My wife and I recently downsized and moved from Fifth Street East to Fifth Street West, from the east side to the west side. Now I have an entirely new neighborhood to walk and explore, and find myself just a block away from the Fryer Creek Trail.
Unlike the bike trail to the north that runs from east to west, the Fryer Creek Trail runs north to south, from West MacArthur Street to Leveroni Road. My good fortune includes a tree-studded path at the end of my street that leads to Fryer Creek. I now can walk on a shady class-one bike path devoid of motor vehicles where the sounds of birds and gurgling water are what I hear instead of the hiss of tires on asphalt and the roar of internal combustion engines. It’s an example of Sonoma’s existing Greenlinks Network, a way to walk through town that’s not only safe, but beautiful and relaxing.
When General Vallejo designed the City of Sonoma with its street grid system defining blocks and transportation routes, the automobile wasn’t how people got around, it was by walking and using horses. The pace of life was slower and The City of Sonoma was a rural, agricultural community. What has become Sonoma’s bustling Plaza was a corral for livestock, bordered by the Mission, hotels, shops, restaurants, and a post office. Unfortunately, Vallejo did not foresee or plan for our car-dominated future nor did he create a network of paths separated from the streets…