A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 25-37, regarding full and open access to Linear Path at Westley Avenue

To: Yi-An Huang, City Manager From: Brooke McKenna, Commissioner Date: July 31, 2025 Subject: Awaiting Report 2025-37: Full and Open Access to Linear Path at Westley Avenue In response to Awaiting Report 25-37 requesting that the City Manager work with relevant City departments to ensure that there is full open access for all users to Linear Park from Westley Avenue as an additional community access point, and that the City Manager direct the relative city departments, including CDD and the Police Department, to work with the Westley Avenue community on ways to improve neighborhood safety, including but not limited to, possibly adding improved lighting and a gate that can be locked by the city at night and unlocked in the morning, we report the following: In response to community feedback regarding the importance of including a community access point from the Linear Path to the neighborhood located to the south of the path, the design plans for the path will be updated to include a new connection between Linear Park and the neighborhood at Westley Avenue. This path will meet access codes and be able to be readily maintained. No trees will be impacted or removed with the addition of a connection at Westley Avenue. Some local neighbors have expressed security concerns related to the connection between the path and Westley Avenue. In response to these concerns, the City will evaluate lighting levels on Westley Ave. and consider improvements as needed. At this time, the City does not believe the installation of a gate that would be locked at certain times of day is feasible, due to both access and operational issues. Continuity across all access points along the park is an important element of providing a reliable experience for users of the park. Limiting the hours of access at Westley Ave would undermine this continuity. Operationally, it is not feasible to manually lock and unlock one gate and electronic locks are untested in this environment and likely to provide significant maintenance challenges. However, the design of the entrance to the path at Westley Ave will not preclude the addition of a gate at some further date. The City further commits to monitoring the operation of the Westley Ave access point upon completion of the Linear Path redesign project.