Mission Peak Stanford Avenue Staging Area Temporarily Closed Through Tuesday, April 21, 2020
Mission Peak Ohlone College Staging Area Remains Open
The Park District is closing the Stanford Avenue Staging Area at Mission Peak Regional Preserve, through Tuesday, April 21, 2020, with additional discussion at the District’s Board meeting on Tuesday, April 21, 2020. The Stanford Avenue Staging Area will be fenced off with no trail access effective the evening of Friday, April 17, 2020. Mission Peak Regional Preserve will remain accessible from the nearby Ohlone College Staging Area.
The City of Fremont has requested that the District close the Stanford Avenue Staging Area through Sunday, May 3, 2020.
“The Park District is temporarily closing the Stanford Avenue Staging Area to all access through Tuesday, April 21, 2020, to honor the request of the City of Fremont,” said Park District Board President Ellen Corbett. “We appreciate our strong and positive partnership with our neighbor city, providing open space and recreational opportunities for our shared communities.”
“We thank the public for their cooperation and understanding during these extraordinary times as we work hard to balance the public’s health and safety,” added Corbett.
The Stanford Avenue Staging Area typically gets very busy during the Spring, and the Park District has specific protocols in place to manage and prevent unsafe overcrowding, including parking lot closures and electronic public safety signage.
The Park District has kept parks open as much as possible during COVID-19. While some parks, parking lots and staging areas have been closed, most of the Park District’s 125,000 acres of parklands and 1,300 of trails remain open and accessible to the public.
People need parks – now more than ever – as they are viewed as essential to health and wellness, including stress relief. Current state and local “Stay-at-Home” orders allow for “outdoor recreation activities” as an “essential activity” as long as social distancing is followed. Local health agencies have specifically asked that the Park District keep parks open as much as possible.
“The Park District is doing everything we can to keep parks open and safe,” said Park District General Manager Robert Doyle. “We have been educating visitors about proper social distancing with the media, social media, and signage in parks, but we need the public’s help.”
“We need visitors to be respectful and follow all COVID-19 safety rules and guidelines,” added Doyle.
Due to the COVID-19 “Stay-at-Home orders, Regional Parks have been busy. To limit overcrowding and help maintain social distancing, the Park District temporarily closed some parks and park areas on Wednesday, March 25, 2020. The Park District will continue to monitor park use and visitation closely with additional closures possible to prevent overcrowding or comply with state or local health agency orders.
The Park District’s Tuesday, April 21, 2020, Regular Board Meeting is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. and can be heard via the District’s Youtube audio stream. Pursuant to Governor Newsom’s Executive Order No. N-29-20 and the Alameda County Health Officer’s current Shelter in Place Order, effective March 31, 2020, the East Bay Regional Park District Headquarters will not be open to the public and the Board of Directors and staff will be participating in the Board Meeting via phone/video conferencing. For information about how to provide public comments, visit the Public Meetings/Notices page.
For up-to-date information about COVID-19 park-related closures, visit www.ebparks.org/coronavirus.
Dave Mason, Public Information Supervisor
510-544-2217
dmason@ebparks.org
