photo credit: Googlemaps
An existing segment of the Coastal Prairie Trail will be extended toward Bodega Bay

Construction of just more than half a mile of trail through Bodega Bay could start later this year. It's part of a three mile long bypass--diverting cyclists from busy State Route 1--and offering a more pleasant walking path between Keefe Avenue and Doran Beach.

The segment under discussion reaches from Bay Flat Road to just north of Ranch Road, connecting to an already completed segment running a mile and a half to Salmon Creek.

Sonoma County's Board of Supervisors recently agreed to apply for fifty thousand dollars from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission for the trail.

That drew ire from West County resident Beth Bruzzone, who told supervisors she closely follows local issues but wasn't aware of the planned trails.

"I do not believe that property owners have been properly noticed regarding either of these trail systems. I ask that regional parks be required to thoroughly and precisely notice all landowners within at least one mile of the location." 

Supervisor Lynda Hopkins said the Bodega Bay trail is no stealth plan.

"That actually originated under Mike Riley's tenure as supervisor...and there have been meetings with stakeholders. It's been going on for I believe that would be decades, so it's not a new project."

The trail was included in 2004's Measure M expenditure plan and in a 2009 funding agreement with the Sonoma County Transportation Authority, according to the county.

The board also agreed to apply for $1 million grant from the Ag + Open Space District for four miles of trail on the other side of the county---leading southward from Sonoma. 

The Schellville trail would run along old railroad tracks four miles from Napa Street East to State Routes 12 and 121, connecting the planned Bay Trail with a path through Sonoma. The county negotiated a $2.6 million deal to buy the right-of-way from Union Pacific Railroad, set to close next March.