Guest Commentary: Cyclists aren't invaders in Gold River

"Gold River fears invasion of commuter bicyclists." The headline on a Jan. 9 online version of an article about Gold River's opposition to Rancho Cordova's proposed south-only interchange on Highway 50 between Hazel Avenue and Sunrise Boulevard made me cringe.

As a longtime bicycle commuter, president of the Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates (SABA) and member of the Sacramento City-County Bicycle Advisory Committee, I volunteer much of my free time promoting bicycling as healthy, clean, cheap and fun transportation and advocating for safe and convenient bikeways. I passionately believe in transportation choice and complete streets that accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians in addition to motorists.

The irony is that I live in Gold River, the epitome of NIMBYism in this sad case. To say that I am disappointed and upset at my community's position is an understatement.

I hope that the Gold River Community Association Board of Directors will reconsider its position and choose to be a partner in the Sacramento region's solution to traffic congestion, poor air quality, global warming and the obesity epidemic rather than part of the problem.

It's not that I'm thrilled about the proposed half-interchange, which is intended to relieve the area's already congested thoroughfares and serve new development south of Highway 50. But as long as local decision-makers continue to approve sprawling developments such as Sunridge (in what is now Rancho Cordova) with poor access to public transportation and no safe and convenient through bikeways, residents have little transportation choice other than their motor vehicles.

The project is a half-interchange because Gold River residents persuaded the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors years ago to drop a full interchange because they didn't want freeway traffic in their neighborhoods. Gold River motorists access Highway 50 via the Hazel Avenue and Sunrise Boulevard interchanges, adding to the notorious traffic congestion.

Although the half-interchange would provide no motor vehicle access to Gold River, bicyclists and pedestrians would be able to cross Highway 50 to public roads in Gold River. Opponents fear that non-Gold River residents from the south side of Highway 50 would use their network of private bike trails to reach the American River Parkway bike trail.

Liability associated with the use of private bike trails by non-Gold River residents is a valid concern. However, the reality is that bicyclists do not need these trails to access the parkway because they can do so via Gold Country Boulevard, a public road, at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery near Hazel and the county-maintained Sunrise Corridor Bikeway.

Gold River's position does not take into account that the project would allow Gold River residents to easily bicycle or walk over Highway 50 to the planned light rail station near Mine Shaft Road. Bicyclist and pedestrian access to the Sunrise light-rail station is more than two miles away. Most people won't walk more than a quarter-mile to a transit stop.

What's deeply disturbing to me is the implication by project opponents that bicycle commuters are bad. The bicycle commuters I know cycle for a variety of reasons, including concern about the environment, exercise, convenience and fun. Bicycle commuters mean fewer motor vehicles on the road, which benefits everyone.

Bicyclists aren't bad. Almost everyone rides a bike, including my and your neighbors, friends and relatives. Your doctor or your mail carrier may be cyclists. Bicyclists aren't "invaders." They are us.

My husband and I were already avid bicyclists when we moved to the Sacramento area from Redding in 1987 and began looking for a house to buy. Our top criterion was living within one mile of the parkway bike trail and a short pedal to the Sierra foothills, but close enough to our jobs in downtown Sacramento to make bicycle commuting feasible.

When our real estate agent suggested Gold River, we had mixed feelings about the strict rules of a master-planned community, but loved the location and network of paved bike trails that connected directly to the parkway. Gold River is an ideal location for bicycle enthusiasts.

Contrary to statements in the Jan. 9 article by Steve Watanabe, chairman of the Gold River Interchange Committee, and Gold River general manager Mike Childress, these trails have always been called bike trails, not nature paths as they claimed. They seem to be rewriting Gold River history to support their opposition to the project.

The association's Web page, old newsletters and other documents clearly describe the trails as bike trails. There is even a Gold River Bike Trail Map, which says, "An integral part of the design and lifestyle of Gold River, the bike trails provide a unique area for bicycling, walking, running and other outdoor pursuits. This map is provided to you as a service by the Gold River Community Association."

When the half-interchange's draft environmental impact report is released soon and a public hearing or hearings are held, my hope is that Gold River recognizes the benefits of bicyclist and pedestrian access over the freeway. The public comment period represents an opportunity for both sides to work out solutions to opponents' concerns, including the use of Gold River's private bike trails and use of neighborhood streets near the interchange as an unofficial light-rail parking lot.

Gold River needs to lower the barricade and join the complete streets movement. Everyone agrees we need less auto traffic.

Let's be part of the solution and advocate for sustainable, clean, quiet and healthy transportation, and not against it.

About the writer:

• Lea Brooks is president of the Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates.