Shaw Valley Trail
by Councilman Scott Peters
May 2003
San Diego is blessed
with wonderful weather that gives rise to a very active and energetic community.
Many families enjoy surfing, swimming, hiking, jogging, bike riding and
horseback riding. Our great weather and beautiful geography give us unlimited
recreational choices. That is why one of my top priorities has been to make
sure that residents have maximum access to enjoy recreation in our beautiful
City. We are making great progress on water quality with a 45% reduction
in beach closures in just the last two years. In Carmel Valley we have opened
Sage Canyon and Carmel Knolls parks, opened the dog park at Torrey Highlands
Park and just recently dedicated the new tot lot at Solana Highlands Park.
This month I am pleased to announce that we will be breaking ground on the
construction of the new Shaw Valley Trail in Del Mar Mesa.
The Shaw Valley
Trail will be a critical link in the larger trans-county trail network that
seeks to allow hikers and riders to go from the beaches to the back country
without having to hit pavement. The Shaw Valley Trail will run from the
informal CVREP parking lot off Carmel Country Road, under the road at the
wildlife crossing and along the middle of the ridge above the Meadows Del
Mar golf course. The trail will then move up the canyon between Del Mar
Mesa and Neighborhood 10 and eventually drop down into Penasquitos Canyon.
If you see machinery cutting into the slope above the Meadows golf course,
it is part of the trail project. The area will be reinforced and replanted
at the conclusion of the project. This critical link will connect Carmel
Valley with Rancho Penasquitos and beyond and allow hikers, joggers and
horse back riders to enjoy long rides from the coast to the back country.
Creating a trail
network that links many of our smaller trails is an important step in creating
a recreational amenity that allows us to enjoy the thousands of acres of
open space that have been dedicated as part of the multiple species conservation
program. Being able to ride a horse or hike along a trail reminds us of
the beautiful natural environment that brought many of us to San Diego.
This trail project
would not have been possible without the tenacity and perseverance of long-time
Del Mar Mesa resident Jan Hudson. Jan is a horseback rider and avid trail
jogger who has spent years enjoying our urban canyons and trails and has
been a staunch advocate for trails in the area. This project had a tortured
history of false starts and poor management at the City and when I came
into office two years ago, Jan asked that we work to complete this very
important link in the trail system on Del Mar Mesa. We put in a new project
management team and worked hard to get the project through the process.
I have been amazed at the time and energy necessary to build what is essentially
a dirt road and our interactions with city staff on this project have pointed
out some serious problems in the system. We have been working to correct
these problems and are working toward creating a comprehensive trails policy
and plan as part of a larger park master plan for San Diego.
Connecting our trails
connects us to the natural environment we treasure here in San Diego. I
look forward to joining Jan Hudson and other members of the Del Mar Mesa
and Carmel Valley Communities for a ribbon cutting in June.
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