On the first Wednesday of each month members of the Pied- mont Police Department visit with the Walking on Wednesday group and give them an update on local police issues. This past Wednesday, September 4, another strong showing of 26 walkers and four K-9 best friends welcomed officers Stacee and Brian. They told the group about the body cameras they wear and other crime related technology.
Recently the Wednesdav Walkers followed three of the four historic Key System routes that provided streetcar transportation for Piedmont and the East Bay in the first half of the 20th century.
On a mild morning, the walkers headed for the sections of Linda and Oakland Avenues where the No. 11 trains had run. They started down Magnolia Avenue past the high school construction, went across Hillside Avenue and down Oakland Avenue to Greenbank Avenue. They crossed Grand Avenue and continued to Rose Avenue, where the homes on the south side of the street are in Piedmont, and homes on the north side are in Oakland.
At Rose and Linda Avenue they arrived at the place where the 11 train went down Linda before going west on Oakland Avenue. It is now the beautiful new Linda-Kingston pocket park sponsored by the Piedmont Beautification Foundation and many residents of the neighborhood. The group walked down Linda to Linda Park where the 11 train once ran. Some said they had driven past it many times, but never knew its origins. At the Oakland Avenue bridge they followed the No. 11 route up to Olive Avenue, where they left the No. 11 route to walk past the Rose Garden, then down to Sunnyside, Grand and Linda Avenues.
A member of the group read an article by the Piedmont Historical Society about the A Mon Chateau saloon, Del Monte Market, Piggly Wiggly grocery story, several gas stations, and Foudy Fine Foods on Grand Ave. between Linda and Wildwood
By now, it was time to head back to the Exedra via Wildwood and Magnolia Avenues. It turned out to be a relaxed 3-mile walk in two hours. They had talked with two police officers, walked a Key system route, discussed Pied mont history, and gone to parts of the city some had not previously visited. As always it was an enjoyable morning with friends.