Rubble at the Erosion Hotspot:
Please support clean-up of this junk at Tuesday night's meeting!
Dear Surfriders and Friends,
The GGNRA, PUC, and DPW are having a public meeting to discuss the new sand management policy that will result in sand being trucked from the north end of the beach down to the erosion area south of Sloat. Surfrider has been advocating rubble clean-up and maintenance to accompany the sand drop...
Email from GGNRA below...
Public Meeting
The public is invited to meet with project staff and learn about the upcoming Ocean Beach Sand Management project.
Tuesday, July 17 6:00 - 7:30 pm
United Irish Cultural Center Board Room, Third Floor
2700 45th Avenue (at Sloat)
San Francisco, CA 94116
(Parking is available on site)
Project Background: The National Park Service, in cooperation with San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and San Francisco Department of Public Works, will soon begin the Ocean Beach Sand Management project, which will gather excess sand built up in front of the O'Shaughnessy Seawall and place it in the erosion hotspot south of Sloat Boulevard. Shoreline changes along Ocean Beach are dramatic and are a result of natural and human-caused factors.
In general, the beach at the northern end of Ocean Beach has been widening and accumulating sand while the beach south of Sloat Boulevard has experienced a loss of beach and is eroding. Excessive sand at the northern end of Ocean Beach this season has resulted in sand covering the O'Shaughnessy Seawall and accumulating in the parking lot and the Great Highway. This has buried stairways and impeded access along the esplanade. Currently, the sand is in excess of 13 feet deep at the face of the seawall, and is at historic levels of accumulation.
Project Details
The proposed project involves excavation of approximately 100-150 thousand cubic yards of sand from in front of the O'Shaughnessy Seawall from Stairwell 1 to 21, and transporting sand with dump trucks along the Great Highway to the erosion hotspot south of Sloat Boulevard. The sand placed south of Sloat Boulevard will be monitored to understand how long the sand will remain in place, how well it functions as bluff protection, and where it moves in the near shore environment. Project staging will require short-term closures of some parking areas including the parking area at Stairwell 28 and the parking lot located at Sloat Boulevard. The south bound lanes of the Great Highway will be closed during construction hours - Monday through Friday between 8:00 AM and 7:00 PM. No night or weekend work will occur. The project is estimated to be completed within five weeks from the start of the project.
Project Objectives
Remove sand from in front of the O'Shaughnessy Seawall in order to reduce future sand maintenance efforts;
Maintain public access on promenade and stairwells that have been blocked by sand build-up;·
Enhance beach access in the erosion hotspot area south of Sloat Boulevard;·
Provide for bluff protection in high risk areas that threaten CCSF infrastructure;·
Reduce the need to implement more engineered bluff protection measures in the short-term. For more info about the meeting contact:
Jean Marie Walsh
Communications Manager
1155 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
Office: (415) 554-3203 Cell: (415) 606-6055
jwalsh@sfwater.org
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In other news...
The other night was the public meeting for the Coastal Regional Sediment Management Plan. Some folks may be wondering if there are duplicate efforts afoot to solve the erosion issue at Sloat. The Ocean Beach Master Plan is an overall guidance or vision document for improvements to the entire Ocean Beach shoreline area including Sloat . The sand management meeting above is about a new specific DPW program to use sand at north Ocean Beach for the Sloat hotspot. The CRSMP considers all erosion hotspots in our region, and the role of sand management.
The CRSMP region spans the entire stretch of coast from the Golden Gate to Pedro Point. The reason behind having a larger scale management plan for sediment management is due to the interconnectedness of sand transport systems along our coastline. Sand from the San Francisco bay system does generally migrate southbound along our coastline. Due to human development (daming of our rivers, infilling of our bay, armoring of our coastlines, etc), there is less sand reaching our beaches. Less sand in the system means more beach erosion. The CRSMP is about gathering the best science available on our sediment systems and identifying viable solutions for beach erosion. Ultimately, coastal governments will have to choose which methods they will implement in response to erosion. With the CRMSP, a much more informed choice is likely to occur. Surfrider supports the use of sand as beach replenishment as a short term or interim step to maintain a beach. In most cases, managed retreat is our preferred solution to erosion conflicts along our coastline.
Thurs. night's meeting was excellent, although unfortunately attendance was sparse. The good news is that everyone is welcome to review the material online and still sumbit public comment. Here's the info: http://www.sfestuary.org/projects/detail.php?projectID=58 .. and do stay tuned. There will be more public meetings on tap. For Pacifica and Daly City residents, the CRSMP meeting is still scheduled for this Thursday 7-9pm Pacifica City Council Chambers 2212 Beach Blvd. in Pacifica.
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