Sonoma County planners unveil option for Sonoma Valley bike path

Sonoma County planners have unveiled their preferred route for a 13-mile bike and pedestrian trail through Sonoma Valley envisioned as an alternative to Highway 12.

The recommendation calls for a path along either the east or west side of the highway - depending on the location - from Agua Caliente Road in Sonoma to Melita Road in Santa Rosa.

At most highway crossings, trail users would rely on existing traffic signals to get safely across.

Gary Helfrich, executive director of the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition, called it a “great plan.”

“Sure, in a perfect world it’s on one side of (Highway 12), and where it crosses the road, there’s a bridge over it so that you don’t have to interact with cars,” Helfrich said. “But that’s a fantasy that would never get built.”

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to review the draft proposal Tuesday. The public can comment on the plans at an open house from 6 to 8 p.m. on Jan. 20 at the Kenwood Fire Protection District office.

The final draft of a feasibility study is scheduled to be presented to supervisors Feb. 2.

Caltrans awarded Sonoma County Regional Parks a $190,575 grant for the pathway study. The county kicked in another $21,175 in park mitigation fees.

The proposal calls for running the trail on the west side of Highway 12 between Melita Road and Oakmont Drive; along the east side between Oakmont and Arnold Drive in Glen Ellen; and along the west side between Arnold Drive and Agua Caliente Road.

The study refers to the area of Kenwood between Randolph Avenue and Warm Springs Road as a “special segment” because of development that fronts the highway through that area.

In order to maintain access to businesses and homes on Kenwood’s west side, the proposed design calls for splitting the trail, with a one-way northbound section on the east side of the highway. The southbound section would be a two-way separated bikeway, or what’s known as a “cycle track.”

Helfrich predicted that the path between Oakmont and Kenwood would be one of the easier segments to complete. He said in other areas, challenges ranging from permitting issues to access to private property could delay construction.

The trail is one component of an ambitious Sonoma County plan to create an additional 800 miles of off-street paths, bike lanes and bike- and pedestrian -friendly road crossings and parking.

About 40 miles currently exist, including the Joe Rodota Trail, which opened in the late 1980s and links Santa Rosa with Sebastopol.

The Sonoma Valley study is available online at http://bit.ly/1ZhkaRS.

You can reach Staff Writer Derek Moore at 521-5336 or derek.moore@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @deadlinederek.