The design of Phase 4 of the Truckee Legacy trail and the West River Street Park is moving forward, as the town’s council approved a $280,000 contract with Lumo and Associates to begin the process.

“I think it’s going to be a great expansion,” said Paco Lindsay of the Truckee Trails Foundation. “This is really a game-changer for Truckee.”

Truckee Donner Land Trust is currently under contract to purchase a 26-acre riverfront property which will offer more design options for Phase 4, which will expand the trail from the Truckee River Regional Park to the intersection of West River Street and Highway 89.

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Working with the Land Trust, the Town of Truckee has looked at potential project components including a trailhead parking lot at the end of South River Street and a pedestrian bridge across the river at that point.

“This is really a game-changer for Truckee.”— Paco LindsayTruckee Trails Foundation

Public Works Director Dan Wilkins said the town will spend the next six to nine months on engineering and environmental work for the project.

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“This bridge could be one of the first pieces of the project,” he said.

A majority of the funding for the design phase is coming from Measure R, a sales tax measure approved in 2014 that supports the construction of trails in Truckee.

The current budget allocates $820,000 from Measure R revenue to fund the design process.

Since 2014, the Truckee River Legacy Trail has offered alternate methods of transportation for area residents and safe access to downtown on a scenic trail stretching from Glenshire neighborhood to Truckee River Regional Park.

WORK IN PROGRESS

Placer County is currently working on expanding an existing bike trail from Squaw Valley to Truckee.

In May, the Placer County Board of Supervisors approved an agreement with the Town of Truckee to share the cost of the section of trail at the intersection of West River Street and Highway 89, which sits on the border of Nevada and Placer County.

In the summer of 2009, Phases 1 and 2 of the Legacy Trail were completed, linking Truckee Regional Park to the Riverview Sports Park, with connections to East River Street and Ranch Way. Phase 3A was completed one year after with a connection from an overlook to an historic site just west of the Tahoe-Truckee Sanitation Agency plant.

Four years later, more than two miles of paved trail in Phase 3 was completed, connecting residents from Glenshire neighborhood with the downtown area.

Phase 3, made possible by a $2.9 million California River Parkways grant from the California Natural Resources Agency, stretched the trail to 5 miles in length.

Following the completion of Phase 4 to the west end of Truckee, planning is expected to begin for Phase 5 of the trail, which calls for the expansion to Donner Lake.

“To me this is a huge vision,” said Vice Mayor David Polivy, “and it’s really exciting to hopefully be making this possible.”

Hannah Jones is a reporter for the Sierra Sun. She can be reached at 530-550-2652 or hjones@sierrasun.com.