HomeMy WebLinkAboutCANYON LOOP TRAIL UPDATE (2)Mayor and Council,
We are excited to announce that the Canyon Loop Trail is now open and available for all to enjoy! We plan to provide an update to the community in the Weekly E-Newsletter this week.
Effective February 8, 2023, the first and most significant phase of the project was complete which is a week prior to the nesting season (February 15 through August 31 each year) for
native birds such as the California Gnatcatcher and Cactus Wren. The installation of the hardpan trail improvements were successful, thanks to the extraordinary efforts of our Parks
& Recreation Director Ryan Wright, along with support from several City departments, landscape architects, project engineers, biologists, grant managers, Native American monitors, US
Fish and Wildlife and CA Fish and Wildlife.
The trail now includes a safer trail experience and improved amenities such as three benches, a new stairway, gabion walls and water diverters to protect the trail from erosion, V-swales,
a water velocity reducer to protect the blue line stream, timber fencing, directional trail markers, and overall trail compaction to ensure a safe experience for residents. In addition
to those amenities, City staff will install two site maps and one flora/fauna interpretive panel over the next several weeks and then return in September (after the nesting season)
to install three shade structures over each bench. Despite the heavy rains over the project period, the team took advantage of these weather events which led to real time adjustments
and the placement of additional water diverters to further minimize erosion and meet the actual trail needs.
Suffice to say the project is extremely challenging and has many twists and turns, literally and figuratively, including extensive interest from our environmental community. Plans,
specifications, and actual trail conditions change over time and the project team made every effort to be proactive when considering the long-term viability of the trail and surrounding
habitat. The team will continue to work with all consultants at US Fish and Wildlife and CA Fish and Wildlife as we prepare the Habitat Mitigation and Monitoring Program (HMMP). In
short, this program addresses the environmental impact this project included and will provide a five-year plan which includes on-site vegetation restoration to ensure the revegetation
of the habitat is at a greater amount than the “take” during the project. Typically, this is at a 3:1 or 2:1 ratio depending on the vegetation that was removed or impacted. This program
and agreement will be brought to the City Council soon for consideration prior to a contractor completing this phase of the project.
As always, I am more than happy to answer any questions and would be happy to coordinate a hike if you would like to see the trail improvements first-hand. Thank you all for your continued
support!
Thanks,
<http://www.diamondbarca.gov/>
Daniel Fox | City Manager
City of Diamond Bar
21810 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, CA 91765
t 909.839.7010 | 909.839.7000 main | f 909.861.3117
dfox@diamondbarca.gov <mailto:dfox@diamondbarca.gov> | www.DiamondBarCA.gov <http://www.diamondbarca.gov/>
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