Gold River fears invasion of commuter bicyclists

Gold River residents fear an invasion of commuter bicyclists to their nature trails if a transportation project is built as planned.

Gold River residents are objecting to an interchange planned to relieve traffic congestion on nearby thoroughfares and serve new development south of Highway 50.

The draft environmental impact report on the Rancho Cordova Parkway interchange is due for release at the end of February, but the Gold River Community Association declared its opposition to the project when initial plans were unveiled two years ago.

Although the south-only interchange would provide no motor vehicle access to the master-planned residential community north of the freeway, the proposal calls for bicycle and pedestrian access.

Residents fear access from the interchange to Tenderfoot Drive in Eureka Village would result in commuter bicyclists traveling Gold River's privately owned and maintained trail network to reach the American River Parkway.

But the trails were not designed for bicycles, said Steve Watanabe, chairman of the Gold River Interchange Committee and its representative on the city's citizens advisory committee for the project.

"Gold River is careful not to call them bike paths," he said. "It is not safe to have bicycle commuters on those paths."

Mike Childress, general manager of the Gold River Community Association, said the paths that wind around many of Gold River's 25 villages were developed as nature trails.

"They're hilly, and they're not linear," he said.

Although cyclists are allowed on the trails, a recent community association newsletter reminded residents that bicycling is secondary to pedestrian use. "Bicyclists need to travel the walking trails at a relaxed speed and one suitable for conditions," the article cautions.

Mark Thomas, a civil engineer in Rancho Cordova's Public Works Department and manager for the interchange project, said the city is working with Gold River representatives to resolve the access issues.

All projects these days are being asked to provide for alternative modes of transportation, he said.

"We look at other options for people to move around, and one is to provide better pedestrian and bicycle access. ... In the grand scheme of things, more access is better than less access," Thomas said.

The city's goal was to provide a pathway to Tenderfoot Drive. Nearby Gold Country Boulevard, Gold River's major east-west street, includes bicycle lanes, and Thomas said city officials had not contemplated bicyclists using the community's nature trails.

Since Gold River's concerns were brought to their attention, city staff members have been examining other options, Thomas said.

Watanabe and resident Kathleen Willoughby argue that an existing Class I bike trail that runs under Highway 50 on abandoned Citrus Road, as well as a trail along the Folsom South Canal provide more appropriate links between the north and south sides of the freeway.

Willoughby noted that the Citrus Road trail runs near the Sunrise light-rail station and is designated by Sacramento Regional Transit as a future RT bus route between the station and Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights.

Watanabe said he had heard that residential developers south of Highway 50 were pushing for the trail into Gold River from the interchange so they could advertise access to the American River Parkway.

Thomas said he was not aware of any particular developer interest in the Gold River access, though he said developers are eager to have the interchange in place to serve their projects.

The interchange also is a priority for the Highway 50 Corridor Mobility Partnership, consisting of the cities of Rancho Cordova and Folsom, El Dorado and Sacramento counties, the state Department of Transportation, and area landowners and developers.

"It certainly is a fundamental part of our overall program," Thomas said.

Proposed bicycle and pedestrian access at the interchange is driven in part by anticipation that a new light-rail station will be built near Mine Shaft Lane, he said. The access would allow Gold River residents to easily walk or bicycle to the station.

If the station were built, trail access south of Highway 50 would be provided north of the Folsom South Canal, otherwise the southern access would be south of the canal, Thomas said.

Watanabe said the Gold River Community Association is concerned that motorists who don't want to battle traffic to cross the freeway on Sunrise Boulevard or Hazel Avenue would detour into Gold River to use the pathway. Tenderfoot Drive could turn into an unofficial light-rail parking lot, he said.

Thomas agreed that parking could become an issue, but he said it could be controlled with parking permits.

Gold River representatives said they also are concerned that the city has begun designing the interchange while the environmental review is under way.

Because of the critical need for the interchange, Thomas said the city has initiated the design for about 35 percent of the project.

"We have a lot of landowners south of Highway 50 who are eager to get things going," he said.

A 45-day public review period will follow release of the draft environmental impact report, and a community meeting will be held to receive public comment, Thomas said.

The interchange project is not yet fully funded, he said, but if plans proceed as scheduled, construction would begin in 2010 and take about two years to complete.