COUNTY OF SACRAMENTO
Inter-Department
Correspondence
November 19, 1999
TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Ron
Suter, Director
Department of Regional Parks,
Recreation and Open Space
Contact: Gary
Kukkola, Deputy Director, phone 875-5925
Recommendation That
the Board of Supervisors approve the following action with regard to the
implementation of an In-Line Skating trial program in the American River
Parkway based on the findings of the County of Sacramento In-Line Skating Task
Force Majority Report, and in recognition and consideration of the concerns
raised in the Minority Report:
1.
Terms and conditions
identified in this report be adopted for the purposes of reducing potential
trail user conflicts, and promoting courteous and safe use of the Jedediah
Smith Memorial Trail system by all users; and
2.
The implementation plan
outlined in this report be approved, recognizing that staff is not proposing
restrictions on locations or hours of use by in-line skaters; and
3.
The Director have the
authority to modify the terms and conditions when necessary in response to
public safety issues that may arise during the one year In-Line Skating trial
period.
Background On October 19, 1999, the
Board of Supervisors approved a one-year trial period for in-line skating on
the American River Parkway trail, commencing on January 1, 2000. The Board directed staff to develop
appropriate terms and conditions for the trial period, and report back with a
plan for implementation that provides for effective monitoring and evaluation
of the trial period.
In-Line
Skating
On November 4, staff met
with the In-Line Skating Task Force to discuss
Task Force proposed terms and conditions for the trial
period. The meeting was well
attended. Members discussed staff’s
proposal, and made minor modifications and additions. Two members were unable to attend the meeting. Staff spoke with those members on the phone
about their concerns and suggestions.
All members concur with the terms and conditions and implementation
process contained in this report. (See attachment for attendance)
for the City Council
consideration in December.
Some portions of the
trail may be unsafe to skaters, depending upon their skating ability. These portions may include steep grades,
sharp curves and construction detours.
Task Force members felt that signing these areas, rather than
restricting use, would be the best solution.
It should be noted that the recent allocation of
TEA-21 grant money, coupled with $234,000 of Air Quality Management District
funding will allow for paving to a uniform 12’ width, with 4’ decomposed
shoulders, and some trail re-routes in troublesome areas.
Rules and With input from the In-Line Skating Task
Force, the following rules and
Regulations regulations
have been developed for use of the American River Bike Trail
·
All
trail users must yield to horses;
·
Pacelines*
are prohibited;
·
Travel
single file in the right lane, except when passing;
·
Call
out “passing on your left” in a courteous manner when passing;
·
Skate
“skinny” (arms in, narrow strides) when being passed or passing;
·
Wear
appropriate gear and equipment;
·
No
headphones;
·
No
skateboards, skate skis & poles;
·
No
skating backwards, in circles or acrobatically;
·
Walking
or running a dog on a leash while bicycling or skating is prohibited.
*A paceline is a line of cyclist or skaters,
following very close behind one another for drafting purposes.
County
Code allows for the Parks Director to establish and post
regulations governing
the use of park facilities. This code will be used to create and enforce rules
and regulations for the in-line skating trial period. Any infraction of these rules can result in a citation. The
Department is working with staff from County Counsel, District Attorney and Courts
to establish appropriate penalty assessments for violations of these rules and
regulations.
Implementation A Park Ranger Assistant will be assigned to the trial
period for the
and evaluation purposes of
“Observation, Education and Investigation”. A phone line will
strategies be designated in the
Ranger Office during the trial period, to answer questions and take
suggestions/complaints. Under the supervision of the Rangers, the staff will be
responsible for:
·
Public education for trail courtesy and safe practices,
·
Monitoring
the trial period in the field,
·
Responding
to questions and complaints,
·
Investigating
accidents or incidents,
·
Providing
documentation of the number of incidents and accidents.
In 1995, the Recreation
and Park Commission approved the formation of the American River Parkway Trails
Advisory Committee. One of the
committee’s accomplishments was to develop Trail Sign Standards. Signs for the trial period will be installed
in conjunction with the guidelines and standards developed by the Trails
Advisory Committee, and subsequently approved by the Recreation and Park
Commission. Signs will be installed
prior to the trial period to convey the following messages:
·
Promote
trail courtesy and the trial’s rules and regulations,
·
Purpose
of the trial period,
·
Skating
is classified as a “hazardous recreational activity”.
The “hazardous recreational
activity” sign is recommended by County Risk Management and County Counsel to
offer liability protection to the County under Government Code Section
831.7. This Section provides that
neither a public entity nor a public employee is liable to any person who
participates in hazardous recreation activity.
This section defines a “hazardous recreation activity” as an activity
“which creates a substantial risk of injury to a participant or
spectator.” In-line skating is included
on the non-exclusive list of activities contained in Section 831.7.
Staff and Task Force members discussed
appropriate education strategies to inform the public about the trial
period. Task Force members will be
assisting staff with promoting the trial period with the following tasks.
·
Promote
trail courtesy with a “Share the Trail” or “Just Say Hi” campaign;
·
Brochures
to include background and purpose of the in-line trial period, rules and
regulations, and steps to report an accident or incident;
·
Trail
volunteers will be used to promote trail safety and user courtesy;
·
Educational
publications will be made available in retail stores, schools, sports clubs,
and in the park system.
strategies The purpose of the trial
period is to validate or dismiss concerns raised in the Minority Report. An
independent research firm will be hired to design and conduct a survey to
measure the impacts of adding in-line skating to the list of permitted
activities for the American River Parkway trail, and compile a Summary of
Survey Results from the collected data. This Summary will be used by the Board
of Supervisors and City Council to decide whether or not to continue in-line
skating on the trail, after the conclusion of the one-year trial.
Request for Proposals were sent to six local
research firms on November
5th, with a proposal deadline of November 15th. Two responses were received. Staff will review the proposals and
interview the two candidates. The selection of a contractor will be based upon
their proposal, qualifications and interview.
Preliminary Fifty
thousand dollars has been allocated to the Parks Department to assist Budget with
offsetting some of the costs associated with the trial period. Staff
drafted the following proposed
budget for implementing, monitoring and evaluating the trial.
|
Survey; Agreement for Professional Services |
$30,000 |
|
Park Ranger Assistant; 30 hours/week for 12 months |
13,500 |
|
Education materials |
1,500 |
|
Signs |
5,000 |
|
Total
|
$50,000 |
Quarterly trial A quarterly evaluation
of the trial will be conducted by staff. Staff will
evaluations consider accident and incident reports,
number of phone calls, and field observation when conducting the
evaluation. This evaluation will be
sent to Members of the Board as information.
In June 2000, staff will report back to the Board of Supervisors
regarding the status of the trial period.
By December 2000, a fnial report will be presented that will include the
results of the survey.
The quarterly
evaluations will be used to determine whether or not the terms and conditions
of the trial need modification in response to safety concerns. Modification of the terms and conditions
will be secondary to an education program in response to a particular concern.
Conclusion Staff
has developed, with the concurrence of the In-Line Skating Task Force, terms
and conditions for the In-Line Skating trial period. These Terms and Conditions include enforcement of trial rules and
regulations, no restrictions for location or hours, and allowances for
modification of the terms and conditions, in response to documented safety
issues that can not otherwise be addressed.
A Park Ranger Assistant will
be assigned to the trial period for the purposes of “Observation, Education and
Evaluation.” Public education
strategies have been developed, and will be implemented with the assistance of
the In-Line Skating Task Force members.
Quarterly evaluations will be made, and modifications of the trial’s
terms and conditions will be considered in response to safety issues.
An independent research firm
will be hired to develop and implement a survey to measure the impacts of
adding in-line skating to the list of permitted activities for the American
River Parkway trail. By December 2000,
a final report will be presented to the Board, which will include the results
of the survey.
Respectfully Submitted, “Approved”
Ron Suter, Director Terry
Schutten,
Department of Regional
Parks, County Executive
Recreation and Open
Space
By
John O’Farrell,
Agency Administrator
CDNA
Attachment Attendance list for
November 4th In-Line Skating Task Force meeting
Copies Members,
In-Line Skating Task Force
JKRC:\My Documents\IN-LINE\bosagenda127.doc
Attendance
The
following members were present at the November 4, 1999 In-Line Skating Task
Force Meeting:
Ted Robinson, Recreation and Park Commission
Michael Cook, Sacramento
City/County Bicycle Advisory Committee
Lea Brooks, Sacramento
City/County Bicycle Advisory Committee
Frank Cirill, Save the
American River Association
Wendy Sturges, American
River Parkway Equestrian Trail Patrol
Gordon Innes, Citizens
and In-Line Skaters of Sacramento
Steve Lee, In-Line
Skaters
Valerie Mihanovich,
American River Parkway Advisory Committee
Staff
attending the meeting were:
Ron Suter, Director
Gary Kukkola, Deputy Director
Jill K. Ritzman, Administrative
Services Officer
The following members
were absent:
Charlie Fox, Buffalo
Chips Running Club
Linda Prizmich, Buffalo
Chips Running Club