NATURE : County Picks Up the Trail of Paths Network

Good news may be in the works for hikers, runners, equestrians, mountain bikers and road cyclists--anyone who uses local trails or bike paths.

Efforts to create a countywide network of multiuse trails and paved paths, part of the county’s general plan since the early ‘70s, are finally being revived after a long dormancy, pushed along by increasing public demands for trails.

The County Board of Supervisors last January created the Riding and Hiking Trails Advisory Committee. The 12-member body, with input from trail-user groups, has spent much of its first eight months in the field, evaluating current and proposed trails and issuing reports on their status.

That work is now complete, and the committee now moves to the task of developing a priority list for trail projects, looking at funding prospects and land acquisition policies, and addressing the issue of accommodating different user groups.

“There are really few trails that are very complete,” said Stephen Nordeck, chairman of the committee and chairman of the County Planning Commission. In the past, he said, there has not been enough manpower to address the trails issue, but rising public use of existing trails--and demands for more paths--moved the supervisors to act.

One of the major goals of the existing Master Plan of Regional Riding and Hiking Trails is “to connect the mountains to the sea,” according to county planning director Thomas Mathews, whose staff is providing support to the trails committee.

The network, as envisioned, would connect regional parks and other open spaces, including trails in the Cleveland National Forest. In many cases, these would follow existing natural corridors, such as stream beds. Already completed examples include the Santa Ana River trail and portions of the Aliso Creek trail.

Trails under consideration cover all sections of the county.

Another goal is connecting the system to trails in other counties, including extension of the Santa Ana River trail through Riverside and San Bernardino counties, which Mathews said is “closer now to becoming a reality than ever before.”

The county has been heavily developed since the original trails master plan was adopted, so a survey of the status of each path was necessary. County planner Frank McGill said the reports reveal a multitude of conditions.

Some proposed trails do not exist at all, while others are virtually complete save for such finishing touches as directional signs and equestrian railings. Still others, such as several in the Nellie Gail Ranch, are developed but are not open to the public because the county has not acquired easements.

While development has changed the face of the county since the adoption of the original master plan, securing entitlements for planned trails has often been neglected. That must be avoided in future developments, Mathews said, and corrected where possible for past projects.

Another change in the past two decades is the emergence of a new and controversial group of trail users: mountain bike riders. In some areas of the country, off-road bicyclists have raised the ire of such longtime trail users as hikers and equestrians, and have even been banned from some trails.

The issue of mountain bike access was raised directly in the board resolution creating the trails committee, and mountain bike advocates were prepared for a “knockdown, drag-out fight,” according to Nordeck.

But so far, he said, relations between the groups have been smooth.

“I think the committee works really well together,” said Nordeck, who is an equestrian. “I’ve learned a lot about (mountain bikers) and they’re learning about us.”

The issue of access for mountain bikers and other users will be determined on a trail-by-trail basis.

Nordeck estimates that the committee’s work is 60% complete and said it will probably wrap up its work by January. Mathews summarized the committee’s goals: “We need to review the trail system, review the resources that we have available and make some choices.”

The committee’s recommendations will first go to the county Harbors, Beaches and Parks Department for review and possible alterations. Then it goes before the Planning Commission before reaching the Board of Supervisors, where it will most likely be considered in the form of an amendment to the county’s general plan.

While there will not be a specific timetable for completing trail construction and improvements, the committee will compile a priority list for the most urgent projects. Nordeck said the committee’s recommendations could include the hiring of a full-time county trails coordinator, whose position would be funded out of grants rather than through the county’s general fund.

One of the first tangible fruits of the committee’s labor will be an updated map of existing county trails and paths. But both Nordeck and Mathews said they hope actual expansion of that system will proceed soon after the committee’s work is done.

Stay tuned.