Siegfried partnered with key stakeholders to conceptualize a multi-use trail to provide vital links between housing, workplaces, and schools near the historic Tuolumne City site. In addition to providing transportation options, project goals included connecting two of Tuolumne county’s existing natural surface trails to provide a cohesive trail network, integrating with adjacent planned development, and preserving the area’s long cultural heritage, both pre- and post- European. The desired connectivity required traversing county property, school district property, as well as Native American fee title and trust land. Siegfried’s role was to develop feasible alternatives and impartially present the benefits and challenges of each alignment, including project transportation benefits, property and adjacency concerns, cost, as well as long term community and economic benefit. Alternatives were developed in close collaboration with the Tuolumne County Transportation Council, Tuolumne Band of Miles-Wuk Indians, Tuolumne Economic Development Authority, and the Summerville School District. In the process, providing golf cart and neighborhood electric vehicle access between an existing casino and resort and planned golf course was identified as an additional goal, and was integrated into the proposed trail system. Using the proposed trail system instead public roadways avoided the costly and tedious process of developing a Golf Cart Transportation mobility plan, as would have otherwise been required by the California Streets and Highway Code. Understanding each partner’s concerns and constraints, and finding opportunity to accomplish disparate goals resulted in the locally preferred alternative described in the Summerville Trail Feasibility Study. This study also identified initial capital costs, long term maintenance costs, phasing, a suggested permitting strategy, and funding opportunities. Moreover, by identifying and building consensus for the preferred alternative, this crucial first step minimized overall expense by focusing on future design and permitting efforts.
- Landscape Architecture
- Planning
