|
|---|
By Chris Ingraham
Golden Gate Bridge. Tiburon. Candlestick Point. The San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. These spots and hundreds of others comprising the hallmarks of Bay Area recreation are available to the public today because of the planned recreational corridor known as the Bay Trail. This year the region celebrates the Bay Trail’s 20th anniversary.
The Bay Trail Plan, adopted in 1989, was made possible by 1987’s Senate Bill 100 (Lockyer), which called for the Association of Bay Area Governments to develop a plan for a “ring around the Bay.” The plan set forth the policies and guidelines for the eventual design, implementation, and financing of the Bay Trail. Since that time, almost all areas along the proposed Bay Trail have passed local resolutions in support of the trail and its upkeep.
Currently, there are 290 completed miles of trails that make it possible for outdoor enthusiasts — cyclists, skaters, hikers, joggers — to appreciate the region’s scenery and wildlife. The Bay Trail also makes travel easier for everyday commuters by connecting with the region’s public transportation hubs — ferries, BART trains, bus stations, and so forth. With over 130 parks along the trail, and passing through some 57,000 acres of open space preserves, the Bay Trail offers unprecedented access to a variety of points of interest, be they cultural, historical, commercial, or residential. In addition to beaches, marinas, parks, fishing piers, and wildlife refuges, the Bay Trail passes through the urban center of San Francisco, and seeks in all places to preserve delicate natural habitats. Improvements are still to come.
When complete, the Bay Trail will offer 500 continuous miles of trails, connecting the shoreline of all nine Bay Area counties throughout San Francisco and San Pablo bays. It will link 47 cities and cross all the area’s major toll bridges.
A nonprofit organization called the San Francisco Bay Trail Project advocates for the Bay Trail’s planning, promoting, and implementation. Funds from grants made available by the Bay Trail Project make possible the maintenance and improvement of existing trails, from bike lanes on city streets to dirt trails in open space. The Bay Trail Project, however, which has a staff of only four full-time employees and a 28-person volunteer board of directors, does not own land or construct any sections of the trail. Rather, the Bay Trail Project publicizes the Bay Trail’s existence and development through the distribution of maps and educational literature about the trail’s progress. Individual segments of the Bay Trail are built, owned, managed, and maintained by local park districts, cities, and counties in their given region.