DIABLO — Across the Bay Area, fences divide more than property lines.

They also pit public access issues against private property rights, setting off protracted conflicts around the state, as community members lash out against what they see as wealthy landowners taking away the rights of other locals to enjoy public areas by blocking pathways. Many of these fights end up in court, the subject of costly lawsuits.

As the battle over public space rages on, cyclists in Contra Costa County say they’ve secured a key win against a six-foot black iron fence that inspired community ire two years ago when it cut off access to a popular path connecting Mt. Diablo State Park to the wealthy enclave built into the foothills.

A Superior Court judge last month ordered that at least 2.4 feet of that fen

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