County gets bike trail feedback

About 40 people attended the first of three study sessions Thursday for the proposed Sonoma Valley bike and pedestrian trail that would run from Melita Road to Agua Caliente Road.

And almost everybody had an idea or suggestion, although there were some people whose property could abut the trail who weren’t enthusiastic about the idea.

First District Supervisor Susan Gorin told the attendees that Caltrans is funding the study for the trail. Caltrans is supplying $190,575 for the study while the county is kicking in $21,175.

The estimated cost of the trail is in the $5 million range.

“I just cringe whenever I see a cyclist on Highway 12,” Gorin said. Gorin, who is a bicyclist herself, said some of the shoulders on Highway 12 are OK, but that they’re almost nonexistent in other spots.

“Napa has a well-thought-out bike trail,” she said. “But they also cajoled some landowners to donate land.”

She suggested that people who know landowners along the proposed Sonoma Valley trail should ask them if they would be interested in a path.

“People say, ‘I want a safe way to get from Glen Ellen to Sonoma,’” she said. “But others want to get the bikes off the road.”

“I want to get this done in our lifetime,” she added.

Even though county parks is studying routes now, the trail itself is off in the distant future – and it won’t get done in one fell swoop.

Margaret Henderson, a landscape architect with Questa Engineering in Point Richmond, is one of the outside consultants working on the project. She was interested in finding out what areas the project managers should focus on.

Henderson said some of the feedback they’ve received so far includes connecting with the bike trails in Santa Rosa, providing a continuous Class I bike path and providing connections to schools, churches and businesses.

“We want to evaluate our alternatives,” she said. “We sent out notices to residents who are within 300 feet of Highway 12.

The county will be looking to complete a draft study by next March.

“We’d like to see the most logical segments completed right away,” she said. “But we also need to apply for grant funding and look at environmental analysis.”

Then there’s the rights-of-way, the permitting and the construction itself.

Ian Moore, another landscape architect and one of the consultants, was interested in hearing who would use the bike path.

One person suggested bicycle groups of 20 or so who wouldn’t necessarily use Highway 12 because it’s “life threatening.”

Another person suggested that eight-foot lanes are too narrow, and wondered about speed limits because there are some cyclists who would be going 25 miles an hour while others would be more leisurely.

He also pointed to the problem of speeding cyclists sharing the trail with people pushing strollers. And there could be issues with cyclists blowing through intersections.

Another attendee wanted to make sure that none of the trees along Highway 12 would be harmed.

“People will come just to ride specific trails,” said another.

And a woman from Kenwood wanted a safe way for children to get to school.

Yet another suggested the trail also be open to equestrians. Others suggested roller skaters and Segway riders. And one wanted to know about trailheads and parking.

But one property owner was concerned with security, and another was concerned with how to get in and out of her house if the path crosses her driveway.

Moore said the designers would be looking at those issues and others, including water and restrooms along the trail.

After taking comments for about a half hour, the consultants split the group up and sent them to three tables where there were detail maps of the proposed path. Attendees were urged to make notes and suggestions on the maps, and to point out where parts of the trail could run.

County parks will conduct two more meetings on the proposed trail. Other meetings will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. this coming Saturday, Oct. 4, at Dunbar Elementary School, 117000 Dunbar Road in Glen Ellen; and from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, at the Sonoma Valley Regional Park, 13630 Highway 12 in Glen Ellen.