City receives report on Tule River Parkway Phase III

Wanting to extend trail about 3,000 feet

The City of Porterville recently received an initial study/mitigated negative declaration for the Tule River Parkway Phase III, which was prepared by Crawford & Bowen Planning, Inc. of Visalia.

The document focuses on potential environmental effects of the city’s Class I Bicycle and Pedestrian Trail Project.

The city intends to extend its existing Class I Bicycle and Pedestrian Trail along the Tule River approximately 3,000 feet to the east, between Main and Plano Streets. The City of Porterville will act as the lead agency for this project pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the CEQA guidelines.

According to the document, the Tule River Parkway Master Plan (Jan. 30, 1992) was adopted by the City of Porterville and established a goal and implementation framework for an approximately 6.8 mile regional river park and habitat preserve along the Tule River. In February 1998, the city approved construction of a bicycle and pedestrian path for the State Highway 65 to Indiana and Tule River to 190 portions of the Trail Project and construction for those portions were completed in 2000.

The city prepared and approved a CEQA Categorical Exemption and a NEPA Categorical Exclusion (with concurrence by Caltrans) for the Indiana to Jaye Streets portion of the project in March 1996 and construction was completed in 2002.

A Park and Ride facility was also constructed as a feature of the parkway. In early 2002, the city prepared and adopted a CEQA Mitigated Negative Declaration for the construction of the mile long segment of the Trail between Jaye and Main Streets with construction completed in 2005.

The city intends to implement a part of the Tule River Parkway Master Plan, the document stated. The proposed project focuses on the approximately one-half mile portion of the Parkway between Main and Plano Streets, where it would extend the existing Class I Bicycle and Pedestrian Trail along the Tule River. The proposed project includes construction of approximately 3,000 feet of a 10-foot wide asphaltic concrete paved trail, a pedestrian bridge, and a vehicular bridge, and a number of improvements within a 30-foot wide corridor centered on the proposed trail, including tree and vegetation removal, soil scarification, regrading of shoulders and surfaces, and installation of solar lights, trail signage, markings, and retaining walls. The proposed pedestrian bridge will be constructed at the trail’s crossing of the Poplar Ditch Spillway, approximately 600 feet east of South Main Street and will be approximately 10 feet wide.

As far as the proposed vehicular bridge, it will be approximately 20 feet wide and will cross the Poplar Ditch at the east end of the project. The function and necessity of the latter bridge is to provide access for maintenance/emergency purposes.

Bollards will be installed at each end of the bridge to restrict all other traffic, but still allow access by bicycles and pedestrians. Both bridges will be end supported and free spanning, with no supporting elements to be constructed within the waterways.

Although both waterways may be temporarily disturbed within a 30-foot wide construction zone centered on the proposed bridge alignment, neither will experience permanent impacts below the ordinary high water (OHW) mark. Compacted soil cut and fill slopes will be recommended to be held to a maximum of 3:1 and will be vegetated by seeding or planting. All slopes over 3:1 will be rip-rapped with a maximum slope of 1:1. As the proposed project is within the 100 year flood zone, cut and fill will be balanced within the floodway to result in a positive or no net change in flood carrying capacity of the drainage way.

Solar lighting fixtures will be installed approximately every 100 feet along the proposed trail, 24 inches from the trail’s edge within 30-inch wide concrete footings poured to an anticipated depth of 54 inches. Trail signage will be installed at the west end of the project where the proposed trail meets the existing trail, and at the proposed vehicular bridge.

Retaining walls of 4 and 6 feet height will be installed on either side of the trail adjacent to the Tule River, approximately 25 feet east of South Main Street. Three temporary staging areas totaling approximately 2.56 acres are proposed — two west of South Main Street and one east of South Main Street.

The proposed project will be constructed in one phase and is consistent with the General Plan as well as the Tule River Parkway Master Plan.

The primary goals of the city’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Trail Project include promoting opportunistic and incremental phased development of a regional parkway corridor adjacent to the Tule River, providing a guide to coordinate park land acquisition, improving habitat, developing potential long-range solutions for clearing undesirable non-native vegetation and debris, supervising development and maintenance, and striving for property and user safety/ security. Another goal of the project is to promote riparian or oriented conservation, open space recreation and park opportunities along the Tule River and encourage public access while minimizing negative impacts to natural habitat.