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>> >>JOANNE: The city of San Diego got a stern warning this week about its plan to remove
cars from Balboa park. The plan to build a bypass bridge will have
an adverse affect on the park as a national historic land mark.
To talk about what that could mean are Welton Jones a member of the committee of 100, against
the Plaza de Panama project. David marsal is with the San Diego preservation
consultant for the Panama de Plaza project. Welton, I want to talk about opposition to
this project. Is it maim mainly this bypass bridge that
you and the group that your a member of oppose. >> >>DWANE4: I think.
>> >>WELTON JONES: I think it's the bridge that unifies the opposition.
There are small and relatively unfunded groups in opposition of this, and there's a lot of
people just off the street out there in opposition to this.
There is unfortunately no well funded organized opposition.
The problem is, in fact, the bridge and the aesthetics of it.
And the implications of continuing to bring traffic into the park.
>> >>JOANNE: David Marshal, remind the people at home about the intent of this plan, and
who's backing it financially. I know Welton makes the point of saying the
opposition isn't well financed. The people in favor of this are.
>> >>DAVID MARSHALL: It started with Mayor sandersÊ result of getting cars and parking
and traffic out of the Plaza de Panama, which is the heart of the Balboa park, the large
Plaza by the museum of art. They overlooked the park and Irwin decided
that still allowing only closing that to parking, and still allowing cars to drive flow was
not a good solution because he saw this success of closing the east prado over by the space
theater, and how successful that was. That's the heart of the park as far as activity.
He thought why can't we close the rest of el prado.
The Cabrillo bridge is the only western access into the park.
How do you get people across the bridge p you provide a second route.
Bring cars around the rear, the museum of man, and around the rear of where the museums
are. >> >>JOANNE: And he's willing to fund this.
>> >>DAVID MARSHALL: He's created a committee and funded it so far.
>> >>JOANNE: He's also commit ad large amount of money to this.
Irwin Jacobs is a major funder of KPBS as well.
I want to talk a little bit about this letter and show some of the excerpts from this letter.
This comes from the national park service. Basically says this plan, we don't really
like it. Let me sort of back that up.
It says: >> >>JOANNE: How does the city respond to that?
>> >>DAVID MARSHALL: I could respond to all of this.
>> >>JOANNE: This sowndz likeÊ I heard you earlier say on our mid day interview that
this letter does not put the historic land mark designation in jep jeopardy, but I think
if you're listening at home it does. >> >>DAVID MARSHALL: The bypass the centennial
bridge they think they prefer wasn't there. The fact is that we have a historic district
made of dozens of buildings and gardens and other spaces. The only term destroy, you know,
the only part of any historic feature we're touching is 65Êfeet of railing at the end
of the Cabrillo bridge where the centennial road connects.
So you know, that is I think a little bit of hyperbole.
We take their comments seriously, and take their criticism seriously.
In fact, the historic both the independent historic consultant and environmental impact
report and city historic staff agree that the bridge is the only part of the project
that doesn't fully comply with the historic standards.
That doesn't mean the project can't go forward and be mitigated to some extent or lessened.
We've redesigned the bridge to be as narrow and transparent as possible.
It's within a grove of eucalyptus trees. We feel there's a whrawt of focus on the bridge.
This is a very large project. >> >>JOANNE: I want to give welt an chance
to weigh in here, but first let people know at home what's at stake.
There are less than 2500 national historic land marks.
Once you are on this list, you end up in a number of tourism brochures and have access
to funding. Welton, isn't it a good goal? Doabt don't
most people agree they don't want cars in Balboa park? Is it just a matter of how to
get them out or you wanted to change this in the first place?
>> >>WELTON JONES: The cars have got to go, and they probably will, because the city's
getting bigger and the park's not. The idea of building a 700 and some odd place
parking garage in the center of the park does seem to commit you to allowing cars to continue
to come in. The obvious solution in the long hall it seems to me is a good public transportation
system within the park. And automobiles handled elsewhere.
We have room to do that, we have the technology to do that.
It's a plan that needs to beÊ that's the plan that needs to be pursued, not this idea
of tacking on bridges here and digging under ground parking there.
In my opinion. Because those things are going to be obsolete
when we have to get all the cars out of the park.
Dine mite this bypass bridge and get it out of our way.
>> >>JOANNE: We are out of time. Thank you both for being here.
I want to send people to our website KPBS.org, there's a much longer conversation with both
of you from mid day edition earlier today.