Plaza de Panama Project

orchid
With the Plaza de Panama project, San Diegans have been given an opportunity to realize the greatest investment in Balboa Park and its infrastructure since the 1935 California-Pacific International Exposition. Under the leadership of Mayor Jerry Sanders, Dr. Irwin Jacobs and the Plaza de Panama Committee, this project will reclaim the grand public spaces in the heart of Balboa Park and return them to their historic pedestrian use. Over time cars have literally taken over the public spaces in the core of Balboa Park, creating significant conflicts between vehicles and cars. This is not only potentially dangerous, but compromises the visitor experience. With the implementation of the Plaza de Panama project, vehicles will be completely removed from the Plaza de Panama, Plaza de California, West El Prado and Esplanade and will be grade separated from pedestrians on Pan American Road. In addition, a new park space will be developed on top of a proposed subterranean parking structure behind the Organ Pavilion (the park will be level with the south side of the Organ Pavilion and the International Cottages). All told, the project will reclaim more than 6 acres public parks and plazas that are now dominated by cars. The project is also notable for its comprehensive nature – it has planned access and infrastructure as carefully as it has park reclamation. In addition to reclaiming public spaces for pedestrians, it retains convenient access to the park from both the east and west sides. The addition of the Centennial Bridge will allow vehicles – including future transit service - access from the west by allowing them to bypass the plazas and promenades, instead of driving through the heart of the park as they do today. It also increases convenient parking by approximately 260 spaces, and provides a free tram service from the parking structure to the Plaza de Panama. The existing Alcazar parking lot will be dedicated to ADA parking, valet staging and drop off. The innovation of the Centennial Bridge will help to maintain the uniquely urban nature of the Park by making it car and transit accessible from all directions yet restoring the exquisite architectural ambience established in 1915. From any viewpoint, including due east from the Sixth Avenue entrance and all along the Cabrillo Bridge, the Centennial access roadway will be barely visible through the trees and vegetation. And when completed it will have a simple elegance that blends beautifully with the Cabrillo span, the Museum of Man exterior, and the Alcazar Garden. Our city has been talking about removing cars from the heart of the park for over 50 years, and the Plaza de Panama project is our best chance to achieve this long-standing goal. It will allow us all to truly appreciate the genius of the original 1915 design and improve park wide visitor access. For the Balboa Park Partnership: Dr. Jeffrey Kirsch, President Dr. Michael Hager, Immediate Past President
Project Information
Project Address: 
Balboa Park
Project Owner/ Developer: 
City of San Diego / Plaza de Panama Committee
Owner Contact Name/ Email: 
GerryBraun/ gbraun@sandiego.gov, Irwin Jacobs/ ijacobs@qualcomm.com
Project Architect/ Designer: 
Civitas, Inc., Heritage Architecture, KCM Group
Image
11.04-07_Bypass Bridge from Nates Point_existing.jpg
2.11.04-07_Bypass Bridge from Nates Point_Proposed.jpg
3.aerial before.jpg
4.aerial proposed with labels.jpg
5.Organ Pavilion existing.jpg
6.Organ Pavilion proposed.jpg
7.Plaza de Panama existing.jpg
8.Plaza de Panama proposed.jpg
Tags:

Comments:

This is the chance for San

Submitted by Sharon Gehl on Sun, 10/02/2011 - 05:57.
This is the chance for San Diego to finally do what we’ve been talking about for over 50 years, get cars completely out of the heart of Balboa Park. In the 70’s we got cars off of the east end of the Prado by putting parking and vehicular access behind the museums. Now we have a plan that will do the same for the west end of the Prado, and the solution is the same. Move ADA parking, passenger drop off and valet staging area from the Plaza de Panama, to the Alcazar parking lot behind the museums; and redirect traffic crossing the Cabrillo Bridge behind the museums on a bypass bridge. Making the center of Balboa Park pedestrian only, is an elegant solution deserving of an Orchid.

The Jacobs plan for

Submitted by Elaine Regan on Sat, 09/24/2011 - 01:28.
The Jacobs plan for improving Balboa Park (not just the Plaza de Panama) is brilliant. The new bypass bridge will allow traffic to continue to enter from the west while greatly reducing the number of person/car conflicts within the park. The stop/right turn required to enter the bridge is much safer than the current stop, go around a bend and through a crosswalk situation currently used in the Plaza de Panama - on our last visit, we saw a woman pushing a baby stroller nearly get hit by someone going around the bend! The area the bridge will be occupying is hardly visible from most locations so the visual impact will be minimal. Few trees will be affected with a good portion of them being relocated within the park. This bridge will also create some wonderful viewing points for pedestrians to enjoy. Besides making the park safer for pedestrians and removing the cars from the Plaza de California and Plaza de Panama, the Jacobs plan will create acres of additional park land atop an underground parking facility which will be constructed in the footprint of the current parking lot behind the Spreckels Organ Pavilion. What fantastic improvements - an Orchid, for sure!

I HATE THE JACOBS PLAN.

Submitted by Gregory May on Wed, 09/21/2011 - 00:07.
I HATE THE JACOBS PLAN. IT'S THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE IDEA TO HIT BALBOA PARK & PLAZA DE PANAM SINCE THE DEMOLITION OF THE SCIENCE AND EDUCATION BUILDING. I DO NOT WANT A FREEWAY STYLE OFF-RAMP ATTATCHED TO MY CABRILLO BRIDGE, NORE A GIANT HOLE AND TRENCH DUG BEHIND THE ORGAN PAVILLION. PUT THE PARKING STRUCTURE ON INSPIRATION POINT, AND LEAVE CABRILLO BRIDGE ALONE!

The Jacobs/Sanders plan for

Submitted by michael curtis on Fri, 09/02/2011 - 22:10.
The Jacobs/Sanders plan for Balboa park is wonderfully elegant. How you can oppose this beautifully elegant plan? Such narrow mindedness to the future of our park.

The design and plan is

Submitted by en veritas on Sun, 09/04/2011 - 06:04.
The design and plan is utterly lacking in grace,or good taste,which is the very definition of elegance. There is nothing elegant about an elaborate plan to bring thousands more cars into the very heart of the park nor is there anything elegant in attaching a concrete carbuncle (pun intended) to a historic site as beautiful as the Cabrillo Bridge.

It is hard to understand why

Submitted by Hope N. on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 16:46.
It is hard to understand why we're so bound by what someone thought of in the early 1990s, when San Diego was a different place -- a far less dynamic and interesting place, frankly. Why should we be bound by unimaginative, lackluster ideas when here is a project that addresses so many needs and adds so much to our park? It gets rid of cars from the Plaza de California and the Plaza de Panama. It creates acres of new park land for children to play. It keeps a west entrance to the park. It creates new parking. Every single park institution supports it. It's a wonderful, creative plan that's effective for everyone, and the only people who oppose it are stuck on having cars continue to ruin the Plaza de California have cars on Pan American Road and a nasty surface parking lot behind the Organ Pavilion. Why would we choose that option? San Diego deserves better than the small thinking of those who want a half-baked solution. Please give this plan an Orchid.

The Jacobs' Plan is

Submitted by Balboa park lover on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 15:11.
The Jacobs' Plan is fantastic plan that all San Diegans should support! I don't know about those in opposition of it, but those that SUPPORT the plan are families with children, and elderly alike, that use the park regularly and would like to see the park FREE OF CARS! The plan would draw bigger tourist crowds as well as locals to Balboa Park and in turn bring more money to a great San Diego attraction! Thank you Dr. Jacobs for bringing to light a plan that NO ONE ELSE had in a very long time. It's time re-vamp the park. ORCHID! ORCHID! ORCHID!

The idea of a bypass bridge

Submitted by Pat McArron on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 00:41.
The idea of a bypass bridge to correct a problem is a BAD idea and has been previously rejected twice in the Balboa Park Master Plan. Removing parking from Plaza de Panama does not require the construction of a 20 million dollars bridge. Removing traffic from the core of Balboa Park does not require such a bridge either. There are so many viable and less costly and less invasive options presented. The bypass bridge deserves and ONION.

GAG ME.

Submitted by STELLA on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 00:36.
GAG ME.

The existing Balboa Park

Submitted by Don Wood on Wed, 08/31/2011 - 19:08.
The existing Balboa Park Master Plan would rid the Plaza De Panama of cars and a far lower cost and with much less disruptive construction than the Jacob's Bridge plan calls for. The city needs to explore viable alternatives in the EIR process before any decision is made on this proposal. If the city had simply implemented the current Port Master Plan, instead of diverting TOT money earmarked for park improvements to the downtown ballpark project in the 1990s, this whole issue would have never come up. I find the Jacob's Bridge proposal a solution in search of a problem, since cars can be eliminated from the Plaza De Panama if we just implement the existing park master plan, without the expense and delays of building a giant new concrete bridge in the heart of the park.

Amen to that!

Submitted by Stella on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 00:41.
Amen to that!

We've been talking about

Submitted by edgar on Wed, 08/31/2011 - 03:32.
We've been talking about doing something in Balboa Park for ages. This finally gives us an opportunity to get something done to vastly improve the park for people! Orchid please!

Plaza de Panama

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 08/30/2011 - 21:16.
The by pass bridge accurately reflects the spirit of the Cabrillo bridge in a modern venue. It should get an orchid.

BS

Submitted by Keith on Tue, 10/11/2011 - 18:20.
BS