Tiburon advances bayfront park upgrade project

Tiburon plans to hire landscape architects to design upgrades for Richardson Bay Lineal Park.

The Town Council voted 4-1 on May 21 to hire the designers for two sand volleyball courts, a basketball court, a shaded picnic area, a wall ball court and a sound buffer at the site of the filled-in sewage ponds.

“Our approach here was really enhancement and not transformation,” said Michael Moon, a member of the Tiburon Parks, Open Space and Trails Commission.

“This is the crown jewel of Tiburon’s park space,” said Liz Judge, also a commissioner.

The play courts and picnic area would anchor a makeover of the park’s southern end. The McKegney Green soccer field borders the site.

Other potential improvements were discussed.

Greenwood Beach would be left alone, apart from adding walking trails. The parking lot at Blackie’s Pasture would be paved to handle more cars, and a fenced-in dog park would be created.

The town plans a “nature-based playscape” farther east, and the knoll beyond the sewage ponds would have better stairs and seating. Some bike trails would be rerouted.

The council vote comes after a two-year planning process and additional outreach by Moon and Judge, who discussed possible improvements for the park with neighboring homeowner associations. They also polled Del Mar Middle School students.

“I can’t overstate how thorough and how much work has gone into working with Tiburon residents,” said Councilmember Issac Nikfar. “Don’t let anyone get it twisted. That was a sanitation area.”

The council received several dozen letters supporting the addition of the playing courts and picnic site. Several parents brought grade-school students who read prepared remarks asking for the basketball court.

The only opposition voiced was from Michael Richmond, who lives above the site and is worried about noise from bouncing basketballs and how the changes would alter his bayfront view.

Judge said the commission took noise into account and did not suggest pickleball. The basketball court would be next to a hillside berm and trees, she said.

Before voting, several council members praised the improvements presented by the commission’s Lineal Park subcommittee.

Mayor Holli Thier embraced the proposed play courts and shaded picnic area but told staff to ask the architects about a sound buffer.