Murrieta Creek Interim Regional Trail:
The trail connects the cities of Temecula, Murrieta, Wildomar and Lake Elsinore. The trail is designed for hiking, cycling and horse riding. It serves as the spine of a network linking the other trails in the region. This trail represents a joint effort between the cities in partnership with the Santa Margarita Group of the Sierra Club.
Among the ongoing activities in progress are creating trail posts and signs, placement of benches along the trail, and other options for waste collection and disposal containers.
Flood Control Project:
The project is a multi-purpose flood control, environmental restoration and recreation project along 7.5 miles of Murrieta Creek. The flood control project is divided into four construction phases.
Our general meeting is scheduled on April 14th in Temecula. Representatives of Murrieta, Wildomar and Lake Elsinore will deliver an overview of trails in their cities. Gary Oddi will present a review of local trails in Temecula. He is a retiring educator from Great Oaks High School and a prominent member of the bicycling community. He works with several organizations and, in particular, the Inland Valley Mountain Bike Association (IVMTB).
April 23d, 2016, Murrieta Creek Army Corps/Flood Control group will present the Phase 2 of the project; the presentation will be followed by a guided tour of the project.
Other articles about this project:
1. http://www.pe.com/articles/trail-769435-temecula-plan.html
2. https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=z-wzMcJg9eQk.kjqlDC7jYqkI&hl=en_US
3. http://www.pe.com/articles/creek-800061-project-trail.html
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Murrieta Creek Flood Control Project
Update 4/6/2016
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What's going on in Temecula’s stretch of the Murrieta Creek?
Bulldozers and cranes have moved in, scraped the creek bare, and it’s not looking very pretty.
But this is just the start of Phase II of the long-awaited Murrieta Creek Flood Control project, decades in the making, costing millions of dollars. Come learn about the plans for the creek, which fronts Old Town, the new trails and enhanced environment. Hear how the Army Corp’s design works with nature, and uses the power ofplants to protect Temecula from future floods. A presentation by the Project Manager will be followed by a site tour led by the project’s biologist.
This is a rare opportunity to hear directly from the people responsible for the design and construction about how recreation opportunities are being created, wildlife will benefit, and Temecula is being beautified, all through the implementation of cutting-edge, storm water management techniques.
What: Murrieta Creek Flood Control Project Presentation
Who: Presentation by the Army Corp, Murrieta Creek Project Manager Melvin Meneses. Followed by a site walk with Army Corp Biologist Jessie Rae.
When: April 23, from 9AM to 11AM.
Where: Temecula City Community Center, 28816 Pujol Street, Temecula
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Murrieta Creek Flood Control Project: updated 4/23/16, Interim Progress Report
Michael Momeni
Michael Momeni
The Army Corp, Murrieta Creek Project Manager Melvin Meneses presented an overview of the project, the status of each phase of the project. This presentation was followed by Army Corp Biologist Jessie Rae. He presented different options for revegetation of the flood control area. Some members of the audience asked about selection of soil-cement for stabilization of some of the embankments over the traditional cement. Melvin Meneses discussed the pros-and-cons for the choices; he indicated that one of the concern for Temecula-Murrieta community was preservation of the Old Town color motif. Also, the Army Corp attempts to naturalize the creeks and flood control beds to resemble the naturally created riverbeds. The Corp had worked with naturalists to preserve the habitat and protect any native species by relocation to other areas. The audience participation and followed up questions indicated the public interest and historical knowledge about the project.
Audience Question: Is the cost of this project justified?
Response by the Corp of Engineers Meneses: The Congress decides the Corp's projects. We just follow the law.
Audience Question: Is the cost of this project justified?
Response by the Corp of Engineers Meneses: The Congress decides the Corp's projects. We just follow the law.
Army Corp Biologist Jessie Rae discussed the biological aspects of the project.
Jessie Rae followed the presentation to outdoors presentation and remark about each aspects of the newly created flood control channel. 
This was a beautiful day. We are grateful to the Corp of the Engineers for their presentations.
It was an interesting morning. The presentation was informative and the audience had great questions. I hope this can be done again, and we can expand on the event.
ReplyDeleteWhat would be the cost to the communities if the 100-year flood control is not in place? What would be the economic and environmental impacts to the communities in the absence of the flood control measures? Is this justification sufficient for the Corp to mitigate the problem before it would become a severe problem? Yes.
ReplyDeleteThanks to the organizers of this event. I appreciated the opportunity to get an overview of the project. Having it divided into four phases helps to understand the work that is being planned.
ReplyDeletePhase three is about creating a detention basin and adjacent recreation area. What type of "park" do we want? Something with baseball fields and mowed lawns? Or something with hiking trails and native scenery?