"This is a park that needs love," said Michael Alexander, an historian and task force member who helped Foster narrate the journey.
A group of eight kayakers who were shadowing the bicyclists showed up while Alexander was talking, and he explained that there will be improvements to water access for them, both at Warm Springs and the next stop, Islais Landing, which was once a busy deepwater port channel, but which is now mostly hidden from view by roadways and underground culverts.
"We want to create places where we can open up Islais Creek," Foster told the group.
The final two spots of the tour were on either side of the recently shuttered Hunter's Point Power Plant: Heron's Head Park and India Basin Shoreline Park, which are connected by a coastal trail that most San Franciscans probably don't know exists.
At the final stop, Newsom, Maxwell, Assemblymember Mark Leno, and other luminaries gathered to promote the project.
"The Blue Greenway is already in each and every one of us, and we're going to make sure that dream comes true," Maxwell said.
The project will be a public-private partnership. Newsom committed the city to the effort but said the public has to get involved: "Without getting the enthusiasm to pull this off, it won't happen." SFBG
www.bluegreenway.org
www.sfbg.com on the Pier 14 opening.