Instead of jumping over mud puddles, avoiding ruts or watching for traffic on a dirt path that skims along the cliff edge above Dimond Canyon, joggers and bicyclists will be able to traverse a 10-foot wide paved path connecting Monterey Boulevard with Leimert Avenue.

"Anything you can do to promote cycling in Oakland will promote business in Oakland," said Ron Scrivani of the Velo Raptors, a Montclair-based cycling group, at a community meeting at the Zion Lutheran Church on Saturday.

Scrivani said his group would rather ride in Oakland but finds Park Boulevard too dangerous with speeding cars. Instead, the two dozen riders regularly ride to Tunnel Road and out to Moraga.

The 0.6-mile proposed path would be dotted with benches and boulder seats and feature three pocket parks, said landscape designer Gillian Garro, who unveiled the plans before an audience of about 30 residents from Montclair, Glenview, Oakmore and Fruitvale.

The Leimert Avenue pocket park will have panoramic vistas of the Bay, the Oakland Temple, and perhaps a butterfly meadow, she said.

Members from the Zion Lutheran and Corpus Christi churches in Piedmont, both of which have schools along Park Boulevard, also supported the plan.

The path is part of Councilwoman Jean Quan's dream to connect the ridge to the Bay in a series of trails and pathways.

She said the path will make the community safer, provide a recreational outlet, and have environmental impacts by increasing awareness to Dimond Canyon and preserving Sausal Creek.

Karen Paulsell of the Friends of Sausal Creek said the path would connect with existing trails.

Quan said she wanted to begin work on the path immediately, starting with clearing weeds as soon as Earth Day on April 22. However, the path's completion may take between five and 10 years, she said.

The project is estimated to cost between $800,000 and $1.5 million but it has no funding source yet. One challenge is that several parties including AC Transit and the city of Piedmont own different sections along the road.

Quan said she plans to raise some money by allowing donors to name the pocket parks or benches as well as to seek funds from other agencies.

While pedestrians and cyclists will be separated from vehicular traffic on the road, one resident feared the new path would attract more users and create additional traffic hazards.

Quan said her office will continue to study traffic safety but the addition of street lights are not possible because of their high costs.

Members of the public are asked to provide their input and can see sketches of the plan at www.jeanquan.org.