This San Jose Trails Report was sent in by Yves Zuetty of the San Jose Parks Department
EHEI Award
Several months ago, San Jose’s Trail program was recipient of the Transportation Planning Excellence Award issued by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Transit Administration and the American Planning Association. The award recognized San Jose’s strategic approach to planning, design and construction of trail projects to form an interconnected trail network by 2022. This past week, San Jose learned of a second honor from the FHWA. The Trail Program is recipient of the Exemplary Human Environment Initiatives award. The award program acknowledges transportation projects that create or improve conditions for human activities. These awards will help with the on-going effort to secure grant funds for further trail development and reinforce to the Federal government that pedestrian and bicycle travel (walking and wheeling) are important modes to include in all transportation systems.
Information about the EHEI Award and other awards can be found on the Trail Program web site at:
http://www.sjparks.org/Trails/TrailsAwards.asp
Guadalupe River Trail Reach 6
Construction continues along the Guadalupe River from Woz Way to Virginia Street. The 0.4 mile extension to the Guadalupe River Trail will link the downtown park to the Gardner and Washington neighborhoods. Decorative pavement has been installed at both roadway entries to provide a visual gateway to the trail system. Work that remains to be completed includes the installation of split rail fencing, signage, striping and repair of some drainage issues that became apparent with this most recent rain storm. We expect that construction will be completed by March 2011.
Milestone Mileage Markers
Mileage markers are being installed at ¼ mile increments on several trails in South San Jose: Lake Almaden, Los Alamitos and Calero Creek. The markers, new signage and centerline striping provide support for safer trail use. Each marker has a unique and simple code to identify its location. For example, you will soon find a marker identified as CAL 0.75 on the Calero Creek Trail.
If you need assistance, operators at the 911 Center will know precisely where this particular marker is located along with important data to speed deployment of personnel. The operator will know the nearest vehicular entrance and exit to the trail, whether a gate or locked bollard must be managed, the pavement condition and width, notes on obstructions that might limit vehicular travel and other data to provide the operator and responders with confidence that they can quickly reach the site. The markers serve to create an addressing system for trails so that incident reports can be accurately tracked to a specific location. This data will help trail planners and managers determine if trails need more oversight, repairs or other improvements.
Work on the three south San Jose trails should be done by March. Additional markers are being installed within two months along the Guadalupe River and Los Gatos Creek. We will have an on-line survey posted within a few months to seek input from trail users on the markers and continue coordinating with the 911 Dispatchers to monitor and improve the system. The Milestone Mileage Marker and Signage guideline project was recipient of the American Trails’ State of the Art Award received a few months ago at the annual conference conducted in Chattanooga, TN. The markers are now a standard component of all new trail development in San Jose so they will be included as part of trail extensions.
Information about the guidelines can be found at:
http://www.sjparks.org/Trails/Reports/TrailSignageGuidelines_low-res.pdf
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