On Sept. 3, 2024, the Marin Municipal Water District (MMWD) approved two pilot programs to open multiple new trails throughout Mt. Tam Watershed to bikes and class one electric bikes. These pilot programs were set to be carried out on Oct. 4, however, they have been put on hold due to a temporary restraining order placed against the MMWD in response to a lawsuit filed by the California Native Plant Society, the Marin Conservation League and the Marin Audubon Society on Oct. 3, 2024. The lawsuit claims that the MMWD failed to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act when creating the pilot programs; this act requires public agencies to “look before they leap”, or think about potential environmental consequences when planning public projects to prevent environmental damage. A re-hearing occured on Nov. 1, 2024.
Marin County Bicycle Coalition Board of Directors President Annabel Heinemann has contributed to the development of these programs for several years and feels that they will be productive and comply with environmental standards.
“This effort [to allow mountain bikes on trails] has been going on for a couple of years. The [MMWD] has a recreation plan that spells out the usage [of mountain bikes] in the watershed,” Heinemann said. “The intent [of the programs] was to get bikes included and to do it in a way that was appropriate for maintaining the mountain. [This includes] not doing anything destructive and finding that balance of giving access to the user groups that are [affected] today.”
Heinemann believes that conflict between bikers and hikers on trails is one of the main reasons behind the temporary restraining order, but the programs will help solve this issue.
“Reducing conflict [between bikers and hikers] was one of the biggest [parts of the programs],” Heinemann said. “If you think about fire roads, where you have a lot of high-speed bike traffic and hikers, that’s a high-conflict area. So the idea with all the trails was [to make] a lot more connectors to make it safer and then reduce conflict by getting a lot of bikers off of these high-traffic fire roads.
Charlotte Philkill, a senior and member of the mountain biking team, understands why many community members harbor concerns.
“I can [see] why hikers would be scared. If you are an elderly person and there’s a bike, they’re fast, although I know for a fact all high school teams and all of the club biking teams specifically here are very focused on trail etiquette,” Philkill said. “Before you even join any high school team or any kind of bike team, you have to go through meetings talking about etiquette. You have to sign forms to ensure that you know [how to show proper trail etiquette].”
The restraining order will remain in place until at least Nov. 1, when another hearing will occur to determine the fate of the pilot programs. If enough merit is found to continue the pilot programs respectfully, the restraining order will be lifted.
