BY JAMES GELUSO, Californian staff writer
jgeluso@bakersfield.com | Wednesday, Jul 16 2008 6:31 PM

A phalanx of bicyclists Wednesday urged the Bakersfield City Council to preserve a section of the Kern River Bike Path.

A Kern County Superior Court judge last month ruled that the city must install a dirt road along the future Morning Drive alignment. That could mean tearing up the 1.4-mile section of the bike path between Paladino Drive and Alfred Harrell Highway.

"I just can't believe that this can't be solved in a way that's good for the community," said Bill Cooper.

Bicyclist Arin Resnicke said the property owners who sued already have access to their parcels from Alfred Harrell Highway. He doesn't see why the city needs to give access to them.

The owners, John and Joseph Tarabino, plan to develop their now-vacant property. Their site plan calls for roads that connect to the future Morning Drive.

If the city does tear up the path, it would have to return $550,000 in federal funding used to build the path, warned Peter Smith, a planner with the Kern Council of Governments who helped secure the money.

"What is the point of tearing up a perfectly good paved road and putting in a 24-foot dirt path?" asked Lauren Franconi, executive director of Bike Bakersfield. That's not a good move for air quality, she added.

Councilman Ken Weir said he has been trying to settle the dispute between the city and the Tarabinos, and he supports keeping the bike path.

"Nobody on this council wants to waste $600,000 in funding," he said. "But we do need to meet our obligation to the landowner in that area and to meet our obligation to the court."

The court ruled that the city had worked out a deal during a land swap with the Tarabinos, and that deal required vehicle access.

Franconi said the Tarabinos have access, because they have keys to the gates, which allows them to drive up the canyon.

"I will be working diligently to preserve that pathway," Weir promised.