Avocado Heights Multi-Use Trail

Avocado Heights Multi-Use Trail This $4 million, 3.6-mile-long Avocado Heights Multi-Use Trail Project implemented a variety of multi-modal mobility improvements, sustainable infiltration features and drainage improvements. The unincorporated community of Avocado Heights has a unique and rich history of cattle ranchos, agricultural development, and equestrian use by the residents. The area was designated as an equestrian district by the County of Los Angeles in the 1970’s. As some areas of this community developed with schools, housing, churches and some businesses, significant rural and equestrian usage continued along with increased vehicular traffic. Years prior to this project, the County of Los Angeles developed equestrian trails along the nearby San Jose Creek and San Gabriel River channels and also provided several parks with recreational amenities within the Avocado Heights community. One of these parks was developed with equestrian friendly features including a trail and riding arena. However due to narrow sidewalk parkways, the equestrians had to ride within the paved neighborhood streets to gain access to the channel trail and the park recreational areas. This led to potential traffic conflicts between vehicles and equestrians. This project was proposed to provide safer mobility for both pedestrians and equestrians and connectivity to adjacent channel trails, parks, and other points of interest. The project included construction of a multi-use, decomposed granite (DG) surfaced trail on one side of the street. The 3.6 miles of additional trail were installed on Third Avenue, Fourth Avenue, Fifth Avenue, Proctor Avenue, Lomitas Avenue and Don Julian Road – streets where horses usually had to ride in the street alongside vehicular traffic. To provide sufficient width for the trail, the roadway on many of the streets was narrowed by 4’. This minimized the removal of private encroachments and relocation of utilities. It also allowed the preservation of many mature trees. This network of new trails was constructed using stabilized DG between the private driveways and corner curb ramps. Due to the change in roadway width, a hydraulic study was done to analyze the new street capacity to handle storm water. As a result, a new storm drain was constructed along 5th Avenue to provide adequate capacity for future storms. To enhance the drainage management and reduce storm flows to the storm drain, drainage infiltration swales were constructed adjacent to the new trail on 5th Avenue with curb inlets to route street flows to the swales. The swales could also take run-off directly from the adjacent properties. An infiltration swale and basin was also constructed at the south (downstream) end of 5th Avenue to collect and infiltrate additional street flows before they entered that storm drain and the San Jose Creek Channel. To complement the new network of multi-use trail segments, the existing sidewalks on the opposite sides of the streets were upgraded to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines. Community outreach and stakeholder input was part of the design process. During the project development and design, community meetings were held locally to inform and educate the public about the proposed project. The meetings also provided the Department an opportunity to gather valuable input on the concerns that could impact the community. At the meetings, the designers described the project improvements in detail, including the improvements to connectivity, safety, and sustainable features. Several issues were brought forth by the local residents such as localized drainage concerns, driveway design features and encroachments. Where possible, issues raised were addressed by the design team within the project. Residents commented that the project would increase the safety and aesthetics of the community. The new trail will provide a dedicated route for both recreational walking, jogging and equestrian riding.