Barry
03-06-2010, 02:06 PM
This would be "in my backyard" (which borders the Laguna) and I support this project!
- Barry
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More biking in Sebastopol? | Homepage | PressDemocrat.com (https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20100306/ARTICLES/100309663/1349?Title=More-biking-in-Sebastopol-)
More biking in Sebastopol?
By BOB NORBERG ([email protected])
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Saturday, March 6, 2010 at 3:00 a.m.
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=SR&Date=20100306&Category=ARTICLES&ArtNo=100309663&Ref=AR&Profile=1349&MaxW=250&border=0
MARK ARONOFF / The Press Democrat
Lynn Deedler of Sebastopol Bike Trails rides along
part of a proposed bike trail near the Sebastopol
flea market.
A Sebastopol group wants to build a bike path along the edge of the Laguna de Santa Rosa from the Joe Rodota Trail to Bloomfield Road, providing a way to get into town without using Highway 116.
“Regular people don't use 116, only people who are really good bikers who can move quickly do,” said Lynn Deedler of Sebastopol Bike Trails. “We need an everyday bike trail for kids and people who want to go shopping on their bikes.”
Christine Culver, executive director of the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition, said a trail would fill a void in the city.
“Sebastopol has horrible bike and pedestrian access, especially for a lot of kids going to the campuses living on the southeast side. They basically have no alternative except to drive,” Culver said. “People don't want their 8-year-old kids riding down 116.”
The bicycle and pedestrian path also would be a connector between the Joe Rodota Trail and an abandoned Northwestern Pacific Railroad spur that Sonoma County wants to turn into a Sebastopol-to-Petaluma bicycle and pedestrian path.
“It's a needed project,” said Ken Tam, a planner with the county Parks Department, referring to the group's proposal. “It would provide connectivity.”
Sebastopol Bike Trails has asked the Parks Department to apply on its behalf for a $200,000 Caltrans grant to conduct a feasibility study. The grant would require a $20,000 local match. Deedler said they have raised $6,000 so far.
The Sebastopol City Council endorsed the request Tuesday.
The proposed path would run between the city limits and the laguna from the Joe Rodota Trail southeast to about Bloomfield Road.
“It would be a terrific bike path. Commuters could use it, and it would be very scenic and it gets us well on the way to a path to the train station in Cotati, to the SMART train,” Deedler said.
Deedler said the proposed path would cross 24 private properties. He said 21 of the owners are agreeable to negotiating an easement with the county. The three remaining property owners have concerns but didn't refuse, he said.
The Sebastopol-to-Petaluma trail is planned for the abandoned, 11-mile rail line that starts in Petaluma, runs alongside Highway 116 and ends up at Bloomfield Road. It once ran in the middle of Main Street in Sebastopol and ended in Graton, where trains served growers and canners.
Tam said title to parts of the right-of-way have been returned to adjacent property owners and would have to be bought or the route realigned.
The county has estimated the construction cost at $4.4 million, but there is no money targeted for the project, Tam said.
You can reach Staff Writer Bob Norberg at 521-5206 or [email protected].
Copyright © 2010 PressDemocrat.com — All rights reserved. Restricted use only.
- Barry
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/images/logo2.gif
More biking in Sebastopol? | Homepage | PressDemocrat.com (https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20100306/ARTICLES/100309663/1349?Title=More-biking-in-Sebastopol-)
More biking in Sebastopol?
By BOB NORBERG ([email protected])
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Saturday, March 6, 2010 at 3:00 a.m.
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=SR&Date=20100306&Category=ARTICLES&ArtNo=100309663&Ref=AR&Profile=1349&MaxW=250&border=0
MARK ARONOFF / The Press Democrat
Lynn Deedler of Sebastopol Bike Trails rides along
part of a proposed bike trail near the Sebastopol
flea market.
A Sebastopol group wants to build a bike path along the edge of the Laguna de Santa Rosa from the Joe Rodota Trail to Bloomfield Road, providing a way to get into town without using Highway 116.
“Regular people don't use 116, only people who are really good bikers who can move quickly do,” said Lynn Deedler of Sebastopol Bike Trails. “We need an everyday bike trail for kids and people who want to go shopping on their bikes.”
Christine Culver, executive director of the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition, said a trail would fill a void in the city.
“Sebastopol has horrible bike and pedestrian access, especially for a lot of kids going to the campuses living on the southeast side. They basically have no alternative except to drive,” Culver said. “People don't want their 8-year-old kids riding down 116.”
The bicycle and pedestrian path also would be a connector between the Joe Rodota Trail and an abandoned Northwestern Pacific Railroad spur that Sonoma County wants to turn into a Sebastopol-to-Petaluma bicycle and pedestrian path.
“It's a needed project,” said Ken Tam, a planner with the county Parks Department, referring to the group's proposal. “It would provide connectivity.”
Sebastopol Bike Trails has asked the Parks Department to apply on its behalf for a $200,000 Caltrans grant to conduct a feasibility study. The grant would require a $20,000 local match. Deedler said they have raised $6,000 so far.
The Sebastopol City Council endorsed the request Tuesday.
The proposed path would run between the city limits and the laguna from the Joe Rodota Trail southeast to about Bloomfield Road.
“It would be a terrific bike path. Commuters could use it, and it would be very scenic and it gets us well on the way to a path to the train station in Cotati, to the SMART train,” Deedler said.
Deedler said the proposed path would cross 24 private properties. He said 21 of the owners are agreeable to negotiating an easement with the county. The three remaining property owners have concerns but didn't refuse, he said.
The Sebastopol-to-Petaluma trail is planned for the abandoned, 11-mile rail line that starts in Petaluma, runs alongside Highway 116 and ends up at Bloomfield Road. It once ran in the middle of Main Street in Sebastopol and ended in Graton, where trains served growers and canners.
Tam said title to parts of the right-of-way have been returned to adjacent property owners and would have to be bought or the route realigned.
The county has estimated the construction cost at $4.4 million, but there is no money targeted for the project, Tam said.
You can reach Staff Writer Bob Norberg at 521-5206 or [email protected].
Copyright © 2010 PressDemocrat.com — All rights reserved. Restricted use only.