Success!

Next time you drive past Shattuck and Aileen, check out the corner.  Notice anything different?  The bench is missing!  After a tough life and a recent scorching (and numerous emails and phone calls to Jane Brunner's office), the bus stop bench has been removed.  Hopefully this will cut down on the unsavory characters that enjoy impromptu parties on the corner and me less to talk about at our monthly Neighborhood Community Policing Meetings!  Take a moment to thank Maria at Jane Brunner's office for her hard work in making this happen:  MBarra-Gibson at oaklandnet dot com.  (I'd rather not reward her with Spam, so please replace the "at" and "dot" with their appropriate symbols)

Next on our to-do lists:  installing a crosswalk across Telegraph at 58th St.  If anyone has an interest in this, please email Maria, but could you also let me know as well?  I'd like to know how many others are as interested in seeing this happen as I am.   

Guest Post: The Undeniable Benefits of Street Trees

Five Reasons to Plant Street Trees

Frank Marquardt

My love affair with street trees is a product of growing up in Sacramento and the branching canopies of Sycamores that shaded my street.

I climbed these trees, played in their leaves, and took refuge in their shade on 100-degree days.

But as I’ve learned more about street trees I’ve discovered tangible and intangible benefits that go far beyond being playthings for kids.

http://www.treesaregood.com/treecare/tree_benefits.aspx

Are you interested in reducing crime? Worried about your (or a parent’s) health? Concerned with your property value?

Plant a street tree to see results.

#1: Street Trees Are Good For You

It’s true. Street trees are good for you. Visual exposure to settings with trees lower stress within just five minutes, according to a Texas A&M study.

#2: Street Trees Reduce Crime

That’s not all. A University of Illinois study on a public housing development in Chicago found 48% fewer property crimes—and 56% fewer violent crimes—in neighborhoods with more trees.

http://www.coloradotrees.org/benefits.htm#sociological

Who doesn’t want to see crime fall? You can do your part by planting a street tree.

#3: Street Trees Improve Property Value

Quite a few studies show that trees add value to a property. Here’s a couple:

http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Home/urban/features/propertyvalue/tabid/5459/Default.aspx

-       98% of realtors believe that mature trees have a strong to moderate impact on the saleability of homes valued $250,000 or more, according to research by Arbor National Mortgage and American Forests
-       Landscaping with trees can increase your property values as much as 20%, according to Management Information Services/ICMA (other research puts property value increases at between 5 and 25%)
-       Trees add $6.9 million to property values annually in San Francisco, according to a UC Davis study

Thinking of selling your home one day? You’d be wise to plant a street tree today.

#4: Views of Trees Offer Health Benefits

Notice how newer hospitals tend to have courtyards with trees and other vegetation? That’s because seeing trees is healing. Hospital patients with views of trees have fewer complications and lowered need for painkillers. If you’re caring for a sick parent or growing older yourself—and who of us isn’t?—planting street trees could make a positive difference on our personal health or those of somebody we love.

http://www.asianhhm.com/healthcare_management/hospitals_heal.htm

(Also worth noting: spending time with trees can boost immunity.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/06/health/06real.html?_r=1

#5: Trees Are Good for the Environment

They’re good in a lot of ways. (A “gift of nature,” according to some tree enthusiasts.) They can help reduce noise pollution from the 24 by attracting twittering birds and from wind blowing through them. They turn carbon to oxygen. Their roots take in water during heavy rains, lowering the chance of flooding and runoff.

http://www.treefolks.org/store_biglist.asp

http://www.carbonica.org/tree-cycle.aspx

Bonus Benefits

Street trees offer more than five benefits—they also can cause cars to slow down, reduce incidents of domestic violence, lower energy costs, and relieve attention deficit disorder in kids.  

http://www.coloradotrees.org/benefits.htm#pavement

http://lhhl.illinois.edu/

http://www.urbangardensweb.com/2009/07/01/ca-urban-forests-council/

Where Do I Get a Tree?

Good news: The City of Oakland has a program that will install a free 15 gallon tree, providing maintenance for the tree’s life. All you have to do? Water it for three years, mulch it, and keep it litter-free. They’ll stake it, prune it, and repair the sidewalk for you if there are troubles down the road. [Editor's note:  If your sidewalk strip is currently under inches of concrete, the City will remove the concrete before planting the tree, too!]

http://www.oaklandpw.com/Page555.aspx

Of course you can also get trees at nurseries—East Bay Nursery has a terrific selection. Need help with a planting? Let me know and I’ll see about organizing a tree-planting party.

http://www.eastbaynursery.com/eastbaynursery.com/Home/Home.php

Trees Are Beautiful

Undoubtedly, there are great financial, social, and environmental reasons to plant trees. But for me, the desire to have more trees in the neighborhood stems from something else. I find them beautiful. I love the lessons they offer us standing in one spot, gently swaying with the seasons. As we go busily from one place to another, they’re there, grounding us to our homes, our community, and each other.

From Christine:

Thanks so much for sharing this great information, Frank!  If anyone is interested in discussing street trees further, please leave a comment, contact friendsofidorapark@gmail.com or frank.m3@gmail.com.

What's the Deal With Idora Park, Anyhow?

For those who don't know, Idora Park is a small section in North Oakland where at the turn of a century, an amusement park gave hours of endless weekend entertainment.  When competing amusement parks choked out business, the site became an exclusive neighborhood of Storybook Style homes for the local Italian population.  Photos were taken from the alamedainfo site, which has quite an impressive collection!  Check it out!

I've done as much internet research as I could and have even spent an afternoon at the Oakland History Room, but much of this information comes from a lecture last Fall sponsored by the Oakland Heritage Alliance where Ray Raineri's energetic storytelling and an exhaustive set of postcard images shed some serious sunshine on what Idora Park once was.  Here's a few highlights:

-The entrance to the park was on Telegraph between 55th and 56th

-The rollercoaster sat along Shattuck Ave.  Note that it wasn't a rollercoaster, but a scenic railway.

-Among the many rides, ostriches also had their own area.  The feathers were used to make hats.

-While parks today seem geared towards children, amusement parks of the Victorian era were marketed towards adults looking to spend their paychecks on a little fun

-A picture postcard of you and yours sitting in an automobile could be had for a hefty sum (5 cents?  10 cents?  Can't remember the exact amount)  Cars were still an unattainable rarity, but sending a postcard to a friend while looking smugly into the camera and clutching the wheel:  priceless.

-The park featured a swimming pool and since swimming hadn't become a popular pastime, unisex swimsuits could be rented out for the day.  I can't find photos online, but they are hilarious.

-Before the amusement park, the area was called Ayala Park and made for a lovely picnic spot on a sunny Sunday.    

-It's been rumored that the windmill currently in the front yard of a house on Telegraph was part of the original park, however it was once a lemonade stand and has proven difficult to move since it was constructed with cast iron!  Darn, wouldn't it look great in our park?

Let Me Ask You a Question....

Image of postcard found on alamedainfo.com

Are you concerned with your property values?  Would you like to see your neighborhood look more pleasant?  Do you need a safe place to take the kids and dogs to run around?  We're looking for a few words from our neighbors to take to Caltrans (the owner of the lot) to convince them that we want this.  What would this park mean to you?  How would a park improve the neighborhood?  For an example, here's a couple that have already been left on our googlegroup:

"This dog park will provide a safe, legal place for people to exercise  
their dogs and to meet other dog owners from the area.

If it includes a children's play area and a community garden, as is  
proposed, it will also be a powerful force for building community in  
this part of Oakland.

Reclaiming unused and sometimes blighted property in this socially-
beneficial way will be an improvement for the Telegraph corridor.

If we are successful at creating this park, I will be active in its  
design, development, and maintenance. Building community is an  
activity that I have been passionate about for the last 20 years."
Don Link

"I'm less excited about the prospect of a dog park than I am about the
idea of having a park. I walk by the corner usually once a day or more
and having something pleasant to look at rather than a tangle of vines
and weeds would make me feel good. I grew up near a park and often
would go there to sit and contemplate the eternal verities—the
proximity of the freeway makes that less likely here, but it'd be nice
to have some park space around the corner.

My own desires for the space would include a community garden, native
plant landscaping, and an area for people to sit. I'd also like a
couple of trees--I'd love to see more street trees on Carberry and the
stretch of Aileen from Telegraph to Shattuck in general, because it
will help cool the heat reflecting from the cement on hot days, reduce
noise pollution, invite in birds, and enhance the quality of the
street thanks to their ability to positively affect people's
psychologically (a good list of benefits of an urban forest is here:
http://www.state.sc.us/forest/urbben.htm)."
Frank

Idora Park: The Concept Drawings

I'll be gussying up this drawing for our community meeting (TBD- we'll keep you posted), but here's Phase I of the Idora Park.  The bottom margin runs along Telegraph Ave and the left margin borders 56th St.  The small dog park sits expectantly at the corner, while the bocce ball court (shown here as basketball- like I said, edits to come!) segues into a grassy area. 

The children's play area is at the top of the page and a border of tall California native shrubs grow along a dry stream bed along the fence line shared with neighboring houses.  Proposed art includes a sidewalk to mimic roller coaster tracks, flag posts reminiscent of ones depicted in postcards of the original park (see the title of the blog above), and benches tattooed with colorful mosaics.  So many opportunities for art that references the history and culture of our neighborhood!  Any suggestions widely encouraged!

Dreaming Our Way to Reality!

Comfy sleeping nook or discarded furniture?  These mattresses currently resting at the end of Carberry and 56th St are just small examples of what's motivating us to renovate this area into a community park.  Imagine strolling by on your way to the Sunday farmer's market and stopping to chat with your neighbor walking their dog.  What about meeting some friends there on a Saturday afternoon to play some Bocce ball?  Getting the kids out of the house for awhile to climb on the play structure or do somersaults in the grass?  What do you think of all this?  Leave your thoughts here in the comments!