MCBC 3 Gaps Initiative First Phase of Azalea Hill / Liberty Gulch Trail Projects Funded
April 8, 2020 — Marin Municipal Water District’s Board of Directors authorized $150,000 in funding to help launch construction in July 2020 on the Azalea Hill / Liberty Gulch trail project, a long-held MCBC priority that will connect the Mt. Tamalpais Watershed with Pine Mountain. Over 350 MCBC supporters responded to our action alert by sending messages to the Board encouraging them to approve project funding!
Since 2011, MCBC has worked to win access to Azalea Hill (above the Meadow Club Golf Course), getting mountain bike riders off Bolinas-Fairfax Road and onto a new Pine Mountain trail connector skirting the edge of Alpine Lake. The project was approved by MMWD in May 2019.
MMWD has split the project into several phases, with the .75 mile “Old Ranch and Fisherman’s Trail” segment (Phase II in the map above) and 1.2 mile “Liberty Gulch” segment (Phase III) being those that will establish a new route for people on bikes. Following the Board’s decision, the Old Ranch and Fisherman’s Trail segment is now fully funded and scheduled to begin construction in July 2020.
The Board’s decision on April 7 authorized $75,000 in matching funds to a grant from the Emig Trust. The combined $150,000 will enable the district to place a 60-foot bridge over Bull Frog Creek, the first physical step toward closing the two-mile gap between the lakes side of Mt. Tam and Pine Mountain. This follows a successful application by MMWD and California Conservation Corps North Bay for $218,000 to build the remainder of the Old Ranch and Fisherman’s Trail segment.
The 1.2 mile Liberty Gulch segment (Phase III) is expected to cost $800,000 and remains unfunded. MCBC is assisting MMWD in identifying and advocating for project funding.
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