Response to Criticism

The main opponent (SPRAWLDEF) of the flow trail has posed many criticisms in two letters sent to the EBRPD Board.   Other opponents have added arguments at various forums.  In the following pages, we've summarized their key criticism in bold followed by our response in regular font.

The numbered list below shows the criticisms we've addressed in the text below the list  You can scan through that list and find one that you are interested in.  Copy a few key words then paste the words into the Find feature in your browser (e.g. Ctrl F in Windows) and that will get you quickly to our response.  

1. Bikes already have access to many miles of trails; they don't need anymore.
2. The new bike trail would be sited in the heart of Wildcat Canyon Regional  Park which is not a suitable location for this type of activity.
3. A flow trail is a 'downhill speed trail', "a race course" and a “thrill ride”.
4. The proposed trail violates the Land Use Plan for Wildcat Canyon Regional Park.
5. The new trail will bring even bigger crowds of bikers to Wildcat/Tilden.
6. The flow trail would put pressure on parking at Alvarado, Inspiration Point, and other peripheral parking areas.
7. The lead opponents to the WFT have repeatedly accused park staff of lack of transparency in their efforts on  the WFT.
8. EBRPD should look at other alternative sites to the Mezue corridor.  
9. Building the WFT will require bulldozers.
10. Because the WFT would be one-way, riders must use a different trail to get to the top of the flow trail, which increases bike traffic on nearby trails thereby increasing the impacted area.
11. Bikers already have sufficient trail access in Wildcat/Tilden.  
12. The District will be prone to build the WFT because of the offer from two philanthropists to pay for construction of the WFT.  
13. EBRPD has presented no plan to close and restore illegal rogue trails in Tilden-Wildcat.
14. Flow trails are distinct from other types of trails and pose unique challenges for resource protection and public safety.
15. Park use by bikers has grown but so has use by hikers.  What about building more trails for hikers?
16. Who is going to maintain the flow trail?
17. Crockett Hills was turned into a mountain bike park and it’s not far away so why don’t NICA teams use it to practice instead of asking for more trail access in Tilden-Wildcat.
18. Is there any proof that providing bikes access to narrow-trails will reduce the building of rogue trails?

1.  Bikes already have access to many miles of trails; they don't need anymore.

Of the 41 miles of system trail in Tilden-Wildcat parks, bikes are legal on about 28 miles with less than 1 mile considered narrow trail by EBRPD.  The situation worsens during most rainy seasons when only about 8 miles remain open because of mud.  Roughly 400 riders from local high school and middle school teams practice several times a week during rainy season and most of their riders can cover that distance in about 1 hr. Imagine how many hikers and runners would feel if they only had 1 hour of trail time available to them in all of Wildcat and Tilden!

2.  The new bike trail would be sited in the heart of Wildcat Canyon Regional  Park which is not a suitable location for this type of activity.

Bike riding is already an established use in Tilden and Wildcat Canyon with 400 middle school and high school students and their coaches riding in the two parks on weekdays after school.  

The proposed trail parallels a steep existing fire road (Mezue Trail) in an area dominated by non-native grasses that has been grazed by cattle for two centuries.  The site is within a half-mile of the highly populated East Bay Hills as documented in the 2022 EBRPD environmental study.  This study found no sensitive natural communities or rare plants within the trail corridor. The study did find that the site could potentially support some protected and sensitive wildlife and plant species, but the same could be said for the much larger surrounding area.  Clearly endangered species are not being limited by lack of suitable habitat.  

All in all the  Wildcat Flow Trail (WFT) would occupy less than 0.4% (18 acres) of the nearly 5000 acres that make up Wildcat Canyon and Tilden Parks.  The 1.5 mile long WFT along with 5 miles of trail in Briones would be the only single-track (narrow) trails dedicated to bikes in the entire 127,000 acres of the EBRPD.  In contrast, hikers have exclusive access to many miles of narrow trails in Wildcat and Tilden as well as 10's of miles of non-system trails.  If the new bike trail is built, hikers and runners will gain sole access to the nearby Leonards Trail.  

One can’t help but ask critics of the proposed site “If not here then where?” Those who know Wildcat-Tilden realize that any other site would have more significant impacts on the environmental and other users.

3.  A flow trail is a 'biking-only downhill speed trail', "a race course" and a “thrill ride”.  

Since the Wildcat Flow Trail (WFT) would be bike-only, one is left wondering why opponents should care?  One might think that those who find bikes threatening would appreciate knowing that the WFT would draw bikes to a very small area (0.4% of the total park area) that was little used by foot traffic and will be mostly fenced in.  If hikers or runners do still want to visit the area, they would have sole access to Leonards which runs just a few hundred yards to the south.  These users would  also see far fewer bikes going down Havey.  

In any event, let's look to see if the provocative labels used by opponents have any basis in fact.  Since the WFT has not been built we don't have any hard measurements of bike speed on the trail but we can get an estimate by looking at speeds from the Endor flow trail in Fairfax. This video gives a realistic impression of the modest speeds typical at Endor.  

A quantitative estimate of the speed on Endor can be calculated from Strava data (a popular app used by athletes) which shows that 90% of the runs averaged less than 12 mph (based on 17,246 runs).    This is about 40% lower than the 16.6 mph  on Mezue Trail (also found from Strava). It's worth adding that only 2% of the Endor rides exceeded the EBRPD speed limit of 15 mph and that the average speed is about the same as a strong marathon runner (8.8 mph).

It's noteworthy that using the Endor speeds will almost certainly overestimate the speeds on WFT for two reasons.  First, Endor's trail grade averages 8% which is significantly larger than the WFT grade of 5-7% (this number is taken from the preliminary design here). Since the primary driver for a bike's speed on a flow trail is the trail bed grade (slope) this means bikes will likely go faster on Endor than the WFT.   Second we know that Endor speeds are overestimates of the true speed.  That's because Strava calculates the speed using GPS satellites whose signal frequently drops out because of the heavy tree cover over Endor.  To fill in the drop outs, Strava uses linear interpolation of the rider’s location which will underestimate the distance actually travelled  on a zig-zaggy trail like Endor.  Since Strava underestimates the distance but gets the start and finish time right, it will overestimate the calculated speed.  In contrast the Strava speed estimates on Mezue trail which has no tree cover and is nearly straight, will not experience the same problem.

In short, the expected average speed on the WFT will be less than a fast marathon runner and much less than the existing Mezue trail.  Furthermore, it would be an exceptional biker who would exceed the 15 mph EBRPD speed limit on the WFT even if they wanted to.  

Cyclists enjoy flow trails not for the speed but for the smooth, flow-like motion that they generate.  If cyclists want a fast-downhill experience, they will ride the existing fire roads in Tilden-Wildcat which are all shared with hikers and equestrians - potentially adversely affecting the safety of all users.  

Opponents have also raised concern about the possibility that there would be formal races on the WFT.  This is highly unlikely because  Tilden-Wildcat parks don’t provide the system of bike-friendly trails needed for almost all mountain bike racing, and of course the limited nearby parking would be a major impediment as well.  

In short, SRAWLDEF’s labeling of the WFT as a “downhill speed trail" or a "race track" is not factual but simply provocative rhetoric intended to alarm listeners who don't take the time to establish the facts for themselves.  Unfortunately, SPRAWLDEF repeatedly uses this same tactic in so many other ways that it hinders intelligent discussion of important concerns that do merit attention. 

4.  The proposed trail violates the Land Use Plan for Wildcat Canyon Regional Park which specifically states "the the Natural Area of Wildcat Canyon RP will be free from intensive recreation activities, and devoid of any development except trails for hiking, equestrian and service use."

Opponents are citing the Land Use Plan issued in 1985 and ignoring updates issued by the park. In 1997 the updated District Master Plan recognized bicycling as a low-intensity recreational use in Natural Areas like Wildcat Canyon Park.  And then in 2013 the new District Master Plan went even further by specifying that the District would continue to add single- and multi-use narrow trails for bike riders as well as hikers, equestrians, and people with dogs.

A summary of relevant portions of Park District Plans can be found here

5.  The new trail will bring even bigger crowds of bikers to Wildcat/Tilden.

While there will probably be an uptick in users, it is doubtful the increase will be that pronounced because Tilden-Wildcat parks simply don’t have the miles of bike-friendly  trail systems that bikers can find in other parks.  And if the flow trail does draw more bikers to Tilden-Wildcat that is consistent with one of the Park’s most important missions - encouraging more people to enjoy the outdoors. New users, especially the young, have just as much right to legitimate outdoor activities like mountain biking as long-time park users have the right to run or hike.  Of course the upcoming EBPRD Environmental Impact study will consider the impacts of additional users and mitigate as appropriate.  

The most likely increase in mountain bikers will come from local teenagers because they love riding a flow trail and so it would help attract a more diverse user community since it is within biking distance of several underserved communities.  Rich City Rides, which provides cycling opportunities for the most vulnerable members of society, supports (here) the flow trail because it will provide an easily accessible and fun bike venue for Richmond-based bikers. 

6. The flow trail would put pressure on parking at Alvarado, Inspiration Point, and other peripheral parking areas. 

Most bikers ride their bikes to Tilden-Wildcat from Richmond, El Cerrito, Albany and Berkeley.  This fact is documented in a recent EBRPD survey that found that the vast majority of bikers presently get to Tilden-Wildcat on their bikes.  

Potential pressure on parking should be considered, managed, and impacts mitigated appropriately.  This is one aspect of increased use and it will be covered in the EBRPD EIR.

7.  The lead opponents to the WFT have repeatedly accused park staff of lack of transparency in their efforts on  the WFT.     

District staff have discussed the trail in some detail at at least five Board meetings starting in 2021.  One public meeting has also been held in April 2023 and was attended by over 200 people.  That particular meeting was widely advertised by EBRPD using signage at trail heads in Tilden-Wildcat, an EBRPD web site, existing internal email lists of interested parties such as the Sierra Club, California Native Plant Society, etc.  It was attended by the leading opponents of the trail.  They had plenty of time to rally their supporters but failed to do so in any numbers.  That is not the fault of EBRPD.  

Opponents are free to talk to EBRPD staff about the WFT or any other topic at any time and opponents have failed to cite a single example where staff have refused to talk to them.   EBRPD staff is not to blame if opponents fail to take advantage of this long held open-door policy.  

8.  EBRPD should look at other alternative sites to the Mezue corridor.  

Three alternatives were proposed by opponents of the WFT and EBRPD staff examined those. Results are summarized here. The studies found that as compared to the Mezue site, the three sites suffered from two or more of the following:  worse accessibility for many bikers including local NICA students, and more impacts on cultural resources, the local ecosystem, and non-bike users.  

The two lead opponents know full well that their proposed sites would have far more consequential environmental and user impacts than the Mezue site.  Given their 20+ year history of opposing bike access, one can't help but suspect that they had hoped to get EBRPD to spend heaps of time and money chasing a bunch of alternatives that the opponents knew had fatal flaws.

9.  Building the WFT will require bulldozers to build it. 

Building the trail can be done with the same kind of equipment that is used to make any of the narrow trails in EBRPD.  The primary tool is a miniature bulldozer about the size of a large golf cart.  It has a blade about 36 inches wide.  The berms and banks in a flow trail are built from local soil so no there would be no major use of dump trucks.  

10.  Because the WFT would be one-way, riders must use a different trail to get to the top of the flow trail, which increases bike traffic on nearby trails thereby increasing the impacted area and the potential for conflicts with other trail users. 

It is true that bikers will need a route to get to the top of the flow trail.  Fortunately there are many possible trails which can be used to get to the top of the flow trail.  This will tend to dilute any impact of bikes on other users.  Most bikers will use the nearby Mezue trail because it is much shorter than any other route. The bottom of Mezue can be accessed by three different routes, all of them wide fire roads.  

Havey Canyon is also a possible climbing route but Mezue is less than half as long and requires about 20% less climbing.  If bikes do climb Havey, they will present no threat to hikers because climbing bikes only go about 3-5 mph. If Havey Trail does become overused once the flow trail is built, there are a variety of trail management practices that can be applied.  One possibility would be to add a couple of switchbacks to Mezue so as to reduce the steepness of the climb and make it even more attractive as a way to access the top of the flow trail.  An added bonus would be that these switchbacks would reduce erosion, an obvious problem on the existing Mezue.

While critics cite the possible negative impacts of the WFT on nearby trails they fail to mention two big benefits.  First, the WFT would dramatically reduce the number of bikes riding down Havey because cyclists will strongly prefer going down a flow trail. A second benefit to hikers is that they will get sole use of Leonards trail which runs just out of sight to Mezue trail.  

11.  Bikers already have sufficient trail access in Wildcat/Tilden. There are few places, if any, where East Bay hikers and walkers can now go to observe and enjoy nature without encountering mountain bikes. 

There are about 41 miles of trails in Tilden-Wildcat of which 13 miles are off limit to bikes.  Bikes have no bike-only trails and only about 1 mile of multi-use narrow trail that most users prefer.  This inequality is aggravated by the fact that non-bikers are allowed to go off-trail while bikers are not. There are 10's of miles of these non-system trails that were first started by cows or hikers.  Finally, hikers and runners retain exclusive rights to the large and pristine Laurel Canyon and the entire Tilden Nature Area.  

12.  The District will be prone to build the WFT because of the offer from two philanthropists to pay for construction of the WFT.  

Public and private institutions accept philanthropic gifts all the time.  The two donors in this case are retired and have spent many years of volunteer time encouraging youth to get off their screens and out into nature.  They have no commercial interest and preferred to stay anonymous but the primary opponent of the WFT relentlessly sought to reveal their names, broadcast them widely, and imply that there is something wrong with donating money toward a project that would help get more kids out into nature.

13. EBRPD has presented no plan to close and restore illegal rogue trails in Tilden-Wildcat. 

In its latest project description found here, EBRPD has proposed to close and restore nearby illegal trails.  

14.  Flow trails are distinct from other types of trails and pose unique challenges for resource protection and public safety. The flow trail would introduce an entirely new type of mountain bike trail that has never been evaluated for its potential to result in significant environmental impacts. 

Flow trails have been around for decades and have become increasingly popular in part because they are fun, enhance safety, and reduce trail erosion.  The WFT has lots of turns (switchbacks) that decrease the average trail slope to 5-7% as compared to the maximum slope of 20%  and average slope of 14%  for the nearby Mezue Trail.   Not only does this reduction in slope and addition of sharp turns dramatically reduce bike speeds it will also reduce erosion.  One only has to walk Mezue or Leonards trails at the end of the rainy season to see the telltale marks of significant erosion.  One will not find those same scars on a well designed flow trail.    

User safety would be greatly improved by the flow trail since it will be only open to bikes. When the trail does cross the Mezue trail, there will be elevated cattle guards to make sure bikers have to slow down.  Cyclists will be safer because their speeds on the flow trail will be at least 40% slower on average than on the existing Mezue Trai. Hikers and runners will gain sole access to the nearby Leonards Trail.   Finally, bikers that used to go down Havey will almost certainly, instead head to the WFT.  

15.  Bike use has become common on narrow trails designated for hiking only. Bikers pose a significant safety hazard to elders, small children, etc.  Bikers build and ride rogue trails that disturb and harm flora and fauna.  

For years, bikers have respectfully advocated for more access to narrow trails in the parks but with little to show for it.  Many have lost faith in the public process and some are resorting to a form of civil disobedience by riding on hiker-only trails or building their own.  Crockett Hills proved 15 years ago that if the District provides reasonable bike access, illegal bike activity all but disappears.  More recently the Briones Pilot reinforced this finding.   

Paradoxically, those who oppose equitable access to existing trails or oppose well-designed new trails are providing a powerful incentive to some bikers to build rogue trails and to ride hiker-only trails.

The WFT would be bike-only and make bikes go slower than they presently go on the multi-user Mezue Trail.    In addition, the flow trail would draw bikers away from heavily used areas. Thus, it would enhance the safety and satisfaction of all users.  It's a classic win-win.  

It is telling that the primary opponents, who have opposed ALL increases in bike access for decades, never object to the impact of cows nor object to the EBRPD rule that allows hikers to go cross-country thus forming rogue trails.  Indeed, almost all of the rogue trails we are aware of in Wildcat and Tilden were first laid down by hikers and cows. 

16. Park use by bikers has grown but so has use by hikers.  What about building more trails for hikers? 

We fundamentally agree.  Despite the growth in users, the EBRPD has added only about 1 mile/year of new trail in the past decade in ALL of its parks (none of it in Tilden-Wildcat).   

But an objective look at the trail mileage available to various users raises some interesting questions about priorities and equity.  For example consider the fact that there are roughly 41 miles of system trails in TIlden-Wildcat that are available to foot traffic, about a third of it consisting of the narrow trail desired by many users. In addition foot traffic has legal access to 10’s of miles of non-system trails first formed by cows and hikers. These users continue to forge new trails by going cross-country.  When they do others sometimes follow and the end result is creation of another non-system trail. Indeed almost all of the non-system trails we are aware of in Tilden and Wildcat were first formed by hikers and cows.  Bikers and runners travel too fast to safely break trail.  Once the cows and hikers break trail then runners follow as well as some curious bikers who are frustrated with the limited, legal narrow trails available to them.  

While a case can be made that hikers need still more trails, the case is even more clear for bikes because they are restricted to far less access.  Of the 41 miles of system trail, bikes are legal on about 28 miles, almost all of it the less desirable fire roads.  The situation worsens during most rainy seasons when only about 8 miles remain open because of mud.  An intermediate rider can cover that distance in about 1 hr. Imagine how many hikers and runners would feel if they only had 1 hour of trail time available to them in all of Wildcat and Tilden!

Many hikers are supportive of the addition of a bike-only trail as a way to take pressure off existing multi-use trails in Wildcat-Tilden, and because they enjoy seeing more youth getting out into the Park.  This is probably why roughly 400 hikers and runners have signed our petition supporting the flow trail.  

17. Who is going to maintain the flow trail?

It is true that bikes, like hikers, do damage trails.  But these are not the only or even the greatest cause of damage to trails.  In Tilden-Wildcat, many of the trails are ranch roads or trails built long before modern standards for erosion control were developed. Consequently, the bulk of damage comes from water run-off that is poorly controlled.  Most who frequent Tilden-Wildcat recognize that there is a great need for EBRPD to increase their expenditures on trail maintenance. 

The mountain biking community is full of energetic people who are keen to provide volunteer labor for trail maintenance.  BTCEB and NICA teams have done lots of trail maintenance (650 hours in 2022 and over 2000 hours in the past 4 years) in Crockett Hills, Briones, and in other parks like China Camp and Diablo State Parks  One only has to visit these parks to see that their trails are generally much better maintained than in other East Bay parks. 

NICA teams and BTCEB have written letters of commitment (here) to maintain the flow trail in part because trail work is a powerful means to connect with nature, engage youth and train the next generation of trail stewards.  Nearly 2400 individuals have signed a petition shown here, endorsing the flow trail.  Many of those would no doubt be willing to help maintain it.  

18. Crockett Hills was turned into a mountain bike park and it’s not far away so why don’t NICA teams use it to practice instead of asking for more trail access in Tilden-Wildcat.

Crockett Hills is not a “mountain bike park” as proven by the fact that trail counters recently showed that about 50% of the users were hikers.    All trails in Crockett Hills are open to and are used by hikers as well as bikers.

About 400 riders from the local NICA teams practice 2-3 times immediately after school.  It is impractical for them to travel anywhere other than Tilden-Wildcat in the limited time and daylight they have after school.  Riders are also aware of the fact that driving generates pollution and congestion.   

19. Is there any proof that providing bikes access to narrow-trails will reduce the building of rogue trails?

Yes, there are three local examples.  The first is Crockett Hills in the EBRPD.  There have been no substantial bootleg leg trails built there in the nearly 15-year period since the original trails were built.  Additionally, bike-opponents argued that rogue trails would be built if EBMUD opened short segments of the Bay Area Ridge Trail that crossed their property to bikes and this has not happened.  Finally, at Briones Park, the so-called Briones Pilot has again proven that if you provide cyclists with access to desirable trails then illegal trail riding and building will dramatically fall.