Message from the ED: MMWD Pilot Trails Update
Dear Friends,
This has already been quite the year for advocacy and we’ve all been watching to see how Marin Water is evolving its trail use plans. Access4Bikes has played a critical role in bringing about changes and we’re deeply grateful to everyone working to rectify the lack of access for mountain bikes in the watershed. For those wondering, “Why now,” I’d like to give some context, followed by an update about what we learned at last week’s Watershed Committee meeting. TL;DR, skip to “What we’ve been waiting for.”
The need for a renewed Recreation Management Plan (RMP) came about when the watershed saw visitation numbers unlike anything it had ever seen, during the COVID 19 pandemic. Parking was in high demand, bathrooms were impacted, trash was piling up, and user conflict reports were spiking. Under leadership of a newly elected Board of Directors, the RMP became a top priority. Along with consultants, Alta Planning, staff went about surveying the users, doing trail counts and resource inventories, and reaching out to other communities for success stories.
Beginning in June, 2022, Marin Water conducted 6 community workshops, provided updates at meetings of the Board of Directors (BOD), and held private meetings with stakeholders – all of which A4B and our community participated in. On April 16, 2024, the BOD approved the RMP Feasibility Study which set in motion new policies to address the changing needs of users while protecting natural resources.
What we’ve been waiting for.
On June 20, 2024, the Watershed Committee announced which trails are being considered for inclusion in the pilot programs that will allow bikes on trails – including a program to allow Class 1 eMTBs on all trails open to bikes.
Below is a slide from the staff presentation that lists the system trails under consideration.
First, not all of these trails will make it through the screening process and as much as we’d like to include our favorite social trails, those will have to wait until we are much further along in this RMP process. Still, this list shows that staff are listening and trying to do something meaningful for the bike community.
Second, along with this list, we heard that community compliance with stated rules of trail use is a requirement for the pilot programs to be deemed successful. This means that once programs take effect, our community will have to resist riding where riding is prohibited – and yes, increased penalties for rule violations are being discussed.
There’s a lot riding on our community (pun intended) to be responsible trail users to prove the programs are a success. Other criteria used to evaluate the success of the pilots will include user counts, conditions before and after bike use, invasive plants, compliance, visitor experience, and volunteer engagement.
Third, the timeframe for trail screening is between now and August. In September, the pilot trails will be announced with openings going into effect shortly thereafter. Yes, you read this right, we’ll be legally shredding some Mt. Tam singletrack this fall! We’ll owe the Board of Directors, staff, and ourselves a big thank you and group hug for our (exceedingly) patient activism.
I invite you to look at the full report of the June 20 meeting, including a video, here: https://marinwater-ca.municodemeetings.com/bc-wc/page/watershed-committee-meetingspecial-meeting-board-directors-2
As always, your support makes all of this work possible. Ride on, my friends, and I’ll see you at the next Watershed Committee meeting on September 19, 2024 at 9:30am.
Vernon Huffman
Executive Director, Access4Bikes Foundation
