Resident shows city trail map and inventory of 90+ benches to Park & Rec commission

Michael Barnes, a Brisbane resident, told the Park and Recreation Commission on Nov. 12 that he assembled a detailed map of local trails and an inventory of city benches to help the city prioritize trail improvements and seating for seniors.

Barnes said he attended several trails subcommittee meetings and overlaid publicly available county maps with his own data to show which trails are city-owned and which lie on parcels owned by homeowners associations or state agencies such as the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. "This is the trail system as I know it," he said while sharing his screen and zooming in on the Northeast Ridge and Sierra Point areas.

Barnes reported he counted ‘‘over 90’’ benches with backrests across Brisbane and estimated that number could rise to about 150 if concrete seating areas without backrests are included. He told commissioners he uploaded pins and photos to a Google Map and has provided the underlying data files to staff ("I gave all these data files to Noreen").

Commissioners thanked Barnes for the work and asked whether the map was complete; he said it is close but that residents could add missing trails or update the map if they find additional segments. Staff and commissioners discussed follow-up steps, including making the staff-provided Google map available to the public and coordinating with public works on potential relocations of existing benches.

The commission did not take formal action on Barnes' materials at the meeting. Staff said they would follow up with more information and coordinate on potential locations for relocated benches and additional trail signage.