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Building connection among Berkeley blue-space users
City's new parking management to squeeze in ferry riders!!
City's new parking management to squeeze in ferry riders!!
Learn about the new paid parking plan for the ferry terminal and how it would affect all waterfront visitors, tenants and berthholders if the plan goes through.
Learn about the new paid parking plan for the ferry terminal and how it would affect all waterfront visitors, tenants and berthholders if the plan goes through.
Meet South Cove West lot Tuesday May 26 at 6 PM at southwest corner of South Cove West parking lot (near Adventure Playground) along the new sidewalk and bioswale on south side. If you are able, print out your own copy of the plan, and bring pens/pencils/highlighters and questions.
Meet South Cove West lot Tuesday May 26 at 6 PM at southwest corner of South Cove West parking lot (near Adventure Playground) along the new sidewalk and bioswale on south side. If you are able, print out your own copy of the plan, and bring pens/pencils/highlighters and questions.
Plan found here:
Plan found here:
BWCC seeks to create awareness of the diverse new and historical recreation opportunities at the Berkeley waterfront. Did you know that:
In 2025, cell phone mobility data shows that 677,800 people visited the marina. That's over 1800 visits a day.
The catchment area for visitors goes well beyond Berkeley, into Richmond and Oakland, and beyond. The waterfront is a regional resource for recreation, especially as inland residents seek escape from the heat.
More than 50% of Berkeley visitors are over 50 (city survey data).
Walking, boating and dogwalking are the most popular reasons to visit.
Fishers travel on average 24 miles one way to come to Berkeley shoreline to fish from Seawall Drive (survey data from this study).
Four nonprofits - Pegasus Project, Cal Sailing Club, Blue Water Foundation, Berkeley racing Canoe Center - in 2020 contributed $354,500 in public services in exchange for $40,863 in berth value (88% return on investment) under the berth fee waiver program for nonprofits.
BWCC was on the curatorial team for the Berkeley Historical Society and Museum's exhibit: On the Waterfront: The Other Side of Berkeley. Please visit!
WETA Berkeley Ferry Plan
WETA Berkeley Ferry Plan
Our current major concern with the access to the waterfront is the Berkeley pier-ferry WETA ferry terminal, which displaces recreational visitor access with commuter parking lots. The WETA Berkeley Ferry plan replaces the existing 3000' pier with a 580' pier and ferry terminal (see Jack London terminal for general idea) and a breakwater. The city says it will provide the money to extend the pier another 500' if feasible. Ferries are fun, but this one comes at the cost of inefficiency and loss of one of the most iconic places in the Bay Area that many people enjoy at low cost. In May 2025, BWCC submitted this scoping document on the project. In April 2026, we submitted public comment to the project's Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) posted on this page:
Click here to read BWCC's response to the Draft Environmental Impact Report
We found a woefully inadequate DEIR that does not fulfill requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Public Resources Code § 21000 et seq., and the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, title 14, §15000 et seq. (CEQA Guidelines). We are suggesting that they redo the analysis, provide missing details of the project and consider more economically feasible alternatives, such as a smaller scale ferry leaving from the marina like other recent ferries and a recreation-only pier.
Issues with the current plan:
Will the city use the reduced use of waterfront caused by pier closure and parking lot closures as baseline for calculating impacts? YES
Will alternative plans be entertained? NO
What evidence is there of "secondary benefits" of this plan? LITTLE
Is there evidence that this is an environmentally friendly transit option? NO!
How will fish, bird, whales and harbor porpoise be affected by new and ongoing major dredging and 28 high-speed ferry crossings per day? Of course!
Will the city charge parking to all non-ferry waterfront users to support WETA's ferry plan? YES
Is this only about wanting free parking? NO. See another example where city managers didn't get it right for cherished public spaces: https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/san-diego-parking-21336558.php
Could this plan just be setting the city up to just build a ferry terminal and ferry pier with no recreational extension? YES, and you get to pay for it.
Events
Events
Meetings:
First BWCC meeting, Feb 15, 3:30 pm, Meeting minutes.
Second BWCC, March 8: Berkeley Yacht Club, 10 am Meeting minutes
Other News
Other News
Public Access Issues
Public Access Issues
12/11/2025 BWCC has sent this communication to the Bay Conservation and Development Commission asking for their review of parking fee plan for the South Cove and J/K dock lots which provide access to the baitshop, Adventure Playground, bay viewing and watersport recreation in the south basin. After review of related planning documents, BWCC expressed concerns that:
The City of Berkeley is installing parking meter infrastructure without proper BCDC review and in violation of the grant guidelines for the Berkeley waterfront marina and parks.
This effort, undertaken without meaningful community input, disproportionately burdens low-income visitors and substantially reduces low-cost shoreline access for recreation, community-building and personal well-being.
The plan is an example of piecemealing a larger project to facilitate approval of the ferry and development proposals which have been neither reviewed nor approved, with potentially major impacts on public access.
The impact affects not only Berkeley residents but also many regional visitors who would visit but for the parking fees in key recreational areas, so that the policy discriminates against non-Berkeley residents, contrary to public trust requirements.
Plans to alienate revenue from the parking fees, even if minimal, from the waterfront violates the public trust mandate for this shoreline.
Read the letter for details and stay tuned to find out about BCDC's response.
Photo collections
Photo collections
Courtesy of Paul Kamen
https://people.well.com/user/pk/waterfront/photo-of-the-week/PhotoIndex.html
https://people.well.com/user/pk/waterfront/photo-of-the-week/Sorted-List.htm
Courtesy of Camille Antinori
Links to City Meetings and Offices
Links to City Meetings and Offices
Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Commission
Berkeley City Council: council@berkeleyca.gov
City Manager: CManager@berkeleyca.gov
Marina office: Marina@berkeleyca.gov or 510-981-6742 (after hours maintenance: 510-649-5892)
Recreational Activities
Recreational Activities
Kayaking (see UC Aquatics Center for rentals)
Bay Area Sea Kayakers and sea kayaking classes
Dog walking
Fishing
Contacts/Staff
Contacts/Staff
Director: Camille Antinori, camilleantinori at duck dot com
Treasurer: Gary Casterline, garycasterline at duck dot com
Intern for Research and Community Outreach: Zora Kitwana Whitfield
Mission
Mission
There are many communities of waterfront users at the Berkeley waterfront - dog walkers, sailors, boatowners, kayakers, swimmers, families coming to picnic, school kids on field trips to Adventure Playground and Shorebird Park, fishers along the shoreline, and sunset seekers to view one of the most iconic images in California. BWCC’s goal is to develop projects that raise awareness of these groups - including historical perspectives - and enhance the sense of community at the Berkeley waterfront.
A Berkeley Partners for Parks affiliate
Donations to BWCC can be sent to Berkeley Partners for Parks, PO Box 12521, Berkeley, CA 94712. Please make check payable to Berkeley Partners for Parks and be sure to put "Berkeley Waterfront Community Coalition" in the memo field of the check.
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