LAKE COUNTY — The Lake Area Planning Council reported this week on responses it has received from the public about walking in Lake County. Residents identified numerous areas where sidewalk or crosswalk conditions impacted their willingness to walk.
The Lake Area Planning Council is the official transportation planning agency for Lake County, formed in 1972 and made up of a board that consists of county supervisors, city council members from Lakeport and Clearlake, and citizen members.
The council conducted a needs assessment survey, called “Lake Walks,” in the fall of 2018 with the goal of identifying how to make Lake County more walkable. According to the council’s report on public input, more than 350 comments from locals touched on a few underlying themes.
The council summarizes some “general issues” identified in those comments. Among them is a lack in “sidewalk connectivity” and street crossing safety, a disconnect between residential areas and school, parks and transit, and problems with crime, aggressive dogs and bad driving.
According to the council, walking paths and trails that would connect residents to other parts of the county are in high demand.
An online portion of the council’s survey found that “just over 40 percent of respondents walk for transportation a few times a week while almost three quarters (71 percent) walk for recreation or exercise at the same frequency. At the other end of the spectrum, almost one third (31 percent) rarely or never walk for transportation and 5 percent rarely or never walk for recreation or exercise.”
Asking residents why they chose not to walk, infrastructural challenges were identified as a major factor for many. “Missing or broken sidewalks,” “poor street lighting,” and “lack of trails and paths away from traffic” were some of the most prominently recognized problems. Lack of crosswalks and other factors making crossing streets feel unsafe were mentioned often by residents as well.
Some survey data was entered into maps which matched residents’ complaints to specific intersections and locations in different parts of Lake County, including Lakeport, Clearlake, Upper Lake, and others.
The council writes that “61 comments were submitted through the map. Of these, 21 are for sidewalks, 23 for crossing improvements and 17 for other improvement ideas.” The council adds later in its report that a “small handful” of highways and arterial streets were the focus of much of the concerns that residents brought before the council.
In Lakeport, special areas of concern regarding sidewalks were High, Main, 11th, 6th and Martin Streets; Lakeshore and Lakeport Boulevards; and the residential grid. Safer crossings were demanded along Main Street, 11th Street and Lakeport Boulevard.
In Clearlake, sidewalks improvements were asked for most along Lakeshore Drive, Old Highway 53, Arrowhead Road, Burns Valley Road, Olympic Drive, 40th Avenue and 18th Avenue. Street crossing improvements were asked for predominately at the intersection of Lakeshore Drive and Old Highway 53.
Residents of Northshore communities like North Lakeport, Upper Lake, Nice, Lucerne and Clearlake Oaks asked for better sidewalks along Highway 20, Hill Road, in Lucerne’s downtown core, and on Scotts Valley Road. Safer crossings were wanted along Highway 20, as well. A better way to walk was wanted between North Lakeport and Upper Lake, to connect pedestrians to both towns.
In Lower Lake, Hidden Valley Lake, Middletown, Cobb, Clear Lake Riviera, Soda Bay, Kelseyville and other nearby areas, residents asked for better sidewalks along Soda Bay Road. In Kelseyville sidewalks were wanted on Gaddy Lane, Main Street, Konocti Road and Live Oak Drive.
