Lime Ridge is already a mountain biking destination for thrill seekers.
The City of Walnut Creek is putting their communities interests forward with building an innovative trail system for hikers, bikers, that incorprates wildlife and natural habitats.
The Walnut Creek Trails Committee was formed in 2019.
In 2019, the Trails Committee was formed to document the current state of the Walnut Creek Open Space trail system, and to deliberate over the vision for its future. The Committee included members from the PROS Commission, the Open Space Foundation, representative from local mountain biking and equestrian user groups, and Open Space staff. Over the course of monthly meetings in 2019 and into 2020, topics of discussion included safety of trail users, protection of natural resources, habitat restoration, education and outreach, Open Space policies and ways to accommodate different types of user groups.
The Trails Committee failed to include hikers or neighborhood representatives.
The Trails committee had no representation from hikers, dog walkers, or neighbors that abut the open space. Hikers and walkers make up over 70% of the users of Lime Ridge yet they were not fairly represented on this committee. There was also no representation from the cows that are prone to graze in the area. The Bicycle Trails Council of the East Bay (BTCEB) had two members on the committee. The BTCEB has been actively lobbying the city of Walnut Creek to gain single-track trails in the Open Space.
Mountain Bikers are driving the decisions of the Trails Committee.
The Bicycle Trails Council of the East Bay (BTCEB) has promoted the Flow trail throughout their organization. They have offered to fundraise to pay for the trail and its maintenance. They were even involved in where signage was posted notifying people of the proposed flow trails, locations were specific to mountain bikers and deliberately avoided hiking trails. They have mobilized bikers from all over the bay area to write in to support the Flow trail. This entire process is to benefit of local homeowners and community members.
Walnut Creek Parks, Recreation and Open Space Commission needs to accelerate and develop the Flow Trails.
The Walnut Creek PROS commission was poised to approve the Trail Committee recommendations in February of 2021 and it was only tabled due to local resident's NIMBYism. There is a lot of new support from local organizers and residents on how this trail system could be a huge benefit to the community.
The Lime Ridge Master Plan was developed more than 35 years ago.
The Master Plan for Lime Ridge didn't include this type of trail, as skateparks, bike parks, and more wasn't common. The Public Works department had planned to build the Flow trail this Spring in phase 1 and was planning a second flow trail in phase 2 in Concord, in the area abutting Montecito and Crystyl Ranch. Neither of these communities were notified of these proposals. As with Rancho Paraiso there would be trail access points within these residential communities. This is a serious concern as these Flow trails would bring an influx of mountain bikers from all over Northern California to our hills to enjoy our amazing community. These trails would become a destination. Bikers will post videos and share their ride times on social apps, attracting more bikers to the hills.
Mountain Bikers caused immense damage to our Open Space with illegal trails.
Turning Lime Ridge into a mountain biking destination would only bring more people to our hills. The Trails committee did a good job capturing the current damage in Lime Ridge that has been caused by mountain bikers illegally carving up the hillsides for thrill rides. The City is smart to think that building Flow Trails will keep Bikers on those trails, and they won’t go off trail and cause more damage. It's this same reason that time, effort, and budget goes to building skateparks.
Walnut Creek sees opportunties to bring new trails to their communities.
Illegal trails have been built, and these shouldn't be seen as good solution. When there is space to build trails, they can be done in a way with small environmmental impact, and be enjoyed by all.
