New Entryway Gates planned

If you’ve visited the cemetery during the past two years, it’s been difficult not to notice the temporary construction gates at the cemetery entrance. We are pleased to announce that new gates are on the way!

The bronze, picket-style gates that graced the cemetery entrance for the past several decades are being retired. These gates were a gift from the Craig family to visitors of the cemetery, and we are grateful for the many years of good service they provided. Unfortunately, metal fatigue coupled with their bifold design presented a safety hazard.

Design Site in Berkeley in tandem with Kurt Smith, proprietor of HandCrafted Metals Inc., have teamed up to design and build new gates. The design will feature a soft, floral pattern that expresses the harmonious crossroads of landscape and heritage that are Mountain View Cemetery. We expect to complete this project by the end of this year.

New Walkway Design

Managing change at Mountain View Cemetery is a process. In our Fall 2006 newsletter, we expressed hope that a new style of path construction, using a grid of plastic rings to minimize erosion, would be a useful, long-term walkway improvement strategy for the cemetery. We were wrong. After field testing the product, we discovered that the rings could not withstand the operation of our maintenance equipment. But, we liked the color and feel of the pebbles much more than the old concrete, and they have much better potential for drainage. So, we are testing an alternate method of installation. You can see these new walks in three older sections of the cemetery, and we imagine you will enjoy the color, feel, and sound created when strolling across these new walks. We will continue to gauge the success of this new walkway design during the coming months.