SONOMA VALLEY TRAIL FEASIBILITY STUDY DRAFT Sonoma County Regional Parks 2300 County Center Drive, #120A Santa Rosa, CA 95403 Tel: 707.565.2041 Fax: 707.579.8247 NOVEMBER 2015 Sonoma Valley Trail Feasibility Study Prepared for: Sonoma County Regional Parks 2300 County Center Drive, #120A Santa Rosa, CA 95403 Tel: 707.565.2041 Fax: 707.579.8247 Prepared by: Questa Jeffrey H. Peters, Principal Box 133 Penngrove, CA 94951 Tel: (510) 236-6114, ext. 206 NOVEMBER 2015 This Study was funded by a Caltrans Community Based Transportation Planning Grant. CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Purpose ............................................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Study Area ........................................................................................................................................ 1 2 OUTREACH .............................................................................................................................................. 2 3. COMMUNITY FRAMEWORK ................................................................................................................... 4 3.1 Demographics, Stakeholders, and Interest Groups.......................................................................... 4 3.2 Related Plans and Policies ............................................................................................................. 10 4 ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING ................................................................................................................ 24 4.1 Aesthetics ....................................................................................................................................... 24 4.2 Agricultural Resources .................................................................................................................... 27 4.3 Biological Resources ...................................................................................................................... 30 4.3 Cultural Resources ......................................................................................................................... 36 4.4 Geology and Soils ........................................................................................................................... 39 4.5 Hazards and Hazardous Materials ................................................................................................. 44 4.6 Hydrology and Water Quality .......................................................................................................... 45 4.7 Land Use, Right of Way and Property Ownership .......................................................................... 48 4.8 Transportation/Traffic ...................................................................................................................... 54 4.9 Other Environmental Issues .......................................................................................................... 65 4.9 Permits and Approvals Needed ..................................................................................................... 66 5 BENEFITS ANALYSIS............................................................................................................................ 69 6 ISSUES, OPPORTUNITIES, ALTERNATIVES ...................................................................................... 79 6.1 Options and Alternatives ................................................................................................................. 79 6.2 Opportunities and Constraints ........................................................................................................ 82 7 DRAFT TRAIL CONCEPTS .................................................................................................................... 85 7.1 Preferred Alignment ........................................................................................................................ 85 i | Page SONOMA VALLEY TRAIL FEASIBILITY STUDY SONOMA COUNTY REGIONAL PARKS 7.2 Highway 12/ Trail Crossings ................................................................................................................. 86 8 DESIGN GUIDELINES ............................................................................................................................ 90 8.1 Design and Regulatory Standards .................................................................................................. 91 8.2 Design Standards for Caltrans Facilities ........................................................................................ 93 8.3 Trail Accessibility .......................................................................................................................... 101 8.4 Aesthetic Considerations .............................................................................................................. 104 8.5 Trail Elements ............................................................................................................................... 105 8.6 Signage, Wayfinding and Interpretive Elements ........................................................................... 110 8.7 Street/Trail Crossings ................................................................................................................... 112 8.8 Trailhead Staging Areas ............................................................................................................... 113 8.9 Trail Operations and Maintenance................................................................................................ 113 9 IMPLEMENTATION .............................................................................................................................. 117 9.1 Next Steps .................................................................................................................................... 117 9.2 Priorities and Phasing ................................................................................................................... 119 9.3 Cost Estimates by Segment ......................................................................................................... 122 9.4 Summary of Transportation Funding Opportunities...................................................................... 122 10. REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................. 135 APPENDICES A. Public Engagement B. Special Status Plant Species C. Special Status Animal Species ii | Page SONOMA VALLEY TRAIL FEASIBILITY STUDY - DRAFT SONOMA COUNTY REGIONAL PARKS MAPS/FIGURES: 1-1 STUDY LOCATION 4-1 IMPORTANT FARMLANDS 4-2 BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES 4-3 GEOLOGY 4-4 LANDSLIDES 4-5 FEMA FLOODPLAIN 4-6 LAND USE – OAKMONT AREA 4-7 LAND USE – KENWOOD AREA 4-8 LAND USE – AGUA CALIENTE 4-9 BICYCLE-PEDESTRIAN COLLISIONS 4-10 VEHICLE COLLISIONS 6-1 TRAIL SEGMENTS (OVERVIEW) 6-2 TO 6-9 OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS (MAPS BY SEGMENT) 7-1 PRELIMINARY TRAIL ALIGNMENT (OVERVIEW) 7-2 TO 7-9 PRELIMINARY TRAIL ALIGNMENT (MAPS BY SEGMENT) 7-10 TO 7-21 INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENTS 8-1 CLASS 1 PATH (SEPARATED OFF STREET TRAIL) 8-2 CLASS 1 PATH WITH BARRIER 8-3 PATH AT TRANSIT STOP 8-4 SHARED AGRICULTURAL USE iii | Page SONOMA VALLEY TRAIL FEASIBILITY STUDY - DRAFT SONOMA COUNTY REGIONAL PARKS Acknowledgements Thank you to the community members and agency staff who, throughout the planning process, provided valuable input during public workshops and stakeholder meetings. This collaboration is key to successful implementation of the Sonoma Valley Trail as part of a connected trails network within Sonoma County. The input of the public was crucial to the integrity of this plan, and we appreciate all who gave their time to serve as stakeholders, fill out surveys, voice their opinions and participate in interviews. This project was funded with a Caltrans Community Based Transportation Planning Grant and local funds. Project Manager Ken Tam, Sonoma County Regional Parks Department Stakeholder Participants Amy Lyle, Sonoma County PRMD Bob Baeyen Ken Wells, Sonoma County Trails Council Erin Morris, Santa Rosa Community Development Barbara Moulton, Santa Rosa Bicycle and Pedestrian Gary Helfrich, Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition Advisory Board Chris Woodcock, Sonoma County BPAC, District 1 John McCaull, Sonoma Land Trust Justin Frese, Sonoma Valley Unified School District Leslie Lew, Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Jason Nutt, County Transportation and Public Works Open Space District Nancy Adams, City of Santa Rosa Anthony Taylor, Sonoma County Department of Health Wendy Peterson, Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau Services Steve Schmitz, Sonoma County Transit David Petritz & Thea Hensel, Southeast Greenway Campaign Wendy Atkins, City of Sonoma Tom Martin, SV Citizens Advisory Commission Pat Stevens, SV Citizens Advisory Commission Caltrans District 4 Becky Frank, Senior Transportation Planner Sergio Ruiz, Contract Manager Study Team Questa Jeff Peters, Principal/Project Manager Margaret Henderson, Senior Landscape Architect Andrew McDade, Staff Engineer Oliver Reyes, Landscape Designer Tom Hawbaker, Technical Writer Sonoma Ecology Center Joshua Abrams, Transportation Planner Ian Moore Parisi Associates iv | Page SONOMA VALLEY TRAIL FEASIBILITY STUDY - DRAFT SONOMA COUNTY REGIONAL