Point Reyes Light - September 21, 2000
Network of bike paths proposed for West Marin
As county transportation officials finish up a master plan for bicycle and pedestrian pathways throughout Marin, cycling advocates from Bolinas and Stinson Beach have proposed installing a paved bike lane on Highway 1 along Bolinas Lagoon.
The ad hoc Bolinas-Stinson Paths Group made the proposal earlier this summer to run a path connecting the two towns as part of an effort by West Marin cyclists to be recognized in the final draft of the Marin County Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan, which until then had largely ignored rural Marin.
Advocates have also tentatively proposed adding paths along Highway 1 from the Bolinas Wye to Point Reyes Station, from the Bolinas Wye to Fairfax along the Bolinas-Fairfax Road, from Highway 1 to the Bolinas-Stinson School along the Olema-Bolinas Road, and from the Bolinas Mesa at Overlook Drive to Palomarin trailhead along Mesa Road.
More bicyclists along lagoon Working with the Congestion Management Agency, Marin Public Works staff plan to evaluate proposals from communities throughout the county. Farhad Mansourian, chief assistant director of Public Works, said the proposals will have to survive a four-step review process before they are included in the master plan.
"The conceptual ideas made by the communities will be considered in terms of county support, environmental feasibility, engineering feasibility, and their overall worth to the community," Mansourian said. "But it is still very early on in the process."
Barbara Wyeth, a spokeswoman for the Bolinas-Stinson group, last week asked for support from the Bolinas Lagoon Technical Advisory Committee.
"The usage of the route is increasing, and it's not going to decrease," Wyeth told the committee on Friday. "It would be nice to get a path in place before someone gets killed."
Path would improve drive Jack McClellan of Bolinas agreed that the committee should consider supporting the project as part of a larger plan to restore the lagoon ecosystem through removing sediment and roadside fill. "All we're trying to say is don't forget about the bicycles," McClellan said. "And the plan is not just for bicycles. It will enhance the driving experience and does not need to damage the tidal prism."
Wyeth noted that Caltrans has already recognized the project as a "viable issue." Nina Bellak, also of the paths group, suggested that the project could be integrated with a committee proposal to remove or reduce several large pullouts on the west side of Highway 1. "We're not asking to fill in any part of the lagoon," she said. "All that needs to be done is to slightly enhance what is already there."
Recreation v. restoration However, Andrea di Marco, chairwoman of the committee, told the bicycle advocates that the project could not likely be included in the lagoon restoration project, which is geared primarily toward enhancing the environment. "This does not fall into our restoration project. It falls into day-to-day management," she said. "My feeling is that this is a recreation project."
While the committee declined to take a formal stance on the path proposal, committee member Ralph Camiccia of Bolinas expressed support for a multi-use path along the road which did not displace any of the tidal flow in the lagoon.
"Placing a bike path on the west side of Highway 1 is asking a lot," he said. "In my mind the east side [of the road] is a better location... I'm supportive if we don't have to give up any water."