Construction Begins on Carmel River Parkway Trails
A new walking and bicycling path is taking shape at the mouth of Carmel Valley. Paralleling Highway 1 from Carmel Valley Road to the Carmel River, the new trail will become an important community amenity, connecting local neighborhoods with shopping and recreational opportunities and allowing people to enjoy safe non-automotive transportation in an area previously inhospitable to pedestrians. The new trail, to be called the Hatton Canyon Trail, is an important step in the implementation of the Carmel River Parkway, a community vision plan comprising trails, habitat restoration and education.
The Big Sur Land Trust has partnered with the Transportation Agency of Monterey County (TAMC) to construct the new trail on California State Park land. The trail is being constructed in two sections. TAMC is building the trail from just north of Carmel Valley Road to Rio Road. Passing along the back side of the Barnyard Shopping Center, the trail will include a lighted underpass beneath Carmel Valley Road near the Highway 1 intersection. This portion of the trail is expected to be completed in the summer of 2010.
BSLT is building the trail from Rio Road south to the Carmel River. The ¼-mile project will include native landscaping, a trailside picnic area with two benches, two picnic tables, a bicycle rack, trash and recycling containers, and a dog mitt dispenser. Completion of this portion of the trail is expected by the end of May, 2010. Funding for the trail was provided by the Proposition 50 California River Parkways Grant Program. Once both trail segments are completed, residents and visitors will have a readily accessible alternative route to bike or walk at the mouth of Carmel Valley, and students from Carmel High School and residents utilizing the existing dirt service road through Hatton Canyon will have safe access to local businesses.
According to BSLT Conservation Director Donna Meyers, these new trails are part of a long-term goal to bring people in closer connection with the Carmel River. “The Hatton Canyon Trail will eventually be part of a neighborhood trail system connecting people to businesses, parks, beaches and the Carmel River.” Meyers notes that next year another trail is scheduled to be built along a 4-mile stretch of the Carmel River’s south bank, with the long-term goal of creating a larger network of trail access to Palo Corona Regional Park and Carmel River State Beach. While much important work lies ahead —planning, designing, fundraising—this summer the exciting beginnings of a true neighborhood trail system connecting land and people will be available to all to explore and enjoy.
