New Class 1 Bike Trails in Sebastopol?

Biking through Sebastopol on Highway 116 or Highway 12? Lynn Deedler has a better idea: why not find a way to walk and bicycle on parallel routes that would be safer, friendlier and show off some of the hidden attractions of the town. The north-south route would run from the Joe Rodota trail near the Laguna and skirt the eastern edge of town to the city limits and beyond; the other would use city streets part way and end at Watertrough Road, thereby giving a safe route for the kids going to the schools on Watertrough.

When he first brought the idea to Bike & Walk Sebastopol in early spring 2009, he had already scouted routes, talked to some property owners and had made some rough maps using satellite images from Google. I liked the idea a lot, as did the others, but I thought it was so outrageous that the chances of getting it to fly were vanishingly slim. Then I accompanied him on a scouting trip for the east-west route and he won me over pretty quickly as we cycled through the Sebastopol Memorial Lawn (a big yes! from the owners) and heard about all the other property owners who ranged from willing to consider it to enthusiastic.