A proposal for a segment of the Great Redwood Trail south of Ukiah is getting scrutiny from environmentalists who are concerned about plans to remove over forty valley oaks, a half dozen of them more than forty inches in diameter at breast height. But city staff say many of the trees, including the biggest ones, can likely be spared as plans for the trail continue to evolve.
The original vision for the Great Redwood Trail was that it would be railbanked, or built on top of the railroad tracks, which would provide a pre-existing frame with ADA-compliant slopes and bridges across waterways. In October, the Surface Transportation Board, the federal body that regulates railways, gave the nod to the Great Redwood Trail Agency, a state organization that grew out of the Coastal Conservancy, to railbank the northern portion of the line from Willits to Eureka.
But no such permission has been granted for the southern portion, including a segment that the City of Ukiah plans to build from Commerce Drive in the Airport Park area to Norgard Lane, at an estimated construction cost of $2.3 million. The city got a grant from the state Urban Greening Program for a little over $3.5 million for the project, when staff expected to be able to build the trail on the tracks. But as the authorization to railbank never arrived, the city paid design contractor GHD Inc. an additional $50,000 to amend the design for a trail that would run alongside the tracks.
That’s where concerns about plans that include removing 43 trees came into play. Linda Sanders was among the three local women who asked the Ukiah City Council this week for more opportunities for the public to engage in plans for the trail. “The Urban Greening Grant is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” she said during public comment. “And the GHD design plans will not get us there. It will be twenty years before any newly planted native trees will produce the shade that these indigenous trees are already providing, and sequestering carbon currently. Cutting them down will be releasing more carbon into the surrounding environment.”
Mayor Mari Rodin spoke about her involvement in the original plan, and her view of the current iteration. “I was involved, before I was on the City Council, in writing this grant with Neil (Davis, founder of the Ukiah Trail Group, and the Director of Community Services at the City of Ukiah). The original concept was to be on top of the rail. And there would have been no trees cut. It was never in anybody’s concept to cut any trees down. In fact, the grant required the planting of a couple hundred more oak trees. And so because of this whole railbanking problem, the default was to do the continuation of this thing that nobody’s really that happy about, with the asphalt. And because it’s so expensive to do it that way, in comparison to just throwing the trail on top of the rails, we had to make it much shorter than we originally wanted it to be. So we’ve been really sad.”
Andrew Stricklin is an associate engineer with the city’s public works department. He’s one of the city staff who’s been shepherding the trail project. He said the trail can be built around many of the trees, including the half-dozen largest valley oaks. “I think we can definitely shift the trail, and narrow it down,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to take down a tree that size, for sure. The majority of trees that might be unavoidable, which isn’t a done deal either way,” are those that are five to seven inches on the southern end of the proposed trail.
Stricklin says permitting requirements include restoring and mitigating wetlands that will be disturbed by building the trail alongside the track, and that work can only take place during certain times of the year so as to avoid disturbing wildlife. But the grant timeline means the city can’t wait around indefinitely for the Surface Transportation Board to approve railbanking the southern portion.
“Our permit wouldn’t extend that far,” he said. “Then we risk losing the money completely, which we’ve already spent a significant portion of, just for design. So the city would not be reimbursed for that.” The city has spent close to a half million dollars on the project so far, which was “more than originally planned, but when we had to go off the ballast, the railroad tracks itself, a lot more design was involved, with all the extra permitting that we had to do…it was going to be a lot simpler when we were just going to be on the tracks.” He’s also concerned that if the city doesn’t stick to its agreement with the granting agency, which also funds projects like smoothing out streets to include bike lanes, its chances of getting future grants will be diminished.
Stricklin emphasized that nothing has been finalized yet, and members of the public who are interested can contact him at the Ukiah public works department. He said he has already walked the trail with some concerned parties, and will do so again next week. “We are trying to have everyone be heard, and even get their ideas,” he concluded.
I’m so sick of greenwashing. That is so much money. A human footpath for millions? Common, make public transportation better or take care of existing parks and trails.
They’re so worried about carbon but carbon is literally 98% of everything on the planet 😂🤡
Too me it’s not even the issue of the trees being cut, it’s more like why don’t we give that money to schools so every school can have a beautiful park like garden of flowers, veggies and trees. I cant think of a better way to have respect for our planet than to teach our kids to feed themselves and be outside
No reason to cut the trees so why do it? They provide shade for walkers, and cool the environment. It would be dumb to cut valuable trees. Really dumb when you consider that it can easily be avoided by building the trail around the trees.
Figure out a way to leave the trees.
Disgusting. The Great Hobo Trail is a multi-million dollar boondoggle mainly benefiting Doug Bosco, and promoted by his gofer McGuire.
From the White House to the Courthouse, it’s just a fetid gaggle of crooked politicians, thieving grifters, influence peddlers, scam artists and -most most disgusting of all – Greenwashers with chainsaws and bulldozers. This blatant “Redwood Trail” scam is typical of the wretched money grubbing schemers and their shabby attempts to make a quick buck , knowing that most citizens won’t get up in arms and run the miserable lot of them out of town on one of those rails that are laying around.
We’ve got a real chance here to drop them in their “tracks” here folks. Let’s not let them get away with it!
Karl Brantz
You can’t have OAKS on the great REDWOOD trail, people! Are we supposed to call it the great redwood & oak trail? That’s too long winded. Those trees must be cut down for the sake of the trails name…..ps, better not be any firs or manzanita in the way either!
They had to make it much shorter then it had to be. They’re really sad guys. ..🤣🤣omfg did you guys read that part? I’m laughing so hard right now. Millions. ‘For Urban Greening’ -we should gorilla grow a public garden next to kohl’s.
This shouldn’t even be an issue if the Surface Transportation Board wasn’t causing a headache by not approving the railbanking of the southern portion of the trail. Isn’t this when a higher up at the City should step in and they make a visit to the Surface Transportation Board to get this straighten out? Needless bureaucratic nonsense.
City and county politicians enthusiastically envision this city trail as a tourist draw that will bolster Ukiah’s struggling economy. LOL They should read today’s, Friday, Letter to the Editor about the sad and disgusting state of affairs on the trail itself, or Thursday’s Daily Digest that lists at 8 illegal camping citations. Is it time to close Building Bridges and offer only emergency winter shelter?
If so many are worried about the great trail being used as a hobo trail. I ask what is it about hobos that scares or bothers you so? If your so worried about nomads.wlhy allow transient to exist at all? Or donate your time. The time you seem to have to complain, degrade and rebut any positive outcome. To making a the inevitable a outcome of success we are capable of.