Oro Valley stakeholders press for safety, maintenance and clear priorities as trails master plan moves toward council review

Oro Valley project lead Kyle Packer opened a stakeholder meeting to review the 90% draft of the OV Trails Connect master plan, telling residents the town will take the plan to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on Feb. 17 and tentatively to the Town Council in March.

Residents and user-group representatives asked staff to prioritize near-term projects, fix unsafe access points and standardize signage rather than only adding new segments. "The access to the loop at Pushview Lane doesn't seem to be addressed," resident Steven said, describing a rough approach road with a sharp 180-degree turn that is hazardous for bicyclists and narrow-tire riders. Planning and zoning administrator Bayer Vela replied that an adjacent private development will reconstruct that section and that developers will add two bike stations and soften sharp curves near Tangerine Bridge as part of the project.

Why it matters: The town's loop and multiuse paths are heavily used for recreation and transportation, so decisions about maintenance, signage and where to expand affect safety and grant eligibility. Staff said maintaining the existing network remains the highest priority and noted Public Works currently budgets about $50,000 a year for repaving multiuse paths and the loop.

Attendees pressed staff on three recurring themes: safety at crossings, consistent wayfinding and sequencing projects. Several speakers urged replacing stop signs at multiuse-path intersections with yield signs or painted crosswalks to reduce conflicts and driver/bicyclist confusion. "Those stop signs make a lot of users not law-abiding — they should be yield signs," resident Steven said; town planning staff agreed to consult Public Works about whether signs or pavement markings should change.

Participants also urged clearer wayfinding on the loop’s northern sections and stronger integration with regional connectors. Maureen said signage that displays distances ("Swan Road — 1 mile") in the northern segment would make the loop feel consistent with other parts of town; staff pointed to a draft signage matrix in the implementation plan.

On expansion, staff presented three northward alignment options: (1) a route through Catalina State Park toward Saddle Brook, (2) a corridor largely along Oracle Road shifting east along East Wilds/Golden Ranch Roads, and (3) an alignment in the Big Wash floodplain that planners said is likely expensive because of erosion and construction costs. Residents favored options that avoid heavy traffic corridors and that create true loops rather than out-and-back routes.

The town plans to use a mix of funding sources — capital improvements, grants such as RTA or ADOT for multiuse paths — but staff cautioned RTA likely won't fund dirt trails. They recommended counters and user counts to document demand and strengthen grant applications.

Volunteer roles and amenities: Staff said volunteer programs will be emphasized for unpaved-trail maintenance and that the town is developing a bench-donation program to help pay for amenities. The meeting record and the online comment form remain open; staff asked for written comments via ovtrailsconnect.com or to kpacker@orovalleyaz.gov by Jan. 19.

What’s next: The plan will be refined with stakeholder feedback, then brought to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on Feb. 17 for a recommendation and to the Town Council in March for consideration.