First stretch of Bodega Bay coastal trail opens

<p>Bodega Bay resident Don Toms is making regular use of the new metal-and-concrete footbridge across a creek at the south end of the coastal village.</p><p>"It really opens up a lot of area," said Toms, his binoculars hanging around his neck, as he walked across the bridge last week after spotting three deer near the entrance to Doran Beach State Park.</p><p>The $500,000 bridge over Cheney Creek completes the first segment of a planned 3-mile pathway through town, extending from Doran Beach to Salmon Creek.</p><p>Sonoma County Supervisor Mike Reilly, who represents Bodega Bay, said pedestrians lack a safe way to travel through town.</p><p>"You can't walk through Bodega Bay on Highway 1," Reilly said.</p><p>Trail enthusiasts have even bigger hopes. They see the pathway as part of a state-promoted California coastal trail.</p><p>The new trail segment allows access "so the public can experience this incredible coast," said Judy Rosales, trails steward for Sebastopol-based Coastwalk.</p><p>The trail work was done in a partnership between Sonoma County and the state Coastal Conservancy. Some of the funds came from the county's ¼-cent sales tax for transportation projects.</p><p>Thanks to the new bridge, Toms can hike from his home in the Bodega Harbour subdivision up to the town's post office, something he would never do along the state highway.</p><p>He passes through the Bird Walk Coastal Access Park, an area of now-dry marshland that fills with water in winter and is frequented by waterfowl and shore birds.</p><p>Todd Holmes, a county parks planning manager, said a design is in the works for the trail's next phase, from Eastshore Road near the harbor to Salmon Creek.</p><p>The third and most challenging phase will connect those two trails and pass through the center of Bodega Bay.</p><p>"There's going to be cantilevers and boardwalks out over the water," Holmes said.</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Robert Digitale at 521-5285</p><p>or robert.digitale@</p><p>pressdemocrat.com.</p>