Why You Should Care About This Picture, The Tuolumne County Active Transportation Plan

Mono Way/Sanguinetti Road Intersection

This intersection is designed to optimize vehicle circulation by allowing right turning vehicles from Mono Way to make the turn without slowing down. Think about how this design affects the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists traveling straight on Mono Way. In addition to encouraging vehicles to speed through the intersection, the design increases the distance a pedestrian needs to walk to cross the street. Modern street design discourages this kind of thinking in favor of making streets work for all users, not just for vehicles.

In drafting the new Tuolumne County Active Transportation Plan, The City of Sonora, Tuolumne County, and the Tuolumne County Transportation Council (TCTC) ignored our requests to focus on improvements like fixing this intersection. The MLBC provided a comment letter (TCTC ATPlan Draft comments) requesting changes to the plan in order to emphasize improving bike and pedestrian travel to the essential destinations that serve the greatest number of County residents. We believe that a bike friendly community starts with bike friendly places to shop, work, and access essential services.

The MLBC Board wants to ensure our advocacy has the support of our members and cyclists in the community. We welcome your feedback on our letter either via the comments section or via a message through the “Contact MLBC” page.

Tuolumne County Active Transportation Plan Digital Workshop Postponed

The Active Transportation Plan Digital Meeting scheduled for August 4, 2020 has been postponed and will be rescheduled. The workshops for the two proposed ATP projects are not affected. Details are available at https://www.activetuolumnecounty.com/meetings

UPCOMING DIGITAL COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS

DRAGOON GULCH CONNECTOR TRAIL
THURSDAY, AUGUST 6TH, 2020 4:00 – 5:00PM
JOIN ZOOM MEETING: HTTPS://ZOOM.US/J/92927607075

MEETING ID: 929 2760 7075

JAMESTOWN SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL
THURSDAY, AUGUST 6TH, 2020 5:00 – 6:00PM
JOIN ZOOM MEETING: HTTPS://ZOOM.US/J/92927607075


MEETING ID: 929 2760 7075


TO DOWNLOAD ZOOM, CLICK HERE.

Tuolumne County Active Transportation Digital Workshops

Folks have been getting outside for walks and bike rides in record numbers!  Let’s build on the momentum and give feedback on the Tuolumne County Draft Active Transportation Plan and projects in Jamestown and Sonora.

UPCOMING DIGITAL COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS


ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION PLAN
TUESDAY, AUGUST 4TH, 2020 4:30 – 6:00PM
JOIN ZOOM MEETING: HTTPS://US02WEB.ZOOM.US/J/82560025856

MEETING ID: 825 6002 5856

DRAGOON GULCH CONNECTOR TRAIL
THURSDAY, AUGUST 6TH, 2020 4:00 – 5:00PM
JOIN ZOOM MEETING: HTTPS://ZOOM.US/J/92927607075

MEETING ID: 929 2760 7075

JAMESTOWN SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL
THURSDAY, AUGUST 6TH, 2020 5:00 – 6:00PM
JOIN ZOOM MEETING: HTTPS://ZOOM.US/J/92927607075


MEETING ID: 929 2760 7075


TO DOWNLOAD ZOOM, CLICK HERE.

The Chasm Between the Sonoras

Mono Way and the East Sonora Bypass are the connecting routes between Sonora and East Sonora. Both were constructed as Caltrans highways without much thought of community or the needs of pedestrians and bikes. But does it have to stay that way? The roads have high bridges spanning the defining natural feature of the area, Sullivan Creek. We don’t see the creek, but we can’t unsee this artifact of the construction of the bypass:

Bergel Road barriers at Mono Way

Bergel Road extends from Phoenix Lake Road to Mono Way behind the back entrance to Sonora Sports & Fitness. You see it on the right traveling on Mono Way from Tuolumne Road to the Peppery. The barricades make the end of the road an attractive dumping spot, and the barricades, weeds, and fencing are an eyesore. How long has it been this way, and why do we put up with this?

If you park on Bergel Road and go for a walk, you’ll see that despite the neglect, the creek is extremely nice.

Sullivan Creek adjacent to Bergel Road

This place is public land that could thrive as a mini park with bike and pedestrian access to Mono Way. With a connection under the Mono Way bridge to a Sierra Railway rails-with-trails path, Bergel Road could provide park and bike/walk access from the Phoenix Lake basin to shopping, jobs, and services in Sonora and East Sonora and to the new Law and Justice Center.

Sierra Railway Rails-with Trails report, 2004

This is just a vision with a great many obstacles prior to implementation. But without vocal constituencies, visions remain dreams. This is one example of how advocacy for active transportation could help transform our communities much more than by just making it easier to bike or walk. There is grant funding readily available from Caltrans to plan solutions to these kinds of problems, but our local leaders need to hear that the public wants these kinds of changes.

Join the MLBC in bringing your problem locations and ideas for bike and pedestrian improvements to the Tuolumne County Active Transportation Plan Community Meeting tomorrow night (Thursday January 9) at 5:30 pm at the Sonora Branch Library. Without public input, we’ll get the same old plan that has accomplished very little for a great many years.Sonora ATP Meeting Flyer

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