The Project
East Bay Regional Parks District (EBRPD) recently needed two large improvement projects to the Point Pinole Regional Shoreline in Richmond, California. EBRPD wanted to increase access to the park while protecting the delicate wildlife and ecosystems inside. The addition of the Atlas Bridge Entrance and the Southern Entrance at the Dotson Family Marsh was completed to increase visitor capacity. Two new entrances to the park were added as well as an elevated trail system through the Dotson Family Marsh. EBRPD required several buildings for these entrances. Restrooms were an obvious need for the increase park capacity, and a gatehouse building was required to monitor ingress/egress of visitors at the southern entrance. The gatehouse needed to be comfortable enough for an employee to work in, provide an employee restroom, house telecommunications equipment, allow full vision of the parking lot, and allow easy interactions between employees and visitors. Finally, EBRPD wanted any new buildings at Point Pinole to have matching exteriors for a uniform look throughout the park.
The Solution
Romtec was hired to design and supply the two buildings at the Southern Entrance of Point Pinole Regional Shoreline for EBRPD. The first building was the public restroom building. The restroom design included four private-entry bathrooms and a central mechanical room suitable for supply storage onsite. The second building was the gatehouse constructed in the center of the entrance road. The gatehouse needed to allow interaction between the staff and visitors in vehicles through a sliding window. Windows were designed in the floor plan on each gatehouse exterior wall. This offers the stationed employee 360 degree views of the area around the building. The employee will be very comfortable inside the climate controlled building, and they have their own private restroom. Both the public restroom building and the gatehouse building were designed with matching exteriors comprising dark brown CMU block, metal roofing, and steel doors. EBRPD did a great job planning for the future to improve access to the park while also restoring and protecting the habitat of the endangered species at the Point Pinole Regional Shoreline.
