'So annoyed': New fence blocks popular Bay Area mountain path - San Francisco Chronicle

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Bicycle advocates in the East Bay are outraged about a new fence that blocks a key right-of-way long used to access Mount Diablo.

In late September, a 100-foot-long iron-bar fence was built across a gravel trail on a small property in the enclave of Diablo in Contra Costa County. Cyclists and walkers say they have crossed that property, located between Alameda Diablo and Mount Diablo Scenic Boulevard, to reach Mt. Diablo State Park’s South Gate entrance, for decades. They argue the fence should be removed immediately and forever.

“It’s been used by hundreds of thousands of cyclists, hikers and residents for at the least the last 75 years, so we’ve got to get this open,” said Alan Kalin, of Danville, who organizes East Bay riders around key issues via the community group Mount Diablo Cyclists.

The new barrier is supported by a cohort of local homeowners who identify themselves as “the intervenors” in court documents and claim that bike traffic through the passage constituted a nuisance.

Kalin’s group successfully lobbied the Department of Parks and Recreation to build a series of bicycle turnouts on Mount Diablo’s Summit Road over the past decade to help ease tensions between drivers and riders — measures that appear to be cutting down on collisions. The ride to the mountaintop is a local favorite, but blind turns along the narrow roadway have made it a dangerous one for cyclists.

The new fence leaves local cyclists trying to access popular riding roads with two alternative routes — neither of which is ideal, bike advocates say. One alternative pushes riders onto Mount Diablo Scenic Boulevard, which Kalin and others say poses risks of car-bicycle collisions; the second option runs parallel to the now-fenced cut through, but is a much steeper path.

Longtime Diablo resident Shirley Osmer frequently biked on the now-fenced path but switched to use the alternative road, which she describes as dangerous.

“I’m so annoyed,” Osmer said.

A petition to reopen the path, created by Kalin, had more than 3,000 signatures as of Friday.

It’s unclear who owns the property in question. Kalin and others claim it belongs to U.S. Bank. But a bank representative told the Chronicle that the bank serves as a trustee of the property and does not manage or maintain it.

The party responsible for property maintenance and upkeep is the loan servicer, a company called Mr. Cooper, according to the U.S. Bank representative. The company and a person identified by U.S. Bank as a legal representative for Mr. Cooper didn’t reply to inquiries for this article.

No one answered when a Chronicle reporter knocked on the doors of several homes near the fence.

Passionate cyclists and residents rallied Wednesday in front of a Danville U.S. Bank branch, chanting “Take down the fence,” and “Shame on U.S. Bank.” About 100 people, including many members of the San Ramon Valley Mountain Bike Team, marched with signs outside the branch.

Those protesting made no mention of Mr. Cooper.

A new fence bars a right-of-way long used to access Mount Diablo.
Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle

At the rally, Mike Roberts, head coach of the San Ramon Valley Mountain Bike Team, said children as young as 11 on his team used the now-blocked pathway three days a week during their biking season en route to Mount Diablo. The nearby alternative bike routes to the mountain are either too steep for young riders or dangerously narrow.

“It’s really the only safe way for us to access the trails,” he said.

In October, Danville residents filed a legal complaint seeking numerous actions including clarification of who owns the property, the fence and an injunction to stop blocking the path.

The “intervenors” group responded by filing a motion in Contra Costa County Superior Court to require that any successive owner be required to keep the fence in place.

Legal representatives for the “intervenors” group did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.

Reach Clare Fonstein: clare.fonstein@sfchronicle.com, reach Gregory Thomas: gthomas@sfchronicle.com