Transcript of input read into record:
I’m unable to attend tonight’s meeting in person but would like to continue to comment on Trail Topics. In the past two meetings I discussed roads and trails and explained why I think there is much higher value to purpose-built trails. I’d like to describe a specific suggestion that I’ve shared with staff.
The suggestion is for both official trail maps and projected trail maps in planning documents to clarify which alignments are on existing road grades and which are new trails. This would be consistent with California State Parks maps as well as planning documents for other projects such as San Vicente Redwoods.
I’ve provided a written comment with more detail and links to examples.
Thank you very much for the opportunity to provide input.
This comment provides some detail behind the one I’ve submitted to be read into the public record. In the past few board meetings I commented on roads and trails. Here I’m documenting a specific suggestion I’ve raised with staff.
The suggestion is for both official trail maps and projected trail maps in planning documents to clarify which alignments are on existing road grades and which are new trails. This would be consistent with CA State Parks maps. As shown in the Wilder Ranch and Forest of Nisene Marks maps, fire and ranch roads are marked as as “unpaved road:”
https://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/549/files/wilderranch_web_31609.pdf
https://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/666/files/TheForestOfNiseneMarksSPFinalWebLayout093016.pdf
Another excellent example is a planning map for San Vicente Redwoods that explicitly shows which proposed trail segments are on existing roads:
https://www.landtrustsantacruz.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/SVR-Trail-Maps-Phasing-2018.pdf
I believe this would have a lot of benefits in the planning process. When the public, the planners and the board are evaluating options, everyone should be clear about the relative value of the trails and the experiences provided.
The planning documents sometimes have enough information to discern these details, but that info is distributed and difficult to find and understand. In some cases it’s not clear that a reader can piece together all this information. For example I found it difficult to understand such details in the La Honda Creek master plan.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide public comment and to discuss these topics with staff.
These comments were provided to the Midpen Board of Directors during the public comment portion of their September 8, 2021 meeting.