Wednesday, May 22, 2024

MONTEREY COUNTY – The Transportation Agency for Monterey County (TAMC), Caltrans District 5, the City of Del Rey Oaks, the City of Seaside and the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District will host a “groundbreaking” ceremony at 1:30 pm on Wednesday, May 29, 2024, for the Canyon Del Rey segment  of the “Fort Ord Regional Trail and Greenway (FORTAG)” project. The ceremonial event will be held in the Del Rey Oaks City Hall’s parking lot, located at 650 Canyon Del Rey Boulevard, Del Rey Oaks.

Speakers at the ground-breaking  event include:

Emcee: Todd Muck, TAMC Executive Director

1.     TAMC Board Vice Chair Dave Potter, Mayor, City of Carmel-by-the-Sea

2.     Mayor Scott Donaldson, City of Del Rey Oaks

3.     Mayor Ian Oglesby, City of Seaside

4.      Dr Kevin Raskoff, Board President, Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District

5.     Scott Waltz, Fred Watson, FORTAG Founders

The ceremony will feature guest speakers, project displays, photo, and media interview opportunities. Guests are encouraged to carpool, bike, or walk to the event. Light refreshments will be provided.

Background Information

The Canyon Del Rey segment of the trail stretches 1.5 miles adjacent to the State Route 218 / Canyon Del Rey corridor through Del Rey Oaks and Seaside. It will navigate through Work Memorial Park to the tennis courts and Butterfly Garden, through Del Rey Park to a new underpass of State Route 218 into the Frog Pond Wetland Preserve, then back up to State Route 218 at Carlton Drive, finally traveling along Plumas Avenue in Seaside where it will end at Del Rey Woods Elementary School. The construction timeline for the project will begin in June 2024 and is estimated to be completed in the summer of 2026.

The Canyon Del Rey segment of the Fort Ord Regional Trail & Greenway (FORTAG) is part of the larger 28-mile effort to connect communities in and around the former Fort Ord to each other and to educational institutions, employment, community, and open space.

FORTAG is proposed as a new paved regional active transportation route providing pedestrians, bicyclists, and people with disabilities a safer  corridor connecting Seaside, Marina, Del Rey Oaks, Monterey, and unincorporated communities. It will provide new routes for both residents and visitors to California State University Monterey Bay, the Fort Ord National Monument, and the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail. The project was identified in the Transportation Safety & Investment Plan approved by Monterey County voters as Measure X in 2016.

For more information about the ground-breaking ceremony, contact Theresa Wright, Outreach Coordinator, TAMC, at 831 775- 4411 or at theresa@tamcmonterey.org. You can also visit the Fort Ord Regional Trail and Greenway  Project website for information or to subscribe to project updates at: https://www.tamcmonterey.org/fort-ord-regional-trail-greenway-canyon-del-rey.