Friday, 05 October 2007 01:43
New Bill to Establish the Great California Delta Trail
An unusual partnering of the California State Grange and California bicyclists
has succeeded in getting a bill on the Governor’s desk that would
establish bikeways on the levee system in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River
Delta. The Great California Delta Trail would be the result of the Governor
signing SB 669 into law. The Delta Trail would link Sacramento
trails to the San Francisco
Bay and will be open to
persons on foot, bicycles, and horseback. The trail system would cover more
than 1,000 miles of the Delta waterfront of Solano, Contra Costa, Sacramento, and San Joaquin
counties. The bill squeezed by the Senate on a party-line vote, but got much
broader, bipartisan support in the Assembly.
“The
Grange sponsored SB 669 because the trails will provide new opportunities for
family farms and rural communities to
capitalize on California’s growing agri-tourism industry which allows for those
who live in the cities to enjoy a visit to the ‘country’ for day or weekend
trips,” said Randall Lewis, President of the California State Grange. According
to a Capital Public Radio news story, the Grange is a group that represents and
lobbies for rural land owners, a group that might be at odds with bikers and
hikers in rural areas. But Lewis says his group came up with the idea
because: “It’s going to allow agritourism to increase in California. So
it’s a great tool for agriculture to get the word out about our California farmers.”
Lewis says trails along the levees would open up opportunities for farm stands,
bed and breakfast inns and more. Capitol Public Radio contributed to
this story
