Thanks to everyone who came to the rally in Blair Park last Saturday, Dec. 5! The turnout was amazing, and it was great to see all the drivers honking in support as they passed by. Click here to see some images from the rally. FOMC member Sandra Pohutsky has this report:

The Blair Park demonstration last Saturday morning was a great success! Our goal was to let people know where Blair Park is, since it is not marked by any sign, but the morning turned into a lively grass-roots gathering of neighbors with a common purpose.

People kept trekking down Moraga Avenue, one, two or three at a time. Some people arrived by carefully climbing down stairs on the cliff-side of Moraga and stopping traffic to cross the street.

Barbara Peters, one of the organizers, got the rally started by introducing Rick Rowe of Piedmont and Nick Vigilante of Montclair/Oakland, who spoke about the many significant and permanent problems of destroying Blair Park to build the “Sports Complex.”

Kids came holding signs, dogs came wearing signs. At some point, someone counted more than 100 people, but people kept coming and going so I would guess that about 125 people joined in. I talked with many people I had never met before, from nearby neighborhoods which will suffer from traffic safety and circulation problems too if the “Sports Complex” gets built.

We held our signs, and waved to passing drivers. Many of them waved and honked back. Occasionally a car passed with a Christmas tree strapped to the roof. A Piedmont city councilmember drove by and called out to someone in our crowd. We were watched over by a Piedmont police officer on motorcycle; all was calm and peaceful.

Standing in Blair Park and watching traffic was a vivid experience of how curvy and dangerous the road is. Looking at a map is not at all sufficient to understand Moraga Avenue traffic!

Intended as a one hour rally, it lasted an extra 25 minutes; people wanted to stay, like an enjoyable party with good company. Everyone left feeling as though their time had been well spent. We all felt good about meeting others we had not known before. Moraga Avenue, so busy with traffic that it usually keeps us from knowing one another, united us as a community – willing to do whatever is possible to save Blair Park for the good of all the residents in and around Moraga Canyon.