A Resource Forsaken
For decades, the vistas of San Francisco Bay from the ridgeline along Grizzly Peak Blvd were a public resource, valued regionally for beauty, perspective, and setting. Then in the fall of 2020, in the depths of the pandemic, parking was summarily closed off. Various statements were cast about, saying some people had misbehaved, as if enforcement were a novel concept, and that fireworks had been lit off and fire hazard was an issue, but the pullouts remained prohibited to parking and barricaded by logs through all of winter — and then through another year and winter.
As with any breach of easement, the denial of long-established public access has not been entirely well received. Perhaps it's time for review of a public policy change that never inclusively consulted stakeholders to begin with?
Blinded by Fixatopia
We can't carelessly navigate by tunnel vision. If data exists indicating that a change in established public policy was warranted, then it should be presented in full context, with other relevant data, such as the value of shared resources, a value both direct and symbolic. If we're saying that we can't have nice things (e.g. public vistas) because we now can't afford enforcement or because of climate change, then the totality of leadership, tax, policing, and environmental policy choices must account for such consequences — all the way up through the highest levels of government. What we don't need, and certainly can't justify in one of the wealthiest regions of the wealthiest state of the wealthiest nation on Earth, is to stumble in a cloud of self-imposed ignorance from one exercise of fixatopic governance to another. We need to be connecting the dots, contributing to an increasingly inclusive and coherent public policy, a public policy of common good, if not for ourselves then for those who will inherit the Earth from us.
If only there were a place to go, to get above it all, to collect one's thoughts and reflect on the bigger picture…
Spoof "No Parking" signs were posted on the logs barricading pullout access, calling attention to the process and impact of closure. Some are pictured here.
Oh, Science
Research into the societal roots of violence, including homicides, has found that the highest correlations are with social capital, trust in institutions, and social mobility — even more so than with income inequality,
So, while we struggle with the diaphanous origins of violence as our faces are pressed up against immediate policy choices around crime, the science informs us that one of the surest ways to turn up the heat under societal violence, such as homicides, would be to clumsily eliminate a shared resource otherwise enjoyed by folks in nicer parts of town.
And, for your part?
Address concerns to officials responsible, such as:
Mayor of Oakland
510-238-3141
officeofthemayor@oaklandca.gov
#ReturnTheVistas
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