Trails proposed near Bass Lake - Should They?

[Sandman]

[JennyG999]

I would love to see a trail on the north shore...we love to walk into the Pines, but the road gets pretty narrow at points.

However, I don't know what the impact would be to homeowners along the road.

[Patagoniamaniac]

my son, husband and dad ride there road bikes along the south shore on the way to north fork I always worry about the lack of road room and the yoo hoos at the lake..I encourage a bike route on both sides of the Lake for the pedestrian and bike riders safety.

[Patagoniamaniac]

my son, husband and dad ride there road bikes along the south shore on the way to north fork I always worry about the lack of road room and the yoo hoos at the lake..I encourage a bike route on both sides of the Lake for the pedestrian and bike riders safety.

[Dodgergirl]

a bike trail would be nice. if only for the fact that then, maybe, drivers wouldn't come around a corner and come right up on a bicyclist riding in the middle of the road, even at 15 mph, this can be scary. and if you're towing a boat, it's real hard to just stop completely. there really isn't a safe place to pass up there. i am concerned about the construction and environmental impact. where would they put in a bike lane, how are they planning on widening the road? blasting the mountain? eight feet is a lot of road, especially you've basically got lake & mountain to use.

[Dodgergirl]

a bike trail would be nice. if only for the fact that then, maybe, drivers wouldn't come around a corner and come right up on a bicyclist riding in the middle of the road, even at 15 mph, this can be scary. and if you're towing a boat, it's real hard to just stop completely. there really isn't a safe place to pass up there. i am concerned about the construction and environmental impact. where would they put in a bike lane, how are they planning on widening the road? blasting the mountain? eight feet is a lot of road, especially you've basically got lake & mountain to use.

[Mibrew]

I think the trails are a good idea, and I know they would be put to use by many of us http://oakhurstforums.com/icon/yes.gif

[Surfus]

I would like to see a bike trail on the South shore.
We used to ride our bikes from The forks to Wishon and back every Monday and then put all the Caleries back on with luch at the Forks.
We have not this year because of POPROCKS being Knocked up but the cars alway come closed to running us over.

[Mibrew]

Bass Lake bike trail open house draws 75

By Volney Dunavan
dunavan@netptc.net


Dean VanRossen, one of the Bass Lake Homeowner Association’s directors, answers questions regarding the proposed bike trail along North Shore Road (432).



NORTH FORK - About 75 people signed in at last week’s Bass Lake bike trail open house, says event coordinator Elissa Brown, and 53 of them took the time to fill in comment forms. She actually thinks that closer to 90 people were probably in attendance as some bypassed the sign in sheets.

The open house was to obtain public comment about a proposed bike trail that would run along Bass Lake’s North Shore Road (432) between its junction with South Shore Road (222) and The Pines Village. It would be part of a bike/pedestrian trail around the entire lake.

Bass Lake is the most heavily used recreation area in the entire Sierra National Forest and one of only a few recreational lakes in California that does not have a trail system. The open house also provided resource people to answer specific questions regarding the project.

At present time, the US Forest Service is working on a five mile bike/pedestrian trail along South Shore Road (222) from Recreation Point to the Wishon Boat Launch. Future grants would complete the trail going from The Pines Village up to Malum Ridge Road (274) and curving back toward the lake roughly opposite Wishon Point. Future grants would also complete the short stretch from the end of the North Shore Road (432) trail down South Shore Road (222) to the start of the USFS trail.

Brown reports that 24 of the 53 comment forms were totally positive indicating feelings that the project was “long overdueâ€� and that it would offer a “safer place to walk and ride bikes.â€� Nine were totally negative stressing that the bike/pedestrian trail would encourage drivers to speed along the route and the California Highway Patrol needed to ticket the people who were driving unsafely. Writers also cited the impact on existing trees and the loss of parking spaces. Some expressed concern that the open house was held during the week over summer when homeowners were not necessarily in the area.

Madera County Sheriff John Anderson attended the Open House and agreed that it was human nature, that people do tend to drive faster when they believe the road is safer. It is the belief of the bike trail design team, however, that the slight increase in speed will be more than offset by a safer roadway.

According to Dean VanRossen, one of the directors on the board of the Bass Lake Homeowners Association, trees over 15 inches in diameter will not be removed unless the tree is sick. Indeed, the maps of the trail lined the walls of Lakeview Room B, and they illustrated how often the trail would actually duck around a tree, to allow it to remain. While homeowners will potentially lose some parking spaces and may have to relocate mailboxes and other conveniences, truth is the proposed trail is by and large on the County road easement and not on private property.

Site visits were encouraged for anyone who had specific issues and 16 people requested this. Mr. VanRossen has a background in construction management, and will help with the visits.

The Bass Lake Homeowners Association has taken no position regarding the proposed trail.

The trail is part of mitigation and environmental enhancements related to the relicensing of Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s Crane Valley Project which includes the reservoir we call Bass Lake. The comments and suggestions received at the open house will be reviewed by the trail design team, the funding and reviewing governmental agencies, and finally the Madera County Board of Supervisors who will be asked to give final approval to the project.

Funding would come from the California Resource Agency’s Environmental Enhancement Mitigation Program.

The two-mile section would be Class II Bike Lanes which would be four feet wide along each side of the existing road.

It would be part of the 13.5 mile multi-purpose trail proposed for the Bass Lake area.

[Sandman]

<h1 align="center">Supervisors to revisit proposed bike trail</h1><h4 ALIGN=CENTER>Trail would run along Bass Lake’s North Shore Road between South Shore Road and The Pines Village</h4>
www.sierrastar.com (http://www.sierrastar.com)
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<p class="justify">MADERA - Tuesday, Sept. 28 at 1:30 in the afternoon, Madera County Supervisors will receive a request for approval for a Class II Bike Lane which would run along Bass Lake’s North Shore Road (432) between its junction with South Shore Road (222) and The Pines Village.


Spearheading the project is the group, Partners for Bass Lake Resources, which has evolved from the relicensing of Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s Crane Valley Project which includes Bass Lake. The trail is part of mitigation and environmental enhancements as required by the relicensing. Funding would come from the California Resource Agency’s Environmental Enhancement Mitigation Program.

The concerned public was invited to an open house in early September, where they had an opportunity to view the overall plan, ask questions and write their concerns. More than 22 individuals and two boat dock associations have subsequently met with project coordinators.

Public input is invited on the bike trail at the Board of Supervisor’s meeting. Speakers will be asked not to talk over three minutes, and not to duplicate comments made by previous speakers.

Public comment can be made at the meeting in Madera at the Government Center at 209 West Yosemite Avenue. Or, with arrangements made prior to that day, through the teleconferencing facility at the Senior Center in Oakhurst or the Community Development Council conference room in North Fork.

According to Dean VanRossen, one of the directors on the board of the Bass Lake Homeowners Association, should the Supervisors approve the project, it most likely would not be completed until next fall as there will be no construction during the May through end of September recreation season.

The trail would be four feet wide along each side of the existing road and would bypass trees over 15 inches in diameter unless the trees are diseased. The trail will be built on the County easement.

Also on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting is a request for approval by the Board of Supervisors for a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to be sent to proposed master developers of the old mill site in North Fork.

The Community Development Council and County staff have worked diligently to put together the RFQ, in the hopes of attracting coordinated site development.

There also will be a presentation on a proposed Madera Paleontology Museum and Fossil Discovery Center which would be built at the Fairmead landfill.
Information about the Board of Supervisor’s meeting can be obtained at (559) 675-7700; the mill site development at (559) 877-2244; and the Bike Trail at (559) 641-6308.


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