City staff outline bicycle plan, CIP process and Moore Road Trail cost drivers

City engineering and planning staff updated the Planning Commission on bicycle infrastructure funding and project pipelines on March 20.

Roland Neufeld, Senior Engineer in the Capital Improvements Division, explained that the Bicycle Transportation Plan (originally adopted 2012, updated 2018) is the primary source of candidate projects that, if funded, enter the Capital Improvement Program for design and construction. Neufeld described three main funding sources: city streets funds (from gas and sales tax receipts, which also fund general roadway maintenance), competitive grant programs (intermittently successful), and a Placer County Transportation allocation of about $45,000 annually that has been used for smaller striping and signage projects.

As an example, Neufeld described the Moore Road Class I Trail project, which staff secured $1.2 million in local funds to construct roughly 1,000 feet of trail. He said costs are elevated because the route is within Caltrans right‑of‑way (requiring encroachment permits and easements), is adjacent to Auburn Ravine and in the floodplain, and triggers environmental permitting for open-space and habitat impacts.

Mel Pavolinis, Planning Manager, noted that specific plans (Village 1 and 7) include networks of trails, NEV routes and sidewalks funded through developer financing, and that these networks are intended to connect with city CIP projects over time as subdivisions come in. Commissioners asked whether NEVs (neighborhood electric vehicles/golf carts) are accommodated in planned widths and whether developer conditions can be used to secure off‑site trail connections; staff and the city engineer answered that conditioning is limited by state law (Subdivision Map Act) but master plans and CFDs provide a path to coordinate developer-installed amenities with city projects.

What’s next: staff said they will update the Bicycle Transportation Plan in FY 24–25 and continue to pursue grants and coordination with Caltrans for the Moore Road project. The presentation was informational; no commission action was required.