NORTH BAY BOH E MI A N | FEBR UARY 21-27, 20 1 8 | BO H E M I AN.COM
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READY TO ROLL All these bikes want is a day on a nice trail with a happy rider smiling as they cycle town to town.
The Ride Stuff The brakes are off (sort of) on the long-desired West County bike trail BY ALEX T. RANDOLPH
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fter years of planning, Sonoma County Regional Parks has just come one step closer to starting work on a proposed 15-mile bike trail that would connect the cities of Petaluma and Sebastopol.
Sonoma County Regional Parks presented the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors with an extensive feasibility study on Feb. 6. The purpose of the study was to determine the safest and most feasible route for a currently unnamed pedestrian and bike trail between the two cities, and also to consider routes to connect
unincorporated areas of Sonoma County. The board accepted the findings and recommendations of the study on Feb. 13, allowing Regional Parks to receive final reimbursement and meet obligations of the grant used to pay for the study. According to a summary of the study, the ideal route for the
paved trail is the corridor next to Highway 12 and Stony Point Road. However, according to Fifth District Supervisor Linda Hopkins, there is some debate between those who want the trail to follow the highway and others who want it elsewhere. Hopkins says she enthusiastically approves of the bike trail. She says West County is already underserved by alternate transportation options, as the SMART train does not go to that area. Furthermore, West County is more rural than other parts of the county, and has no bike lanes in several areas, even as it boasts a vibrant bicycling community. Besides the safety of cyclists and pedestrians, Hopkins says there are matters of health and community as well that play into the push for additional options for cyclists. The report takes special note of the many advantages of alternate transportation routes around the county—ranging from encouraging exercise to creating more opportunities for recreation, to preserving and creating more open spaces. Regional Parks recommends further studies on the environment, boundary surveys, geotechnical investigations and detailed engineering and design further down the line before the project can truly get off the ground. “It’s good for the body,” Hopkins says, “and it’s good for the planet. What’s not to love?” For bike enthusiasts, what’s not to love is the delay in building the path. Actual construction is a long way off (decades, even). Hopkins says the study gave a basic primer to the best route, but that a lot more work and research is needed. She likens the eventual rollout of the bike path to reading a book, and this study is merely the prologue. According to Hopkins, Regional Parks has not yet seriously discussed the potential cost of the project, or where the funding will come from. Sonoma County