Niles Canyon Trail Project

Niles Canyon Trail Project

he County of Alameda (Lead Agency) proposes to construct a six-mile, Class 1, multi-use trail for pedestrians, bicyclists, and equestrians between the unincorporated community of Sunol and Niles District of the City of Fremont, both in Alameda County. In addition, the project would provide a critical link to Palomares Road bypassing State Route 84 (SR-84) and would expand the Alameda Creek Trail, which provides a direct connection to the 500-mile San Francisco Bay Trail. The proposed trail would consist of a 10-foot wide, all-weather surface with 2-foot shoulders on either side composed of decomposed granite. The trail would meet accessibility guidelines, and include different barrier options to separate trail users from railroad and highway traffic. In addition, retaining walls would need to be installed in some locations to accommodate slope cuts. These walls would be sculpted concrete with soil nail tiebacks. The project would include provisions of staging areas with sufficient parking to avoid impacts to surrounding neighborhoods from visitors’ vehicles. Staging areas would be created at both Niles and Sunol, as well as Palomares Road. In addition, existing staging areas associated with the Alameda Creek Trail could support the need for parking. The project would be implemented in three phases.

Fremont

Alameda

Countywide

California Air Resources Board (ARB), California Department of Conservation (DOC), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Marin Region 7 (CDFW), California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), California Department of Water Resources (DWR), California Highway Patrol (CHP), California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), California Natural Resources Agency, California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), California State Lands Commission (SLC), Office of Historic Preservation, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Quality, California Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Francisco Bay Region 2 (RWQCB), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bay Delta Region 3 (CDFW), California Department of Transportation, District 4 (DOT)

California Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Francisco Bay Region 2 (RWQCB), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bay Delta Region 3 (CDFW), California Department of Transportation, District 4 (DOT)

Recreational (6-mile multi-use trail)

Use Permit

Aesthetics, Agriculture and Forestry Resources, Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Cumulative Effects, Drainage/Absorption, Energy, Flood Plain/Flooding, Geology/Soils, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Growth Inducement, Hazards & Hazardous Materials, Hydrology/Water Quality, Land Use/Planning, Mandatory Findings of Significance, Mineral Resources, Noise, Population/Housing, Public Services, Recreation, Schools/Universities, Sewer Capacity, Solid Waste, Transportation, Tribal Cultural Resources, Utilities/Service Systems, Vegetation, Wetland/Riparian, Wildfire