Oro Valley holds second stakeholder meeting on Trails Connect master plan; residents press for maintenance, access and coordinated funding

Town of Oro Valley planners hosted the second stakeholder meeting for the OV Trails Connect master plan via Zoom to review a draft vision and 10 guiding principles and to collect additional community feedback.

The meeting centered on four themes—reinvesting in existing assets, enhancing connectivity, securing funding and growing a safe, accessible network—with participants repeatedly urging clearer maintenance priorities, more coordination with regional land managers and new or dedicated funding sources.

"The goal is to create a community led master plan for the town's paved path and unpaved trail network that serves all users," said Kyle Packer, senior planner and lead for the trails master plan, as he opened the session and summarized outreach to date. Packer and staff noted the project has already received substantial input: an online survey returned 735 responses (about 75% from people older than 55, staff said), more than 700 trail‑side comments and additional feedback from youth and resident working groups. The outreach summary is posted at OVtrailsconnect.com.

Why it matters: Participants framed maintenance and safe access as prerequisites for broader improvements. Several speakers said maintenance should prioritize badly deteriorated segments rather than cosmetic resurfacing, and asked the town to coordinate maintenance…