Bob Jones Path Update

The Bob Jones path project continues to progress slightly behind schedule. Currently, the County is working to meet requirements/regulations for the project.

Requirements/Regulations:
As part of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) the County has hired a consultant to prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the project. The EIR identifies the ways in which the environment will be affected by the project, gathers feedback from the community, and identifies the best alignment for the path. In addition, because Federal Funds will be used on the project, the County must meet National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements and prepared an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIS).

The EIR was supposed to be completed by the consultants in the fall of 2011 and is now expected to be completed by fall of 2012. Once completed, the EIR will be available for public review and will go through a series of advisory bodies before reaching the County Board of Supervisors. The EIR needs to be certified before the County can begin the design phase of the project.

What you can do today: 

To express your passionate support for the project and urge timely completion, contact your Supervisor and Curtis Black, Deputy Director of County Parks, at cblack@co.slo.ca.us . We will be sure to inform you when the EIR is completed, and post it here for the public to review.

You are welcome to use the following text in your email:

Dear County Supervisors and Mr. Black,

I am writing because I love the Bob Jones Trail, appreciate the good work done on the project thus far, and urge you to expedite completion of the project. The overwhelming popularity of the trail and its potential to create an enormously positive impact in our community are both reasons why I strongly support your efforts moving forward.

While it is clear that many challenges have cropped up during the preliminary phases of the process, I cannot help but feel troubled by the rate at which the project progresses. Please know that our community is very excited to ride the entire City-to-the-Sea Bob Jones Trail and ask that the County, to the best of its ability, maintain focus on overcoming the challenges to completing project requirements, design, and constructed.

Sincerely,

{your name and affiliation}