The Contra Costa Transportation Authority’s (CCTA) Countywide Bike and Pedestrian Plan outlines strategies that support pedestrian-friendly developments and encourages a connected, coordinated network of bicycle facilities. To help implement these strategies, CCTA adopted a Countywide Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan in 2003.  We updated the Plan in 2009, and are reaching out to the public to provide comments and ideas for the latest Plan update, which is currently underway.
Now the Countywide Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan is being updated for 2017 to help make walking and biking safer, more convenient, and more attractive in Contra Costa. The Plan will help harmonize local plans for bicycle and pedestrian networks in Contra Costa and help us better understand where and how often people walk and bicycle in the county.

We encourage you to visit the project website, KeepContraCostaMoving.net, today to take a short survey and use the interactive map to provide your comments and suggestions about the Countywide Bike and Pedestrian Plan. You can also learn more about upcoming events, the planning timeline, and opportunities to provide your ideas to the planning team. We will be hosting pop-up stations at community events and other popular locations throughout the County to gather input from residents and visitors.

The planning process will take place in phases over the course of the next year, with a final plan and environmental report scheduled for completion in the summer of 2018. We hope that you’ll stay tuned and check back on the website often to keep up to date on the planning process, explore draft documents, and provide your feedback and comments.

Let’s work together to make our community a safer and friendlier place to walk and bike. Visit KeepContraCostaMoving.net now.

Stay cool this summer at the Antioch Water Park. The Water Park is conveniently located on Lone Tree way across the street from Deer Valley High School and is the premier water attraction in East Contra Costa County. For less than the cost of four regular admissions, you can have your own season pass to the Water Park and enjoy a summer of fun in the sun. Avoid the long lines and enjoy conveniently free parking at the Antioch Water Park.

Season Passes are on sale now at a discounted rate:

·         $55.00 for Antioch Residents – if purchased by May 26, 2017

·         $60.00 for Non-Antioch Residents – if purchased by May 26, 2016

The passes will increase to $70.00 (resident) and $80.00 (non-resident) if purchased after Opening Day (May 27^th).

The Antioch Water Park is open from Memorial Day weekend until Labor Day weekend. For more information about Season Passes or any of the programs at the Water Park, please contact the Antioch Water Park at 925-776-3070.

COME SPLASH WITH US!!

How about some sidewalk surfing and learning some gnar moves, this year, bro? Do an ollie and maybe catch some air, even.

Spend your spring break learning the basic and advanced fundamentals of skateboarding by attending the Spring Break Skate Camp in Antioch. In this one-week camp, kids of all skill sets (beginner to advanced) learn the essentials needed to progress in a fun, safe and friendly environment. Kids will learn tricks, fundamentals, safety, and more from instructors with years of experience. Girls are encouraged to attend.

You must provide your own skateboard and helmet. Rentals are available but must be requested before class starts. Campers must be ages 7-14 in order to register for this camp.

The camp goes from 10:00 am-12:00 pm Monday through Friday from April 10th-14th at the Antioch Skate Park, located behind the Antioch Water Park, 4701 Lone Tree Way, Antioch.  For more information call the Antioch Recreation Department at 925-776-3050. Join in. You’ll be so stoked.

A Great Wolf Lodge water park and resort is being considered for a location in Brentwood near Antioch’s eastern border and Highway 4. Photo courtesy of Great Wolf Lodge.

By Allen Payton

According to a January article in the Brentwood Press, Great Wolf Lodge resorts may open an indoor mega-water park in Brentwood and is undergoing a feasibility study by an independent, outside agency.

The Wisconsin-based company operates 15 parks around the nation, including one in Anaheim that just opened, and one in Canada. They featurie an indoor water park, a hotel, family entertainment centers, restaurants, retail stores and meeting rooms fit for conferences and seminars.

If Brentwood is chosen, the 50-acre, 500- to 800-room resort will likely be located near Sand Creek Road off Highway 4, according to the Press report. If it’s on the west side of Highway 4, then it would be located on Antioch’s border along the planned extension of Heidorn Ranch Road, which is to intersect with an extended Sand Creek Road between Highway 4 in Brentwood and Deer Valley Road in Antioch.

In January, the Brentwood City Council voted to spend $275,000 on an independent study on the economic viability of the resort.

For more information visit the Great Wolf Lodge website at https://www.greatwolf.com/

Hikers enjoy the trails on Save Mount Diablo’s Four Days Diablo Group Camping Trip, a 30-mile trek along the Diablo Trail over 4 day leading you on an adventure through rarely seen Mount Diablo landscapes. Photos by Scott Hein, Save Mt. Diablo Board President

Discover Diablo is Save Mount Diablo’s new free public hike series, offering an annual schedule of guided walks, hikes and interpretive tours open to any and all trail blazers. Generously sponsored by the Shell Martinez Refinery, the Discover Diablo Free Public Hike Series will launch in early 2017. Discover Diablo will offer two events per month for the entire year (please see schedule, below) – one taking place and focusing on a Save Mount Diablo property and one designed for families on other public parks.

Hosted by Save Mount Diablo, the new Discover Diablo program seeks to build awareness of local land conservation efforts and to convey the importance of protecting open space for habitat and recreation. With the launch of Discover Diablo, we intend to reach new audiences, build our membership base of adventurers, explorers and outdoor enthusiasts, and spark a passion for the Diablo Range.

We invite you to join us in exploring the Bay Area’s beautiful wild lands and open spaces. We hope that with two events per month in various locations, there will be something for everyone to enjoy and learn from. Save Mount Diablo’s Family walks are for hikers of all skill levels and will take place on other portions of open space on and around the mountain. Save Mount Diablo’s Property tours will illustrate the importance of preserving wildlife habitat, building corridors between existing parks, and of course, all the beauty that the Diablo Range has to offer.

To honor Save Mount Diablo’s mission, we aim to display both our current property holdings as well as those we have helped protect over the years. Hosting monthly hikes is an effective way to engage and grow communities invested in the sustainability of local open space. SMD properties aren’t usually open to the public, so these are rare opportunities.

To complete the land conservation picture in the Diablo Range and pay homage to collaborating agencies, we also host monthly outings on Mount Diablo State Park, East Bay Regional Park District, and Walnut Creek Open Space Foundation lands. Save Mount Diablo’s new hike series, Discover Diablo, ties these outings together by offering an annual schedule of free public hikes to explore these diverse lands – with the added bonus of being guided by staff and experienced volunteer hike leaders.

According to Ted Clement, Executive Director of Save Mount Diablo, “It is the goal of the Discover Diablo program to build connections between people and land, helping communities develop a strong sense of place and a deepened appreciation for our collective backyard. Most importantly, we want to cultivate a love of the land in participants – so as to grow the land ethic and stewardship for our precious Mount Diablo area.”

We intend to reach audiences from all over the Bay Area to improve awareness of and advocacy efforts for the Diablo Range. There is something for us all to discover in the nooks and crannies surrounding Mount Diablo. Please join us on the trails to find your own individual inspiration!

Visit us on Eventbrite to our full schedule of upcoming hikes: Discover-Diablo.eventbrite.com. RSVP required.

What: Save Mount Diablo’s Discover Diablo Free Public Hike Series

When: Two monthly events throughout 2017. (See schedule, below)

Where: CONTRA COSTA COUNTY – Walnut Creek, Clayton, Concord, Livermore, Pittsburg.

Save Mount Diablo is a nationally accredited, non-profit land trust founded in 1971 with a mission to preserve Mount Diablo’s peaks, surrounding foothills, and watersheds through land acquisition and preservation strategies designed to protect the mountain’s natural beauty, biological diversity, and historic and agricultural heritage; enhance our area’s quality of life; and provide recreational opportunities consistent with the protection of natural resources. To learn more and support Save Mount Diablo please visit www.savemountdiablo.org.