Get AI Briefings, Transcripts & Alerts on Local & National Government Meetings — Forever.
Advisory board unanimously recommends OV Trails Connect master plan to Oro Valley Town Council
Loading...
Summary
After a presentation by senior planner Kyle Packer, the advisory board voted unanimously on Feb. 17 to recommend the OV Trails Connect trails and paths master plan to Town Council in April; plan emphasizes maintenance, wayfinding, MUP expansions and phased funding.
The Parks & Recreation Advisory Board voted unanimously on Feb. 17 to recommend the OV Trails Connect trails and paths master plan to Town Council for consideration in April following a presentation by senior planner Kyle Packer.
"This is the final PDF or paper version of the plan," Packer said, outlining four focus areas: unpaved trails, the town loop, multi‑use paths alongside major thoroughfares, and concrete paths in the Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve. He said the outreach program included an online survey with 735 responses, five side‑chat events and multiple stakeholder meetings with regional partners including the Arizona State Land Department and Pima County.
Packer described three alternatives for a proposed northern loop alignment and flagged engineering and cost constraints where the existing Big Wash alignment would require substantial flood‑plain bank protection to be usable. He said funding is expected to come incrementally from the town capital improvement plan, grants, volunteer work and staff resources.
Board members asked detailed questions about the plan’s design elements, including whether some stretches in Rancho Vistoso are private and therefore not part of the public network, where amenities such as restrooms and trash receptacles would be sited, and the difference between multi‑use paths (MUPs) and bike lanes. "If you're looking at paper, those are dash lines that include proposed aspirational segments," Packer said about how the plan shows private or proposed connections.
One board member recommended clarifying the map legend to distinguish private Rancho Vistoso trails from publicly accessible trails; Packer said staff would review and refine map labels and implementation tables before sending the plan to council.
After discussion, a member moved to recommend approval of the OV Trails Connect master plan; the motion was seconded and carried unanimously.
The board’s recommendation will be placed on the Town Council agenda in April for final action. Staff said the PDF presented to the advisory board will be converted into a web‑based plan (ovtrailsconnect.com and on the town website) with implementation tables and more detailed project‑level planning to follow.
