Those opposed to the Safe Routes trail project for the Point Dume area say they have not been given enough information and questions still remain unanswered.
By Jonathan Friedman / Assistant Editor
Several Point Dume residents say they are being left in the dark while the city heads toward construction of a trail system along their streets. Meanwhile, city officials say they are trying to keep the community informed, but many of the details of the project are still unresolved and will be presented to the public as the plans progress.
During the past two City Council meetings, city leaders have been bombarded with public speakers who say they feel severely uninformed about the Safe Routes to School project, a federal grant-funded proposed trail system that city officials say will provide children with a safer walk to Point Dume Marine Science Elementary School. Other residents, some of them members of a newly formed group called Point Dume Voice for Safety, have also sent letters to the local newspapers to express anger about what they say is a lack of communication by the local government.
“We can’t say we’re against the project, because for now there is no proposed project that we have heard about,” said Dume Drive resident Mike Flanigan.
Flanigan’s wife, Susan, said she contacted the city with a number of questions about the project, but did not receive a response. Mike Flanigan said a response did not come until the day after an article appeared in last week’s issue of The Malibu Times about the complaints of Point Dume Voice for Safety, three weeks after a list of questions were e-mailed to Deputy City Engineer Claudio Sanchez.
Several other Point Dume residents said they contacted Sanchez and it took a long time for him to respond and when he did, they did not get clear answers to their questions. Sanchez said in an interview this week that he has responded to all inquiries, including those from Susan Flanigan with whom he said he had difficulty scheduling a time to meet. Sanchez added that he has met with a large number of people at their homes to discuss the project, and prefers to communicate in person at the proposed project site to best discuss how the trail will affect the person’s home.
Interim Public Works Director Granville “Bow” Bowman defended his employees this week.
“They [Sanchez and Associate Civil Engineer Mondher Saied] return calls, but they’re trying to get other work done as well,” Bowman said. “Claudio and Mondher have about 20 other projects they are working on.”
The city received a $380,000 grant for the project from the federal government to build a five-foot wide trail along the streets near the elementary school. Although Sanchez stressed the details could change, the current concept is for the trail to be made of decomposed granite, bordered by railroad ties, and stretch along the east side of Dume Drive from Heathercliff Road to Grayfox Street; the south side of Grayfox Street from Dume Drive to Fernhill; the west side of Fernhill Drive from Grayfox Street to Wildlife Road; and the west side of Wildlife Road from Fernhill Drive until it connects with an existing small decompressed granite trail at Zumirez Drive.
But Sanchez said a different material could be used for the trail if it were determined there were a better one. And he said the side of the street the trails will be placed is also not set in stone. But Sanchez said the current concept has the trails located on sides of the streets that will be safest.
Point Dume Voice for Safety members have a number of concerns about the project, including where people will be able to park their cars with one side of the street having a trail. Also, some of them say the project does not address the real safety issue of speeding along the roads.
“They’re putting the cart before the horse,” said Nancy Saul, a Dume Drive resident. “I won’t walk out there. I would never allow my children to walk on Dume because it is not safe with the traffic.”
Janet Siderman, a Dume Drive resident who formed Point Dume Voice for Safety, said she fears that with the trails drivers will get a false sense of security and speed faster.
Councilmember Ken Kearsley, a vocal supporter of the project, said the speeding issue is an entirely different matter that the city should work on with the Sheriff’s Department. But he said that is not a reason to delay the project.
Another issue that has led to confusion is that many properties extend into the city’s right-of-way where the trail is proposed to be located. Bowman said some of these properties are legally encroaching on the city property because the property owners have permits, and some are encroaching are illegally. But he said even if somebody has planted or built something in the city right-of-way legally, the items would most likely have to be removed because encroachment permits are voided when the city needs to use the property.
This has led to some confusion by the residents who are concerned about what will happen to their property. Bowman said he will work with the residents, and in some cases if a driveway is located in the right-of-way, it might be able to become part of the trail.
A meeting is tentatively scheduled to take place on April 4 at Point Dume Marine Science Elementary School (Bowman said there was an 80 percent chance it will take place then), so that residents can voice their concerns about the project and ask questions. Bowman said another meeting will take place sometime in May, and then the project could be presented to the City Council for final approval in June.
The city’s grant will expire in June if construction does not begin by then. But Kearsley said there are ways to extend that deadline.