Who are you and what are you doing?

We are a group of volunteers that have come together to build a county-wide walking and biking trail from Napa to Calistoga.

Where will the trail go, specifically?

The trail will follow Highway 29 and the existing Wine Train tracks north of Napa.  South of Napa it will follow the Wine Train Tracks and the Napa River. As soon as we have a postable map it will be added to the Vine Trail Route page.

Is a trail an asset or a liability to Napa Valley?

We think most people will agree that having such a trail would be a huge benefit for the community; many studies of existing trails, including several listed on our Resources page, have shown exactly that. Public trails are used extensively by both local residents and visitors, and generate economic benefits on the order of $50 per use. They also have recreational, health, environmental and social benefits that go far beyond monetary and/or commercial value.

How are you going to get property owners to agree to this?

Studies have shown that before a trail is put in, there are usually concerns on the part of property owners or neighbors over crime, real estate values, privacy and liability issues (the “CRPL” four that can cripple a trail’s development). These studies also demonstrate that these fears are unfounded. Crime along trails is lower than the area average, real estate values are marginally higher for properties on trails, privacy issues can be minimized through proper design, liability is low in theory and lower in practice around existing trails, and landowners are specifically protected in California by Civil Code section 846. See the link to the 372 trail study on our links page for more!

How much will it cost and where will the money come from?

See the cost estimate on the Resources page for the latest estimate of how much the trail will cost. There are a number of federal and state sources of funding for trails; we hope to create a compelling story to win access to funds for at least half of the project, with fundraising events and capital campaign donations providing the remaining half.

Does the Federal Government Support these kinds of efforts?

The Federal government is increasingly recognizing the need to support non-motorized modes of transportation (also called active transportation).  In the last Transportation Bill 6 years ago only 1% of the funds went to active transportation projects, yet 12-15% of all trips were non-motorized and over 20% of all transportation injuries were to walkers and bikers.  On March 15th, the Department of Transportation issued new guidelines putting active transportation on equal footing to motorized uses for all new federally funded projects. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/bikeped/policy_accom.htm

Additionally, HR4722 is a new bill introduced in congress to add $2 Billion in funding for active transportation projects in the next Transportation Bill.  The Vine Trail Coalition supports this bill and encourages you to voice your support to Congress as well.  Go to our Advocacy page to see how!