Swimmers who enjoy using the pool at Strawberry Canyon have been nervously eyeing the parking lot there the past few months.
The L-shaped Witter lot adjacent to the swim center that used to hold cars is now dotted with large trailers (pictured). The temporary structures were put there to hold the people who will be displaced when construction starts on the seismic upgrade of the football stadium.
Where, some Berkelyside readers have asked, will people park during summer recreational swim times?
Well, the short answer is that space will be at a premium, but there will be spaces.
The L-shaped lot used to hold about a 100 cars. Now there is room for 33 cars, far too few spaces to accommodate the flow of swimmers on a nice summer afternoon.
Now that classes at UC Berkeley are almost finished for the year, the university plans to open the outfield of the nearby Levine Fricke softball field for parking, according to Seamus Wilmot, UC’s acting Director of Parking and Transportation. That will add 36 spaces, bringing the number of parking places to 69. The new area should be open sometime in mid-June.
“We are doing everything we currently can to ensure continued ease of access for as many pool patrons as possible,” Wilmot said in an e-mail. “Most of the spaces will be set aside for those using the Strawberry Canyon swimming pool, and parking will be limited to three hours to encourage turn-over.”
“Parking will be monitored by enforcement staff and all cars parked in the lot and on the softball outfield will use a “pay-and-display” parking machine, similar to those found throughout the city. The machine is located next to the entrance booth to the Strawberry Canyon Pool. The rate for parking is $1/hr.”
When those lots fill up, swimmers will find themselves walking. Parking is illegal on Centennial Drive. Parking is available in UC’s new lot on College and Channing, although that is a long trek to the pool.
[Hat-tip: Michelle Quinn].
Photo: Tracey Taylor.
