Skip to content
Sponsored

Thanks to our advertising sponsor -

Eyes on the Street: Jean Sweeney Park Connections Now Open

Plus take a poll on the eastern part of the cross-Alameda trail
Eyes on the Street: Jean Sweeney Park Connections Now Open
Pedestrians entering Jean Sweeney Park via the new 8th Street cut through. Photo: Streetsblog/Rudick

Don’t forget to vote. Find your polling place here.

“You can’t get there from here,” is an old New England expression about the difficulty of navigating areas blocked by old stone fences. So it was at Jean Sweeney Open Space Park in Alameda, albeit with chain-link and muddy ground, not stone. But no more: the city recently completed new paved rampways for pedestrians and cyclists to get into the park and access the cross-Alameda trail from the Wood Street neighborhood (seen in the lead image) and the office park to the north.

A cyclist on the cross-Alameda trail by one of the new cut-throughs, this one to the offices to the north. Photo: Streetsblog/Rudick

These cut-throughs also allow cyclists and pedestrians to continue north-south through an area that previously disconnected the neighborhoods and offices to the north and south.

The playground that was once cut off from the adjoining neighborhood. Photo: Streetsblog/Rudick

This is the culmination of a minor construction project which Streetsblog last visited back in April. Note the connection to the parking lot, on the other hand, was opened years ago with the completion of the park itself. Making sure that people can get directly into a park from nearby neighborhoods without a big detour (or a car) is an important detail that should never be overlooked. It’s great to see Alameda fixing this.

Arguably the only correct use of sharrows–to help clarify an entrance to a cycleway from a quiet, residential street. Photo: Streetsblog/Rudick

Meanwhile, the four-mile cross-Alameda trail continues both east and west from Jean Sweeney Open Space Park (see map below). On a related note, the city is conducting a survey to get feedback on further improvements that can be made on sections to the east, on Clement Avenue.

The cross-Alameda trail. Image: Alameda

One more picture of a new entrance to Jean Sweeney Open Space Park below:

Photo: Streetsblog/Rudick

Streetsblog has migrated to a new comment system. New commenters can register directly in the comments section of any article. Returning commenters: your previous comments and display name have been preserved, but you'll need to reclaim your account by clicking "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in form, entering your email, and following the verification link to set a new password — this is required because passwords could not be carried over during the migration. For questions, contact tips@streetsblog.org.

More from Streetsblog San Francisco

Does Your City Need a ‘Department of Sidewalks’?

June 1, 2026

Advocates Celebrate Signature Gathering Success for Transit Measures

June 1, 2026

California Just Pulled the Rug Out From Under Transit

June 1, 2026
See all posts