Calling all cyclists

American Canyon — like the rest of the Napa Valley — may not be the most bike-friendly place on earth. But Chuck McMinn and fellow volunteers with the Napa Valley Vine Trail Coalition are determined to change that. A St. Helena vintner who donates his time as the coalition's executive director, McMinn has been meeting with officials and bike enthusiasts up and down the Napa Valley to lay out the ground work for a safe, future bike trail from Calistoga to the Vallejo Ferry Terminal.

"It's meant to be a trail that can be used by our citizens and our visitors to explore the Napa Valley without having to be in a car," McMinn told the American Canyon Planning Commission recently.

The Napa Valley Vine Trail Coalition volunteers are now focusing on trying to figure the best route through American Canyon.

McMinn hopes all jurisdictions, including American Canyon, will endorse the preliminary bike plan for the future Vine Trail, which the Napa County Transportation and Planning Agency adopted in February. The planning group has representatives from Napa County's five jurisdictions, including American Canyon Mayor Leon Garcia.

These endorsements will solidify the chance the $45 million 44-mile trail will receive federal and state grants, McMinn has explained repeatedly. He estimates 80 percent of the north-south class 1 trail — a bike and pedestrian path separate from the road — will be paid with federal and state grants and the other 20 percent with private donations.

Segments of the Vine Trail have already been constructed in the city of Napa and upvalley.

About 4 miles of the class 1 trail have been built in Calistoga and Napa, McMinn said. That includes a 1.5 mile path from Washington Street to Dunaweal Lane and segments at Kennedy Park and along railroad tracks near Central Avenue in Napa.

Other segments totaling more than 3 miles are under construction as well. Groundbreaking for a 1-mile long trail in Yountville paid with $1 million in federal stimulus funds has been set for April 14, said Town of Yountville Public Works Director Graham Wadsworth. The class 1 bike path will travel east of Highway 29, from California Drive to Madison Street.

"It's going to be part of the transportation system," said Wendy Hilberman, executive director of the Napa County Bicycle Coalition, a grass-roots group that organizes such events as Bike to Work Day to promote bike riding.

McMinn and Barry Christian, an American Canyon resident and member of the Napa Valley Vine Trail Coalition, have explored possible routes in American Canyon. Both want input from the community, including members of the American Canyon Open Space Committee, before deciding on a bike map.

Christian, an avid outdoorsman who is also a member of the Open Space Advisory Committee — said one possible segment for the Vine Trail may be through Veterans Memorial Park on Old Broadway. The trail, Christian explained, could connect to a class 1 trail in Vallejo along Sacramento Street and Wilson Avenue.

McMinn, who was scheduled to come before the Open Space Advisory Committee on April 7, said one challenge may be the link north of American Canyon Road.

Todd Novak, a member of the American Canyon Open Space Advisory Committee, looks forward to the discussion.

An avid bike rider, he has ridden from Napa to Calistoga. The Silverado Trail is nice, but he'd rather not have to compete with cars at all, he said. He wouldn't mind riding to the ferry terminal in Vallejo if there was a convenient route to that building, he said.

"I can't wait for that trail," Novak said of the Calistoga-Vallejo bike path.

In the meantime the Napa Valley Vine Trail Coalition wants to continue to collaborate with the Napa County Transportation and Planning Agency to make the trail a reality. McMinn has stressed that the decisions will be all inclusive; that no vineyard land will be taken; and that all necessary easements to build the trail will be voluntary. The coalition also pledges to create an endowment to maintain the 44-mile path.

Formed in 2008 with $15,000 seed money from the Land Trust of Napa County, the Napa Valley Vintners and the Napa Valley Grapegrowers, the Napa Valley Vine Trail Coalition has raised $100,000 in private donations since 2008, McMinn said. The nonprofit organization has another $1 million in pledges, said McMinn, a businessman who came to Napa County after starting high-tech companies in Silicon Valley.

Eventually, the Vine Trail will connect with other trails planned in Napa County — 84 miles of Ridge Trail and 20 miles of the Bay Trail. So far about 25 percent of the 149 miles have been completed.

The Napa Valley Vine Trail Coalition has members from 19 public and private groups, including fiscal conservatives like the Napa Valley Taxpayers Alliance and others like the Sierra Club.

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