City of San Jose Trail Program update

Below are some updates for trails managed by the City of San Jose Department of Parks, Recreation & Neighborhood Services.

Gary Albertson Parkway
The short, 0.5 mile trail system is nearing completion. The project should be open to the public after July 6. A dedication ceremony is likely to occur in August and celebrate reopening of the corridor, with new landscaping, a meandering paved trail and interpretive signage. The trail system leads people to Santa Teresa County Park. Work is underway to add on-street signage to guide users from the nearby Santa Teresa Light Rail Station to the trail. Watch the “Meetings” link on the Trail Program homepage (www.sjparks.org/trails) for more information about the ceremony.

Coyote Creek Trail
The trail system is being extended from Los Lagos Golf Course to Tully Road. The project should be open to the public after July 6. A dedication ceremony is scheduled for August 15. The trail’s stone gateway at Tully Road will draw attention to the trail.

Thompson Creek Trail
Construction documents are under development for the trail system from Tully Road to Aborn Road. The trail system is already open as an interim facility. The future trail improvements will include an entryway from both roadways, mid-point access ways, and tree planting for shade. No funding is yet in place for construction.

Guadalupe River Trail
Construction documents are developed to the 95% stage and staff is waiting for final NEPA (Federal Environmental documentation) clearance from Caltrans. With that input, plans will be finalized and the City should be bidding the project for construction in the November/December time frame. Construction would commence at Highway 880, and occur northward as funding permits, with Gold Street being the northern entry point.

Construction of a new railway trestle will commence in mid-July along the Guadalupe River Trail. The trail will need to be shut down during construction and a detour will be posted. The new structure will be slightly elevated and will include a much-improved under-crossing structure. The new trestle also permits completion of the Autumn Street extension along the west side of the river, where a crossing arm will regulate at-grade trail crossings. For more information on this closure and others within the network, visit the Trail Closure page on the program’s homepage.

Construction documents have been completed for the trail extension from Woz Way to Virginia Street. City staff is awaiting two permits from regulatory agencies. With those documents in hand, the project will go out to bid for construction during 2009 and 2010.

Some minor resurfacing work occurred north of Airport Parkway. For some time, trail users have suffered with an uneven packed dirt surface. Re-grading of the maintenance road occurred two weeks ago. Due to upcoming pavement work, the repairs resurfaced the dirt surface only.

Before/After Video
After a trail has been in place for a few years, it is easy to forget that access was once limited or impossible. A Before/After video has been posted on the Trail Program’s homepage that showcases photos from many of the trail projects developed in the past 5 years.

For more information about San Jose’s Trail Program, visit the award winning website at www.sjparks.org/trails