Goddammit, Supermoon
I've been going and walking in one particular city park in the morning, and when it rains, the mall, for the last month. This park is down on the bay, where wharfs and one of the two train tracks used to be. Part of the southern part sits on some actual rock, but the northern part doesn't, and in fact the northwest section of the walkway is an old wharf with a dock that half-sunk a few years ago which is awaiting repair and rebuild into an over the water walkway to another prospective park a mile north.
About three years ago, the city used half a million from a tax levy specifically for improving the parks (what can I say, we love the hell out of our parks!), to rebuild the shoreline where it had eroded over the years back out to where it was before, complete with bigass rocks piled to hold the edge and three rock jetties, added turf, and a new 50' rock beach for the kids. I guess they didn't take into account both global warming and a supermoon...
'Cause two thirds of that work has washed out to sea just in the last week. The high tide I saw yesterday, that was up near the asphalt trail and licking the bottom of the wharf was apparently GOING DOWN, 'cause when I got a better look today seaweed was halfway across the lawn to the bandstand, which is about 60' from the water's edge. Today's high water mark was just about half that, 10', but still up over that corner of the lawn. Some of the non-grass plants were starting to die, and the one tree that fell over but has been stably growing at the edge for decades has been getting its roots undermined. The grass I'm pretty sure is a mix meant to endure seawater, but we'll have to see how long it can hold out. The wharf warped on the *lawn* side, which has a few sinkholes now and tilted the rectangular rock at the corner, to the point that cyclists were yelling out warnings to eachother to keep right instead of do the usual corner cutting.
I don't think that northend overwater walkway is getting built anytime soon.
And all that rebuilding of the shoreline? 2/3rds gone, with the bay eating all the new turf behind and above the rock retaining wall. Only half of one of the three jetties is still above the water, too. I suppose the earthquake last year had something to do with destabilizing the rocks, but the bay is also clearly reclaiming the shoreline it carved before the rebuild.
The south end of the park is fine, aside from the new rock beach being 2/3rds gone, because that end is several feet higher than the north end. Gotta wonder why the north end wasn't raised when they had the chance, but it probably had to do with the bandstand and the bathroom would need to be raised several feet, too, as well as that entire half of the asphalt trail buried and remade, and the trees uprooted and replanted (or replaced) if they couldn't take having several more feet of dirt around their trunks.
Goddammit, just as I was using the park more. Gotta get my sea vibes, even if I don't swim. This morning was just depressing, tho.
--Zhora
About three years ago, the city used half a million from a tax levy specifically for improving the parks (what can I say, we love the hell out of our parks!), to rebuild the shoreline where it had eroded over the years back out to where it was before, complete with bigass rocks piled to hold the edge and three rock jetties, added turf, and a new 50' rock beach for the kids. I guess they didn't take into account both global warming and a supermoon...
'Cause two thirds of that work has washed out to sea just in the last week. The high tide I saw yesterday, that was up near the asphalt trail and licking the bottom of the wharf was apparently GOING DOWN, 'cause when I got a better look today seaweed was halfway across the lawn to the bandstand, which is about 60' from the water's edge. Today's high water mark was just about half that, 10', but still up over that corner of the lawn. Some of the non-grass plants were starting to die, and the one tree that fell over but has been stably growing at the edge for decades has been getting its roots undermined. The grass I'm pretty sure is a mix meant to endure seawater, but we'll have to see how long it can hold out. The wharf warped on the *lawn* side, which has a few sinkholes now and tilted the rectangular rock at the corner, to the point that cyclists were yelling out warnings to eachother to keep right instead of do the usual corner cutting.
I don't think that northend overwater walkway is getting built anytime soon.
And all that rebuilding of the shoreline? 2/3rds gone, with the bay eating all the new turf behind and above the rock retaining wall. Only half of one of the three jetties is still above the water, too. I suppose the earthquake last year had something to do with destabilizing the rocks, but the bay is also clearly reclaiming the shoreline it carved before the rebuild.
The south end of the park is fine, aside from the new rock beach being 2/3rds gone, because that end is several feet higher than the north end. Gotta wonder why the north end wasn't raised when they had the chance, but it probably had to do with the bandstand and the bathroom would need to be raised several feet, too, as well as that entire half of the asphalt trail buried and remade, and the trees uprooted and replanted (or replaced) if they couldn't take having several more feet of dirt around their trunks.
Goddammit, just as I was using the park more. Gotta get my sea vibes, even if I don't swim. This morning was just depressing, tho.
--Zhora