$9.5 million sidewalk upgrade causes uproar in Mendocino County town

A near-$10 million project to improve disability access along Highway 1 through Fort Bragg has united the coastal community against Caltrans after crews installed a fence obstructing views of the ocean. 

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The debacle began last month, as Caltrans started reconstructing a sidewalk along the highway to bring it into compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act standards. The $9.5 million update improves conditions for pedestrians along the shoreline highway and spans nearly the entire length of the city, from the Route 20 intersection to Elm Street.

“CalTrans has done a bad thing and it needs to be undone,” Fort Bragg resident Bonnie Brayton told SFGATE via email. “… The locals are unhappy and rightfully so.”

Historically, the fence reflected the town’s coastal character and complemented the scenery. Worn and wooden, the panel fencing was also short enough to ensure visibility of Noyo Headlands Park and the sea beyond it. 

Fort Bragg locals were incensed to find that Caltrans’ new fence is much taller and impedes the view. 

Mary Rose Kaczorowski, a candidate for city council, wrote in a letter to the editor to the Ukiah Daily Journal that the new fence is driving a stake through the town’s identity. “Did anyone stop to ask how this substantially higher fence would affect the people who live here — or how it would change the view at the entrance to our town?” Kaczorowski wrote.

Aiden McFadden, who works the front desk at the Seabird Lodge, recently told SFGATE by phone that the inn’s guests have already started to complain. “We’re marketing towards being a sea town, but you can’t see the sea. It’s a bit of a buzzkill,” McFadden said. “We understand why they’re putting in the fencing, but we didn’t expect there to be an actual wall, a barrier, between us and the ocean view. The original fence did its work.”

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Caltrans hosted an open house for the project at the town hall in April to answer community questions. SFGATE could not verify whether the new fence height was discussed at the time. Mendocino Railway, which operates the historic Skunk Train that terminates nearby, owns the property the fence is on. Robert Jason Pinoli, president and CEO, said the company was unaware of the fence height before installation. 

As soon as the fence went up, locals began a public outcry. Caltrans spokesperson Manny Machado said the agency and the city of Fort Bragg quickly started to collaborate, “to address the concerns of the recently installed wood fence along Route 1.” 

The public pushback has led to action.

City manager Isaac Whippy said in a news release that city staff reviewed the project’s permit and found that the replacement fencing was supposed to match the previous. 

On Tuesday, Whippy told SFGATE that the city met with Mendocino Railway and Caltrans to plan for a new fence. “We have a timeline for the construction crew to come back to town in the next couple of weeks for fence modifications,” he said.