[BTC East Bay]

Summary - There will be a public meeting 9/27 at 6:30pm regarding trails use change for 2 trails:
1) Pine Tree at Briones (parallels Old Briones Rd)
2) Towhee Trail at Chabot between Huck's Trail and Honker Bay

Put it on your calendars! If you can't make it, write a letter or email.

Hello,

You are invited to the upcoming Trail Use Change Checklist Program Public Input Meeting on Wednesday, September 27, 2006. The meeting will be held in the Board Room of the EBRPD Administrative Headquarters at 2950 Peralta Oaks Court, Oakland, from 6:30 to 8:00 PM.

This year the Park District is considering requests by the public to allow bicyclists as an additional trail user group on narrow portions of the Towhee Trail in Anthony Chabot Regional Park and the Pine Tree Trail in Briones Regional Park.

We invite the views of members of the public regarding the trail use change requests. Please send comments to me by e-mail or to the address below by 5:00 PM on Friday, September 29, 2006.

Alternately, or in addition, you made provide comments at the public meeting on September 27. Maps and staffs evaluation of these trail use change requests can be found on the Downloads section of the Park Districts Web site and then by scrolling down to Trail Use Process, or simply by pasting the following address into your browser: http://www.ebparks.org/resources/resources.htm

Raphael Breines

Planning & Stewardship Department
East Bay Regional Park District
2950 Peralta Oaks Court
Oakland, CA 94605
Fax: 510-635-3478

 

[Dan_ger]

This is next week. Please make all efforts to come to this meeting.

If you are in the northern east bay and need a ride, let me know!

 

[Heath Sherratt]

You mean we're not supposed to ride those? oster_oops:

 

[Dan_ger]

You mean we're not supposed to ride those? oster_oops:

Yeah, well...

 

[BTC East Bay]

Summary - There will be a public meeting 9/27 at 6:30pm regarding trails use change for 2 trails:
1) Pine Tree at Briones (parallels Old Briones Rd)
2) Towhee Trail at Chabot between Huck's Trail and Honker Bay

Put it on your calendars! If you can't make it, write a letter or email.

Hello,

You are invited to the upcoming Trail Use Change Checklist Program Public Input Meeting on Wednesday, September 27, 2006. The meeting will be held in the Board Room of the EBRPD Administrative Headquarters at 2950 Peralta Oaks Court, Oakland, from 6:30 to 8:00 PM.

This year the Park District is considering requests by the public to allow bicyclists as an additional trail user group on narrow portions of the Towhee Trail in Anthony Chabot Regional Park and the Pine Tree Trail in Briones Regional Park.

We invite the views of members of the public regarding the trail use change requests. Please send comments to me by e-mail or to the address below by 5:00 PM on Friday, September 29, 2006.

Alternately, or in addition, you made provide comments at the public meeting on September 27. Maps and staffs evaluation of these trail use change requests can be found on the Downloads section of the Park Districts Web site and then by scrolling down to Trail Use Process, or simply by pasting the following address into your browser: http://www.ebparks.org/resources/resources.htm

Raphael Breines

Planning & Stewardship Department
East Bay Regional Park District
2950 Peralta Oaks Court
Oakland, CA 94605
Fax: 510-635-3478

This meeting is tonight. Your attendance would be greatly appreciated. In fact, you might appreciate it afterwards.

 

[Dan_ger]

I wrote 2 letters and I'd like to share excerpts from both:

Hi Raphael,

Thanks again for you and your staff’s hard work and diligence to this effort.

I have spoken at EBRPD meetings and written emails and letters in the past about changing trails’ user statuses in other parks but the trail at Briones is of particular interest to me since it is what I consider to be “my park.” The Pine Tree trail is of importance to me as a cyclist as it offers a much safer route between the Orchard trail and the Old Briones Road trailhead than riding up Old Briones Road, which is often hazardous to anyone due to the ridiculous speeds that some vehicles are driven at on that road. And, the Pine Tree trail has only small grades and good lines of sight throughout the trail. When I ride at Briones with my teenage children, I would feel safer if we were not riding on that road.

I also occasionally ride at Chabot and would like the opportunity to ride additional trails in that park.

In general, my choice of parks that I choose to ride (in the greater Bay Area I have many choices) typically stems from how I can feel connected to nature. Riding a bicycle in a large park, I can access areas that hikers and equestrians often don’t and so the separation from civilization brings more pleasure to my rides than challenging (read “steep”) slopes up and down. Being able to view flora and fauna from a remote location or to watch a sunset over a vista are bonuses to any park experience.

I find that riding service roads detracts from this separation as it really is only a road and not a trail. In many cases, this disconnect is what leads me to ride elsewhere and I often drive a small group of people to ride with me in San Rafael at China Camp State Park, in Santa Rosa at Annadel State Park, in Auburn at the Auburn State Recreation Area, near Morgan Hill at Henry Coe State Park, in Oakland at Joaquin Miller and Dimond Canyon and various other places where we can connect with nature without the burden of cattle trail damage and service roads.

I am glad that this process exists and that we are given the opportunity to survey and review trails on a basis of community with other trail users and nature. Hopefully, someday more EBRPD parks are as attractive to me (and other local users) as these more distant parks are for cycling.

Regards,
Dan

PS, is there a way to change the phrase “Multi-Use” to “Shared Use?” After all, we are sharing these trails.

his response:

Dan,

I have received your thoughtful e-mail stating your position on the trail use change proposals. I like your shared-use phrase proposal too.

When the public comment period ends at the end of the month staff will consider oral and written comments and make formal recommendations on both trail use change requests. I will make your e-mail available to staff and the Board of Directors and keep you informed of the process. Thank you for your interest in this program and for using the EBRPD park system.

-Raphael

my post-meeting response:

Hi Raphael,

Wow, what a meeting! I really don’t know what to make of the people who came from so far away to vehemently deny claims that shared narrow trails can exist peacefully and without safety conflicts. It seemed to me that most of the people who were there to oppose the Trails Use Checklists hadn’t even seen the trails in question.

It was sad to deny George the time that he desired to speak but I think you did the right thing and as nicely as possible under the circumstance. I’m not sure of the name of the woman that was escorting him or of her affiliation but it didn’t seem that her arguments were relevant for the most part or conducive to the process.

As I mentioned during the meeting, the expectation that we will “just go away” is highly unlikely. Even though I have a reasonably economic comfortable household, the ability to travel to other places to enjoy off-road cycling is just economically unsound or otherwise unfeasible for many cyclists in the East Bay. Even the concept of including new mountain bike trails in remote parks is a fairly unfeasible final solution. Most cyclists will still not be able to travel on a whim to the far reaches of the East Baylace, whereas most have a park within a few miles of where they call home and can ride to and in the park to commune with nature in their own way.

The safety concern is always a high priority on everybody’s list but it should not be used as an excuse to exclude another user group because “they were there first.” I find it to be offensive and elitist that the few that can afford to live privately adjoining the park dictate the policy of what is public domain.

With any luck, we can find a solution to how to continue to supply all trail users with the park experience that they wish to have in a realistically safe and responsible manner while adding access for park users that are requesting out of a desire to act safely and responsibly.

Regards,
Dan