Park District, EBMUD, and Town of Moraga Celebrate Reopening of Lafayette-Moraga Regional Trail Closed Due to Landslide Since 2016
Along the southwestern end of the Lafayette-Moraga Regional Trail on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, officials from the East Bay Regional Park District, East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), and the Town of Moraga celebrated the reopening of a section of the trail between Canyon Road and Westchester Street in Moraga. The trail section has been closed since 2016 due to a landslide. The Park District maintains and operates over 200 miles of regional trails in the East Bay.
“We are happy to be celebrating the reopening of the Lafayette-Moraga Regional Trail with the community,” said East Bay Regional Park District General Manager Sabrina Landreth. “Regional trails such as the Lafayette-Moraga Regional Trail serve an important role in the community, providing healthy recreation, green transportation alternatives, and safe routes to school for schoolchildren.”
The overall project, including slope stabilization and trail reconstruction, was a partnership between the East Bay Regional Park District, EBMUD, and the Town of Moraga. In 2020, the Town of Moraga completed the Canyon Road Bridge Replacement Project that reestablished the regional trail along Canyon Road. In 2021, EBMUD completed the Moraga Creek Flood Control Project that stabilized the slope, allowing the East Bay Regional Park District to move forward with final trail construction.
“Thank you to our partners who have helped make this project happen,” said East Bay Regional Park District Board Director Dee Rosario. “The Lafayette-Moraga Regional Trail is a wonderful historic and recreational resource for the community that provides opportunities for walking, running, biking, and horseback riding.”
The Lafayette-Moraga Regional Trail runs for 7.65 miles between Lafayette and Moraga.
“Today’s ribbon cutting is about more than reopening the trail. It’s about showing what happens when we all come together to solve challenges and take care of the places that we love,” said East Bay Municipal Utility District Board Director Marguerite Young. “The trail connects people to nature, whether they are walking to school, or biking, or running, or just enjoying the fresh air.”
The repair project and reopening have been of great interest to the Moraga community since its closure in 2016.
“Moragans are walkers and hikers and the trail is very important to us all,” said former Moraga Mayor Teresa Onoda. “The trail is used by birders, equestrians, walkers, who make a regular walking date with their friends. With schools just across the street, it is used by children on bicycles and walking. We really value safe routes to schools. It also provides important emergency vehicle access for the community.”
“Moraga is very much a natural wonderland, with 45 percent of the town consisting of open space, hills, and ridgelines,” added Mayor Onoda.
