Council moves forward with Parkway Project

Approves MND of environmental effect for phase III

The Porterville City Council recently adopted a resolution approving the Mitigated Negative Declaration of environmental effect for the Tule River Parkway Project, Phase III.

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, said Jenni Byers, the city’s community development director. Byers said the primary goals of the Tule River Parkway Trail are to promote opportunistic and incremental phased development of a regional parkway corridor adjacent to the Tule River, provide a guide to coordinate park land acquisition, improve habitat, develop potential long-range solutions for clearing undesirable non-native vegetation and debris, supervise development and maintenance, and strive for property and user safety/security.

Byers said the trail also aims 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.

Byers said Phase 1, the portion of trail from State Route 65 to Jaye Street, was constructed in 2002 and included a park and ride facility. In 2005, Byers said Phase II, the mile-long segment of the Trail between Jaye and Main Streets was constructed. Byers said Phase III of the Tule River Parkway Master Plan would extend the existing Class I Bicycle and Pedestrian Trail along the Tule River between Main and Plano Streets.

Byers said the project site is located in the eastern part of the City of Porterville and is largely undisturbed land. She said the boundaries of Phase III are between Main and Plano Streets, along the southern bank of the Tule River, a distance of approximately one-half mile. She said the site is surrounded by urban areas that provide a mix of land uses and General Plan Designations, including medium-density residential, high density residential, downtown mixed use, retail centers, neighborhood commercial, and industrial and commercial recreation. She added that the site is immediately south of the Downtown District Boundary.

Byers said the project includes construction of approximately 3,000 feet of a 10-footwide asphaltic concrete paved trail, a pedestrian

bridge, and a vehicular bridge, and a number of improvements within a 30-footwide 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.

Byers said the 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. She said the proposed vehicular bridge 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, Byers said, is to provide access for maintenance/emergency purposes. She said bollards will be installed at each end of the bridge to restrict all other traffic but still allow access by bicycles and pedestrians.

Byers said 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 bridge alignment, Byers said neither will experience permanent impacts below the ordinary high water (OHW) mark. As the project is within the 100-year flood zone, Byers said 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.

Byers said solar lighting fixtures will be installed approximately every 100 feet

along the trail, 24 inches from the trail’s edge within 30-inchwide concrete footings poured to an anticipated depth of 54 inches. She said trail signage will be installed at the west end of the project where the trail meets the existing trail, and at the proposed vehicular bridge. Retaining walls of 4- and 6-feet height, Byers said, will be installed on either side of the trail adjacent to the Tule River, approximately 25 feet east of South Main Street.

Byers said three temporary staging areas totaling approximately 2.56 acres are proposed: two west of South Main Street and one east of South Main Street. She said the project will be constructed in one phase and is consistent with the General Plan as well as the Tule River Parkway Master Plan.

Byers said the environmental document for the project involved preparation of numerous technical studies such as a Cultural Resources Survey, Caleemod Air Quality analysis, and Biological Evaluation, which she said included a Habitat Suitability Assessment and Wetland Delineation.

“Mitigation measures include best management practices to avoid impacts through scheduling, and preconstruction surveys, as well as consistent attention during disturbance activities, so in the unlikely event of

discovery, proper technicians can be called to record resources as needed,” Byers said.

On March 14, 2018, Byers said the Environmental Coordinator made a preliminary determination that a Mitigated Negative Declaration would be appropriate to evaluate the proposed project. Byers said the Initial Study has been transmitted to the State Clearinghouse, interested agencies, groups, and individuals for review and comment. She said the review period ran for 30 days from March 17, 2018, through April 17, 2018. To date, Byers said only one comment on the environmental document was received from the Department of Transportation, District 6 (Caltrans). Byers said Caltrans affirmed that the proposed project does not result in significant adverse impacts on the State Highway System, that the project encourages and promotes California’s goals to triple bicycling and double walking by 2020, and that the project meets the mobility objectives of the Toward an Active California State Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan. Byers said no modifications to the project nor the environmental analysis are warranted as a result of the comment received.

Councilmember Cameron Hamilton said he is happy to see the project moving forward.

“I don’t know how

many years we have been working on this, but it is just great to see that we are almost there,” Hamilton said. “Now it is just time to do the thing.”

Porterville resident Cathy Capone said the Tule River Parkway Association highly supports the extension of the parkway. Capone said she personally supports the project also.

“We are building a great path, and this is going to be a wonderful asset to the city and to the whole parkway

project,” she said.

Capone suggested, however, that the city look into putting native plants along the path.

Vice Mayor Brian Ward agreed.

“I think it would be great to be able to go in there and add native floral and other things,” Ward said. “And maybe, if we know ahead of time, we can maybe talk to local nurseries in the area and we might be able to purchase from them instead of going too far out of the area.”