December 05, 2003

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Publication Date: Friday, December 05, 2003

Guest Opinion

Park District favors plan to expand waterslides

by Ayn Wieskamp

Some of East Bay Regional Park District's finest accomplishments serve the public right here in the Tri-Valley Area, where 16,000 acres are protected in seven regional parks and include a wide range of recreational opportunities. None better serves the community than Shadow Cliffs, where Valley youth have enjoyed safe, clean exercise at the waterslides, fishing, swimming and walking their dogs, for 22 years. The park has made positive use of what was otherwise a scar on the landscape - a gaping hole left by an abandoned quarry that happened to suit a waterslide park. California Splash, operator of the waterslides since its opening, has proven to be among the most dependable, responsible contractors providing recreation in the East Bay Regional Park District system.

Over those years, almost 2 million kids, mostly adolescents and teenagers, have enjoyed the waterslides as a safe, inexpensive form of entertainment. But thousands of additional families have come to call the Tri-Valley community home, and California Splash owner Glenn Kierstead has seen the need not only to refurbish the well-used waterslides, but also to broaden the activities offered to serve all ages.

Now, Kierstead has come forward with a proposal to expand and update this popular park that carefully balances providing recreational opportunities for all generations of the family with respecting the needs of the neighborhood and character of the community. Where the original park served kids generally between about 10 and 18, the new park would feature activities for toddlers, young children, and their grandparents. Although his plan adds more slides to the existing complex, another gentler-grade slide complex, a kiddie pool, and a "lazy river" ride, the rebuilt park would still be a fraction of the size of Raging Waters in San Jose or Waterworld in Concord.

The plan warrants careful scrutiny from the public. Key issues that have been raised include: ¥ Other activities: Visitors will continue to enjoy fishing, swimming, and walking their dogs in other parts of the park, which will not be affected. ¥ Traffic impact: Traffic studies show that the park will generate most of its traffic trips on weekends and that those trips will represent a small percentage of the weekday commute traffic on nearby Valley Avenue and Stanley Boulevard. The Park District will also promote Airway Boulevard as the primary access to Shadow Cliffs. ¥ Noise: The quarry site is much like a bowl and the park will continue to operate at the floor of and within that bowl. In addition, the proposal calls for walls around the slightly elevated slides, protecting neighbors from increased noise. ¥ Safety: Kierstead has operated Shadow Cliffs' waterslide park for 22 years without a single major injury or incident. This record is undoubtedly a reflection of his emphasis on training for his employees. In the new park, he expects to have 40 to 50 employees on site during peak hours trained in lifesaving, first aid, CPR and other safety and security techniques. As for fears about crime increases - a review of several far larger water parks, including Raging Waters and Water World, shows no increase in crime as a result of the parks.

The mission of the Board of Directors of the East Bay Regional Park District is to provide safe, healthy recreational services while protecting the environment and the character of the communities we serve. The proposal to expand and update Shadow Cliffs offers jobs for Valley youth and improves quality of life in the family-oriented Tri-Valley Area while respecting each of those principles. -Ayn Wieskamp is a member of the East Bay Regional Park District Board of Directors. Her ward includes the Tri-Valley area and parts of Fremont and Newark.

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