One of UCAN's objectives is to maintain and improve the condition of our neighborhood's shared spaces. These include Oak Park (which is the neighborhood’s only official city park) and traffic medians known to us as Round Park, Long Park, Donald Lawton Park, the Domingo Triangle, and the Hillcrest Hairpin, as well as the Uplands/Claremont gateway and the unique historical pathways that provide shortcuts for pedestrians and serve as critical resources during emergencies and natural disasters. 

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Neighbors are encouraged to use the City of Berkeley’s 311 line to report conditions that are hazardous or out of repair. Instructions for using 311 can be found here. Neighbors are also encouraged to email the City of Berkeley’s Urban Forestry Unit to report downed trees and dead shrubs at trees@berkeleyca.gov. Attaching photos of downed trees and dead shrubs to the email is helpful to let the city know about potentially dangerous conditions. 

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Many neighbors want to help improve our public spaces. Unfortunately, the City has complex rules about doing work in traffic medians.. Read our summary here. Fundamentally, the City does not want anything done to a traffic median that might attract people to the space or lead to an injury. Furthermore, the City does not want to assume liability for volunteers who might hurt themselves undertaking projects on City property. That said, our experience is that the City tacitly approves weeding and light planting if the end result doesn’t attract people into a space, but simply makes it more beautiful. 

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UCAN is not currently initiating any projects on public spaces, but we can connect neighbors who are interested in undertaking a public spaces project and UCAN can become involved if it makes sense and there is general support. Contact the co-chairs of the Public Spaces Committee to discuss your idea (email: publicspaces@uplandsclaremont.org). The Public Spaces Committee co-chairs will acquaint you with city policy, put you in touch with others who may want to help, and advise you on approaches to seeking consensus from project-adjacent neighbors.