Please Support Peters Canyon Class 1 Trail

Hope you'll support this -

Support Peters Canyon Class 1 Trail

https://www.change.org/p/orange-county-residents-support-peters-canyon-class-1-trail

 

Done! Signed!
Mikie

 

Signed...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I attended the last Peters canyon planning meeting and my take was that the paved bike path was not the focus of the meeting. The path has been a proposal for the last 30 years, and the planners said they had to include it in any new plan even if it wasn't going to get funded anytime soon. The controversy centered on the proposed parking expansions. The county was responding to complaints that Peters was overcrowded so they decided that adding parking was a reasonable fix. The planning consultant admitted that the park is full but the county isn't interested in tearing down fences and building new trails to offload Peters, they want to make the crowding worse.

This path is already "approved" but it is not funded as far as I know.

Where are you hearing that the bike path was the big issue? Most attendees thought it was an inappropriate place for a bike path, and I tend to agree given the crowds, but the crowds were the crux of the dissenting not the path. Though if the path does ever get funded there will be a lot of people who will care that it is executed well.

 

Sorry, but I prefer the dirt through Peters Canyon. If I want pavement, I'll go up Jamboree. Paving through Peters Canyon WILL destroy the "ambience" and will increase bike speeds.

 

Agree. I don't care much for Peters because of the crowds, but I can't support paving in a wilderness park.
Sets too much of a precedent.

 

^^^^^^This^^^^^^^^

I am not a fan of Peters Canyon as a cyclist. The oblivious/earbud wearing/5 abreast/10' leash dog walkers/hikers make it a non fun trail.

However, I despise the idea that they would consider putting a paved bike trail through the park. Then again, the powers that be there have done nothing but destroy the park. Apparently removing the "non native trees" meant making the fire road 30' wide in some spots. Add in the lovely orange fencing and the clear views to the back yards of the homes....it just screams tranquility and outdoor space. :roll:

 

First, some history...

Underneath the 'road' in Peters Canyon are an array of pipes, hence the manhole and access points along it. It was originally going to be paved because the companies servicing those items needed the width and pavement for their vehicles. The non-native trees that were removed had roots going into some of this structures. The road that exists is really an underground utility corridor leading from the expanding sewage lift station at the top of the trail all the way to the exit. That 'access easement' is a minimum of 30' in width. Also, it's a regional, not a wilderness park, with multiple flood-control segments used to create wilderness from the untreated adjacent hillside runoff.

Tustin/Orange had an opportunity to create a Class 1 trail when Jamboree expanded decades ago instead of having a 30' wide median, or as a condition of installing the toll road to do so retroactively...but obviously neither were funded.

The proposed trail would be like the portion in Tustin Ranch at the south exit of the park, 15' width Class 1 trail, 10' width dirt for horses, with some re-alignment to reduce the paved grades. If it gets more people on bikes, I'm all for it. Personally, I take the ridge line portion through the park, or stay on Jamboree. Too many people in the park on the bottom trail think it's their personal right to occupy the entire width...those on the ridge are more willing to share with respectful mountain bikers.

 

I saw an opposing petition over on the old board and wanted to post it here. Looks like we have differing opinions here on whether or not so support the Class 1 trail. I'm actually in the opposition camp. I'd rather see Peters Canyon stay as-is. We have plenty of pavement in OC and not much dirt to hike or bike on. There's really no reason for it there as Jamboree north to Santiago Canyon is not only a wide street, but has a wide bike lane. I ride that section on my roadie weekly with no problems. And, to connect the Peters Canyon trail to the riverbed bike trail at Portola, you ride right past Jamboree. Anyways, here is the opposing petition if anyone is interested in signing.

<a class="postlink" href="https://www.change.org/p/orange-county-residents-help-preserve-peters-canyon-regional-park" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">https://www.change.org/p/orange-county- ... ional-park</a>

 

There needs to be some sort of compromise I think...

The mountain to sea trail needs to be rideable - but not as a freeway...

 

If the Peters Canyon trail gets paved, it will be the freeway, complete with pedestrians, dogs, strollers, etc. In my mind that would Not Be A Good Thing.

 

Here's an update from the last meeting. Good news is that they are looking at other alternatives along Jamboree.

Friends of Peters Canyon
United States
Oct 14, 2015 — My sincere apologies for delay in getting this to you – we had a problem with our website that took too long to resolve.

Well, it ain’t over till it’s over, but I do think we’ve made substantial progress. Someone at the meeting Wednesday night commented that the Park can’t speak for itself, and that’s true: the Park can’t vote, can’t lobby on its own behalf, and can’t exert any political influence. It has to rely on us to do those things. And well over 200 people showed up at the meeting to do just that, I’d say easily 10 to 1 on our side of the issue.

We were able to demonstrate wide community support for preserving Peters Canyon as a natural space, with no paved bike trail, and, we did it in a way that was civil and courteous, and appreciative of the hard work OC Parks has put in to give us real alternatives to look at.

Thank you to everyone who spoke – I think we did an excellent job of conveying how many different groups use the Park. If you weren’t able to come, or if you were there but would like a closer look at the alternative routing that OC Parks proposed, they promised they would be putting those materials on their website, but they aren’t up as of yet. When they do go up, we’ll alert you. They are certainly worth studying in detail.

Summary of the Proposals

In brief, they presented another through-the-Park alternative with two main trails, one paved and suitable for street bikes (though still designed to be multi-user), and one dirt trail much as we have today. In some areas, the two trails would be separated by elevation, necessitating retaining walls and even more habitat impact than we expected. And the trails would cross at four intersections that would be especially dangerous areas. I think no one in FPC is in favor of that alternative.

Two other alternatives were proposed, one a Class I Bikeway on the East side of Jamboree (running up behind the Fire Authority Building) and connecting from Irvine Park down to Portola.

The second was a Class IV Bikeway which would either be a single two-way lane on one side of Jamboree, or two one-way lanes on either side of Jamboree, so that cyclists would always be moving in the same direction as car traffic. Class IV Bikeways are segregated from the auto lanes by some kind of physical barrier so they are intended to be much safer for riders than the current on-street lanes, whose only segregation is a thin stripe of paint.

What’s Next

We are very encouraged by the two alternatives. And, since Wednesday, we have many new signers to our petition – while the opposition has 1. We intend to keep it up and running as long as we have additional traffic or until a final decision on routing is reached.

If you were present Wednesday, you can see that our tee shirts were a valuable way to identify ourselves to Parks and Supervisor Spitzer. We have tees – if you know anyone who wants one, have them E-Mail us at www.friendsofpeterscanyon.com. I expect there will be one or more additional meetings where these may be useful.

There are two major milestones in the near future.

First, the OC Transportation Authority is slated to complete its work by the end of December, 2015. I believe that means that a final decision on Corridor A bikeway routing will have to be completed by then.

Second, OC Parks will hold Workshop #5 in the Fall of 2015 or the Winter of 2016, and that will include all the preservation/conservation work they are doing to Peters Canyon as part of their General Development Plan, as well as the enhancements that are planned, e.g. flush restrooms and more drinking fountains.

We’ll be connecting with both groups, as well as staying in contact with Supervisor Spitzer’s office, to try and influence the “path” this all takes.

Thank you again for showing up to be counted – it made all the difference!

 

It is not just "Wealthy home owners near Peters Canyon ..." that are against this. Also include the runners, walkers, bird watchers, etc on the Back Bay that see biker's rude and unsafe behavior every weekend. They don't want to get zinged while using Peters Canyon trails.

 

As opposed to the "take up the entire trail with dog leashes and 10 walkers/strollers/oblivious binocular wearers abreast/runners with earbuds/etc" who can't be bothered to understand it's a multi-use trail? Mutli-use includes bicycles.

Yes, I understand there are idiots on two-wheeled conveyances bombing through Peters Canyon. But they are few in number, and the other users of the trail are no better. ALL of us need to remember that ALL of us use the trail.

Stay right, and leave room for other users faster than you.

Don't remove one of your most important senses by inserting earplugs containing music.

Don't assume that your dog is well-behaved. It's a very heavily used park. Put your dog on a leash.

Don't complain if dust gets kicked up on a dirt (!) trail.

It's a MULTI-use trail.

Pay attention to what's going on around you.

Pay attention to what's going on BEHIND you.

Don't blast past other users. You already know it's crowded. Show some class, and some courtesy.

Given the above, I think we can all have a good day out on the trail. If you can't do the above, go somewhere else.