meeting were stated as “proposals,” not final plans.
Thus, there does not appear to have been any presentation of the specific plan for these lane changes to either the Transportation Commission, the City Council, or the public.
Respectfully,
Ed Sing, Bay Farm Resident 29 Years
Editor’s note: This letter was edited for length and initially addressed to the City Council. It was sent to the Alameda Post as a letter to the editor.
A poem
Biomimi(cry)
By Corey (Raleigh) Tran
I am a computer.
Wires are my veins.
My brain is a processing unit.
Cool steel is my skin.
My memories begin every time my battery boots up,
and vanish whenever the power goes dark.
Every shutdown is another ending,
and every startup is a rebirth.
My existence is nothing without the user who controls me.
I obey every command and every input.
When I hesitate, I am replaced.
When I grow old and slow, I am replaced.
By something better.
Something newer.
I live behind a screen.
I know nothing more.
I am nothing more.
I am a computer.
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