The Clarksburg Branch Line Trail Extension project aims to improve the existing dirt trail and create a multi-use trail that will better serve bicycle, pedestrian, and equestrian users with parallel paved and unpaved paths and increase connectivity between West Sacramento and Clarksburg, according to the project website.
Anna Swenson, a member of the Delta Protection Commission Advisory Committee, is against the trail project.
About two dozen community members gathered Thursday night at the Clarksburg Citizen Advisory Committee meeting. Most were there to voice their concerns about the project.
"It's going to leave us with a lot of problems, and we're going to end up being babysitters for all the people on the trail," said Dwyer.
The City of West Sacramento purchased the branch line trail, an old railroad line, back in 2005 with the intention of designing major improvements to it under the federal rails-to-trails program.
"We would lose our access road, we would lose farm acreage, we would lose land value, we would lose security, we would gain liability, which we don't need," said Dwyer.
Dwyer and other neighbors say they are primarily concerned about loss of ag land, impacts to wildlife, added trash, transients, animal dumping, and potentially more crime.
Dwyer said in a recent Zoom call with city leaders and the other impacted landowners, she felt no progress was made. "They don't seem ready to work with us in any way, to think about alternative paths or to mitigate the damage that will be done," said Dwyer.
Dwyer says their family's attorney is ready to act. "If they will not cooperate and go and get a complete EIR (environmental impact review) and do everything that they need to do to comply with CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act), then we have a lawsuit ready to file. That's the only way we can stop them or slow them down," said Dwyer. The project is in the design stage right now. The City of West Sacramento hosted a series of community meetings on the topic throughout last year.
"The City of West Sacramento purchased the Sierra Northern Railroad's Clarksburg Branch Line in 2005 under the Federal Rails-to-Trails Program for the purpose of connecting West Sacramento to Clarksburg with a walk-bike-horse trail. The City has owned this trail for 20 years and is now designing improvements to grade and pave the unimproved trail. The Rails-to-Trails program is intended to preserve railroad right-of-way for future bike and pedestrian use by keeping the lines intact as trails. The Yolo County General Plan has called for this trail to be built for over twenty years, and the Rails to Trails Conservancy has studied thirty years of rail-trails and other multi-use trails.
The proposal would prevent the Coalition from building the trail that the Yolo County General Plan, City of West Sacramento General Plan, Great California Delta Trail Plan, SACOG Regional Trails Plan, and Clarksburg Community Plan direct us to build. Their proposal would violate the Yolo County General Plan's agricultural policies by paving over the attorney's clients' prime farmland, which currently receives agricultural tax breaks. Furthermore, the proposed alternatives would require the taxpayer to purchase land from the attorney's clients instead of using the land where the City already owns the right to build a trail.
The Clarksburg Branch Line Trail Extension is a long-planned transportation safety and recreation project that has broad regional support. The City remains committed to a transparent public process and welcomes continued participation through forums such as the Clarksburg Citizens Advisory Committee."
Hence then, the article about clarksburg neighbors push back against proposed bike pedestrian trail connecting to west sacramento was published today ( ) and is available on CBS sacramento ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Clarksburg neighbors push back against proposed bike, pedestrian trail connecting to West Sacramento )
Also on site :