Modesto has seven miles of river park. How to share your ideas on future amenities

The public has three chances this month to comment on the upcoming master plan for Tuolumne River Regional Park.

The document will look at enhancing picnic spots, trails and other amenities along seven river miles between Mitchell and Carpenter roads. Some details resulted from the current plan, adopted in 2001, but the park has potential for much more.

A draft of the new plan has not been released. It could be approved next year by the park’s five-member governing board, made up of Modesto and Ceres city council members and Stanislaus County supervisors.

All of the meetings will be in Modesto, with translation for Spanish speakers. The first will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, in Room 2001 at Tenth Street Place, 1010 Tenth St. This will be a joint session of the governing board and its citizens advisory group.

The second meeting will be from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Oct. 24 in the community center at Marshall Park, 420 Chicago Ave. It is near a west Modesto stretch of the Tuolumne.

The third meeting will be from 5 to 6 p.m. Oct. 29 at George Rogers Park, 1650 Hillside Dr. This is in the airport district and also close to the river.

Park planning began in 2023

O’Dell Engineering of Modesto has been crafting the plan since early 2023. It hosted several earlier meetings and conducted an online survey about what people would like to see in the future.

Residents noted the park’s beauty but also had concerns about trash dumps, vandalized restrooms, homeless camps and other issues.

A rough sketch from east to west:

• The most popular spot could be the airport district picnic areas, shaded by riverside trees. This segment also has the most paths, some of them paved for the benefit of wheelchair and stroller users.
• The park’s eventual centerpiece will be the Gateway area, between the Ninth Street and Highway 99 bridges over the river. It has paved trails and a small restored floodplain, which could reduce property damage while providing wildlife habitat. The site someday could host large events, with easy access on foot or bike from downtown.
  
  
• The west Modesto area has dirt paths and the park’s first boat ramp, which opened in May . Funding is in hand to add a paved path between this spot and the Gateway area.
  
  
• The dirt path continues along Dryden Golf Course and out to Carpenter Road. The west end has some of the soccer fields outlined in the 2001 plan. It also has funding for trails and restored floodplain.
  
  

The new plan will estimate the cost and examine possible funding sources for the improvements. The park has a small operating budget but has received state and federal grants for several projects.

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