Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: REGULAR AGENDA (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: FINALIZE DESIGN OPTION FOR THE LAGUNA DE SANTA ROSA CLASS 1 PATHWAY MAINTENANCE PROJECT
Date: September 9, 2025
Written by: Henry Babits, Engineering Technician
Recommendation
It is recommended the City of Cotati City Council provide direction to staff on the desired pathway surface for the Laguna de Santa Rosa Class 1 Pathway between Gravenstein Way and the pedestrian bridge adjacent to Matteri Circle.
Background
On November 26, 2024, City Council approved an Agreement with Moe Engineering to provide engineering design services for the maintenance and restoration to Cotati’s Laguna de Santa Rosa Class 1 Multi-Use Trail from Gravenstein Way to East Cotati Avenue which is approximately 2,200 feet and varies from 8 feet to 10 feet wide. At that time, the City Council directed staff to return with recommendations for the pathway material before finalizing design, with further direction to explore the feasibility of constructing a gravel pathway next to the existing asphalt pathway.
Class 1 Multi-Use Paths are fully separated bike and pedestrian paths from roadways and are typically parallel to a street, waterway, and/or other alignment through open space or undeveloped areas. Interactions with vehicles are limited to street crossings. Although they do not wear down as quickly as roadways, pathways do degrade over time and their surfaces can get uneven creating a hazard for the bicyclists and pedestrians that use them. Therefore, similar to roadways, pathways periodically are in need of spot repairs or restoration. The City has created a capital improvement program to address this need.
Analysis/Discussion
During and subsequent to Council’s action on the design contract, some residents have provided input suggesting the asphalt pathway be replaced by a more “natural” pathway similar to the section of the Laguna de Santa Rosa trail south of E Cotati Ave. Therefore, staff evaluated the existing surfaces and evaluated alternative, as described further below.
Based on feedback from the public works crew, the pathway between Benson Lane and Pocket Park is holding up well with a level surface and has required infrequent maintenance by the City.
Maintenance in this segment of pathway primarily consists of weed cutting along the edges of the pathway and maintenance costs are typically limited to fixing drainage problems and repairing erosion by replacing and recompacting the aggregate. This segment of pathway was originally constructed of compacted class 2 road base. Due to the lower elevation of this trail relative to the creek, it experiences periodic flooding during the winter, which leaves a deposit of fines and silt on the trail when the flood waters recede. Over time, this has given the trail the appearance of a compacted dirt trail that can accommodate pedestrians and wheeled vehicles (bikes, etc.), but at lower speeds than on a concrete or asphalt surface.
The pathway between Gravenstein Way and E. Cotati Avenue is paved asphalt and, although there are sections in good condition, portions of the asphalt trail are in poor condition due to soil expansion/contraction and tree roots. This results in a trail with cracks and uneven surfaces, can be hot on summer days, and has a more urban trail feel than the more natural trail feel south of East Cotati Avenue. While the asphalt surface allows for higher speed vehicles (road bikes, scooters, e-bikes, etc.), it is not generally repairable by City crews and requires contracting with contractors that possess the specialty equipment to repave/seal the pathway.
Natural surfaces are allowable within ADA standards providing that the surface is firm and stable wherein firm and stable means that the surface is resistant to deformation by indentation and is not permanently affected by weather conditions, sustaining normal wear and tear from expected uses between maintenance cycles. The following materials are listed as likely to provide a firm and stable surface: crushed rock, rock with broken faces, a rock mixture containing a full spectrum of sieve sizes, hard rock, rock that passes through a ½-inch (13- millimeter) screen, rock material that has been compacted into 3- to 4-inch-thick layers, material that is moist before it is compacted, and material that is compacted with a vibrating plate compactor, roller, or by hand tamping. These pathway construction types match or closely resembles the construction methods used for the Laguna trail South of E Cotati Avenue.
Outdoor recreation paths made of natural material must not exceed a cross-slope ratio of 1:33 (3% grade); however, if the path is paved, it must not exceed 1:48 (2% grade). Since the Laguna trail is currently paved, it generally meets the standard for a natural trail with no significant regrading required to meet ADA compliance.
The purpose of the proposed Project is to renew the existing paved pathway to provide a smooth all-weather public pathway.
Repair and resurfacing alternatives include the following:
Option 1: Asphalt Repair, Resurfacing and Sealing. Asphalt repairs include digging out and repairing failed asphalt locations along the pathway, asphalt resurfacing includes paving a new asphalt surface layer over the existing asphalt pathway segments, and sealing includes pavement crack sealing along with a slurry seal over the existing asphalt pathway. The condition of the pathway is not uniform along the segment of the pathway from Gravenstein Way to East Cotati Avenue. There are some locations where failing/deteriorating asphalt will require spot repairs followed by a new asphalt overlay and other locations where there are few locations of failing asphalt that only require some degree of crack sealing and slurry seal.
Option 2: Removal of existing asphalt surfacing and replacement with natural pathway construction. The first step is removing the existing asphalt pathway and installation of a new pathway using all new aggregate material similar to pathway south of East Cotati Avenue. This process would require building up the rock base, if necessary, and installing a rock mixture for the surface level. In some areas of the pathway, it may be necessary to install wide metal borders where the ground slopes away from the edges of the pathway.
Staff also explored a third option of constructing a natural surface trail next to an asphalt trail (referred to as a ”longitudinally split pathway”). Multiuse trails (for bicycles and pedestrians) are typically 10 feet wide paved with asphalt with 2-foot rock shoulders for a total width of 14 feet. The existing asphalt pathway from Gravenstein Way to the bend where the existing garbage can is placed (by the resident) is essentially 8 feet wide, restricted by a retaining wall on one side and the creek fence and steep slope on the other. The pathway from that bend to the bridge by Matteri Circle is a bit wider, essentially 9 feet of asphalt, but with some space adjacent. This may be able to be widened with a 3’ adjacent gravel path next to the asphalt path, but would require a short retaining wall and fencing in places due to the steep slope down to the creek.
A longitudinally split pathway would have the advantage of separating speeding bicyclists from strolling walkers, but there is not sufficient space to accommodate both trails for a significant portion of the trail length. Where there is more space, it will be expensive and challenging to fit a gravel trail next to an asphalt pathway given the retaining walls and fencing required. Even then, the space could only accommodate an 8-foot asphalt trail and 3 to 4 foot gravel pathway.
Therefore, staff did not find this to be a viable option due to the limited pathway width, construction complexity, and maintenance.
The preliminary estimated construction costs for Options 1 and 2 are $104,000 and $256,000, respectively. There have been additional considerations since these estimates were prepared including widening the pathway so these costs are provided for comparative purposes only. The first option uses conventional paving repair and slurry seal treatments and uses the existing structural base and much of the existing pathway that is in good condition, can be treated with slurry seal. The second option requires removal of the existing asphalt pathway and installation of a new pathway using all new aggregate, similar to the pathway south of East Cotati Avenue.
Despite the higher construction cost, staff recommends Option 2 for the Laguna pathway (from the bridge at Matteri Circle to Gravenstein Way), as it expected to have a lower long term maintenance cost, is easily repairable by City crews, is ADA compliant and will create a more natural environment along the creek. Note that this material is not suited for road bikes or other vehicles at higher speeds, so they would need to slow down or potentially use the surface streets.
Given the narrow width of the pathway, this is desirable for pedestrians but may not be appreciated by some cyclists. Finally, this segment of pathway doesn’t flood, so although it will naturally wear, it won’t be covered in fines and silts like the segments south of East Cotati Avenue, so will likely retain an aggregate surface appearance rather than a ”dirt” pathway.
Both options will include new garbage/recycle cans along the creek, at Gravenstein Way and at the pathway to Wilford Circle.
Financial Considerations
This project was included in the City’s FY 2025/26 Budget with a total budget of $150,000.
Design, bidding, and construction management services are not to exceed $45,057, leaving $104,943 for the construction contract.
With an estimated construction cost of $245,000, Option 2 exceeds the Project’s budget and additional funds of at least $140,057 would be needed. Option 1 has an estimated construction cost of $104,000 which is just below the available construction budget and no budget amendment would be needed. Following City Council direction, the project team will prepare design and bidding documents, bid the Project, and return to City Council for award of the construction contract with a request for additional appropriation of funds.
Environmental Issues
This action is found to qualify for a Class 1 Categorical Exemption under CEQA Section 15301 in that the project consists of the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of the existing or former use.