In today’s column my friend Greg and I set sail for the cities bisected by East Bay MUD’s pipeline to see how it looks. That pipeline is actually three big pipes. They parallel March Lane, running underground.
East of Brentwood, you can see them above ground, and get a feel for their size.
That’s what runs underground along March Lane.
I like what Brentwood did (below). Unlike Stockton, when the city of Brentwood’s sprawl reached the pipeline, planners distanced it from homes, giving it a feel of open space. And the grass is inviting, too. It’s not elaborate, but it works well, and developers paid for it.
The city of Pittsburg added a veteran’s memorial alongside the pipeline, which you can see running in the background of the next photo. The city also partnered with EBMUD and a regional park agency to create an intercity trail.
In Pleasant Hill, a fenced apartment complex integrates its outdoor rec area — a pool, a children’s playground — with the trail. A gate opens from the rec area onto the parkway. In this way, the apartments make good use of the open space while the coded gate provides security. 
EBMUD built Walnut Creek a lovely park around the pipeline, but since that is the result of legally required mitigation I’ll, show instead the trail as it leaves the park.
A regional hiking trail.
