‘Cyclists will still have to suffer’
The latest Road and Trail Management Plan (RTMP) meeting was an eagerly anticipated meeting for Marin County cyclists, who, after years of work and cooperation on the RTMP, looked forward to safer, more connected and more enjoyable networks of roads and narrow trails on their Open Space lands. Because of draconian trail restrictions, off-road cyclists are confined to hazardous fire roads and city streets. Region 1, the subject of the first meeting, is lacking in all attributes for those [who] choose to ride a bike: It is comprised of primarily steep, loose, dangerous, fire roads separated by busy thoroughfares such as Camino Alto. It was hoped by many in the off-road cycling community that most of these issues would be addressed as part of a process set up by Marin County Open Space District (MCOSD). By the time the meeting was over it was clear that this was not the case. Less than one mile of narrow trail was opened to cyclists, bringing the total mileage of non-contiguous trail available for cyclists to barely one mile. Cyclists will still have to suffer up and down the same dangerous, difficult fire roads and busy streets of Mill Valley, Corte Madera and Larkspur in order to link the region’s preserves together. If this is what we can expect as MCOSD works through the remaining regions, then plainly we have been deceived and are sorely disappointed. We were told that measure A would result in increased recreation opportunity for all in Marin County and this is clearly not the case.
David Simon
