One Arroyo Foundation Official Says Projects Slowed by COVID; Environmental Assessment Report Should Be Ready in April

[Updated]  An official of the One Arroyo Foundation on Tuesday presented updates regarding the plans to improve the trails in the Arroyo Seco, considered one of Pasadena’s most treasured natural resources.

During the meeting of the Recreation and Parks Commission, Rick Gould, executive director of One Arroyo Foundation said the One Arroyo Trail Demonstration Projects team has completed a preliminary plan for the Parker-Mayberry Bridge, which is a span built directly underneath the Colorado Street Bridge and which spans the Arroyo channel.

Gould said the plan is to strengthen the trail connections and accessible areas of the Arroyo by enabling visitors to easily enter the Arroyo from the adjacent Desiderio Neighborhood Park.

Stone walls and trail connections around the bridge would be repaired.

“Our intent was to restore those stonewalls. In multiple places, the stone walls have fallen down or serious erosion has occurred and our hope is to restore those stonewalls and make that trail accessible.”

At the meeting, Gould also said the One Arroyo Trail Demonstration Projects are in the preliminary environmental review process in conjunction with the City. The environmental assessment, which One Arroyo hopes to receive in early April, will help decide the next steps.

The One Arroyo Trail Demonstration Projects are divided into two separate areas, the Streamside Walk and the Woodlands Loop. The focus of this projects will be to preserve, enhance, and connect the trail network.

The trail improvements related to the project were anticipated to begin this 2022, according to the project’s website.

“I look forward to getting through CEQA and then getting back to you so we can move forward with the construction.”

“We are very excited about this. The process has slowed down a fair amount because of COVID primarily in some of the cultural resources areas but it is recently speeded up and early April is our best hope,” said Gould.

According to Gould, the general cost for the projects’ construction is estimated at $2.4 million.

The One Arroyo Foundation recently received a $1 million grant from the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy for restoration of the Arroyo Seco trail network.

“That is a big step forward for us in getting these two projects completed.”

“We think given that grant and other commitments that have already been made, that we are well on the way to funding these projects with both public grant money and philanthropic money,” Gould said.