Ok, I know this topic has been discussed before, and sometimes it takes a while for me to get certain things through my thick skull, but how hard is it to complete the Guadalupe River Park Trail? I mean, this isn’t the transcontinental railroad we’re talking about here, though I think that may have been built and completed faster than the few miles of trails we need in San Jose.
I went walking the other day and got caught on a stretch of the trail near the new San Jose Center and couldn’t find my way through without completely backtracking to another area of the trail. It is frustrating, to say the least, and it’s really infuriating that the Gonzales camp would have a PR-laden opening and then dump it onto the next administration to complete. (Wow. That felt good to slam Ron Gonzales; it’s been a while.)
I went on to the Guadalupe River Park website for the trail update and found that construction “should” commence on June 1 and be finished in November. That word “should” doesn’t sound too convincing to me, and the website says nothing about connecting the trail to Willow Glen in our lifetime.
Where will the pressure to get this done come from? Do Chuck Reed and Sam Liccardo’s inboxes need to be flooded with complaints? And, really, are there many who will complain besides the few people that even know the trail exists? I know that Chuck Reed is aware of the need, but will this be a priority unless there is a champion for it on the inside?
It’s just a shame, considering all the work and money that has already been put in, that we have come this far only to see the project abandoned and delayed time and time again. I admire the few people that continue to push for this to get done—and here’s hoping they succeed.
Wasn’t the Guadalupe River through downtown San Jose supposed to be on par with the San Antonio Riverwalk? Sure doesn’t seem like it.
Lockheed Martin is widely known for it’s top shelf trail consultants. And given that our man Norm used to lobby on behalf of Lockheed, he can probably swing a discount for us.
After all, we named our airport after him, and we didn’t even get a t-shirt.
I guess I’m leaning into the wind on this one, but I think the Guadalupe Trail is a huge civic gem and I use it all the time. I do a 2x/week ride from downtown, out to Alviso, then out into Don Edwards Bay Preserve on the levies, then back. It’s stunning and it’s made all the more wonderful in that it runs right through the city and I don’t have to drive to get to the trail, it’s just 10 blocks away.
While it’s true that the 101 undercrossing requires you to walk your bike for 10 yards, and there’s a job at Coleman, *it’s no big deal*—it’s totally safe and I don’t think we need to spend more taxpayer dollars to spruce it up. It works fine. It’s a great urban trail. The only thing I would add is a big california poppy seed planting along it this winter by SJ Beautiful.
Think global, bike local.
SG: On the east side of the Mighty Guadalupe River, the straight part of the trail ends at a fence at the RR tracks just north of the Social Servioces bldg. That is probably because the railroad won’t allow people to cross the tracks, since the twice a week train might kill someone and they’d get sued. But there is a way through by going under the tracks.
On the west side, also at the tracks, the trail ends, also due to the tracks. I doubt that part of the trail will ever be continued to Julian Street on that side of the river.
Farther down on the west side, underneath Coleman, there is no trail, just and angled retaining wall under the bridge. There, one must go up to Coleman & cross Coleman—avoiding the cars going 65mph in a 45 zone to copntinue on the West Side.
The east side @ Coleman involves a switchback under Coleman Ave., crossing the river along Coleman, and linking up to the West Side.
There are large signs telling one what to do.
Trail dedsigners seem to have a penchant for dead-ending trails and making patrons cross the river. I don’t know why, but it’s a prevalent practice. Perhaps they don’t want fleeing felons to have a straight shot to freedom.
The trail is in a mostly “natural” state, so it’ll always look seedy compared to San Antonio River Walk.
There was talk of connecting both sides of 101 a while back, which would give one access from dowtown to Alviso—a great run. I thought they said it was going to cost $3MILLION to build a walkway/bikepath a couple of hundred yards long! Maybe it got the budget axe to help pay for the 152/156 flyover ramp they started last week.
It’s just like every project in this city started under the regime of “Mayor A”, stalled under the agenda of “Mayor B”, completely forgotten under “Mayor C”. We haven’t had continuity of thought and purpose from the Mayor’s office. And now we have “Mayor D” who has no agenda for anything outside the walls of City Hall. Expect 4 years of “whatever happens, happens”. Just don’t expect too much.
Dear Single Gal:
The City of San Jose needs to adopt NIKE’s slogan, “Just Do It!” (Perhaps someone needs to suggest that the work be “outsourced!”)
Last week, the city’s budget chief testified at the council meeting. It was most illuminating. The real budget deficit number is $19 million, not $16 million. And, we learned that the city has about 450 fewer positions than they did just 4 years ago! (The most underreported story in this city is how the last administration slowly and quitely reduced city service levels).
Finally, the county’s budget situation is perhaps an even greater story than the city’s woes. Real people are going to be really hurt by the cuts. (The MERC should do a week-long, in depth story as to how one of the wealthiest areas on the planet can’t afford to pay for basic social services).
Pete Campbell
Dom #3
I know the San Antonio Riverwalk, Gaudalupe Park boon doogle is no San Antonio Riverwalk.
It’s just another rip off from our city coffers
Re: #8 – County budget cuts. Outsourcing is the latest catchword, but the County has outsourced for years through their contracts with non-profits. The County, and other government agencies, have long known they have much more control and spend far less money using non-profit agencies to provide services rather than their own highly paid union protected employees. The irony is that when it comes to cuts, the non-profits are the first to go although they provide superior services through dedicated workers whose primary motivation is not the big paycheck and inflated retirement benefits. Bottom line – the County could continue to fulfill its obligation to provide social services to the most needy by increasing their “outsourcing” and cutting elsewhere.
These politicians are just no good scums. They promised us one thing and get screwed by the next politician. Tom McEnery promised us a 24hr downtown and to only have it scuttled by Susan Hammer and up to current mayor. The same goes for Guadalupe river park. Former Mayor McEnery promised us a complete riverpark but got scuttled by Hammer and Gonzales and, now, Reed. What snafu! A waste of taxpayers’ dollars. Shame on these no good politicians with short memories!
Why does Mayor and Council have no accountability to public for running up billions debt, not paying billions bills for health care, sewer plant and streets repairs, raising employee retirement plans requiring more cutting city staff and services while giving millions away to politically connected developers, corporations, non profits, arts, museums, theaters, without having any audits of what we get for our taxes
City audits show millions wasted taxes and poor city management
San Jose’s adds thousands of infill, transit and new tract houses whose taxes do not pay for even reduced city services so we cut more staff and services and they want to build more houses requiring more staff and service cuts
Single Gal,
Maybe the City should hire a consultant to look into this matter. They seem to rely upon high priced consulting contracts for everything nowadays. I get the feeling that all of the talented employees the City claims to have must not be that talented afterall.
Sorry to be off point here but has anyone heard whats going on with the moving of the palm trees?
It was in the paper and I have seen nothing new about this, please tell me that they are not going to do this.
We voted to get somebody with a brain this time, and it scares me when we don’t hear what’s going on and then they just do stupid things…
The trail really needs better signage for a continuous route through downtown. Trail users have to cross over the river twice to avoid dead ends, which usually serve as public spaces for urban outdoorsmen. I frequently see families lugging their bikes up and down the staircases connecting the river to streets like San Fernando or Park, not sure where the ramps are or where to cross over. I’m sure they had a nice leisurely ride in mind, not concrete cyclocross.
As for Willow Glen, the northern reaches of the Los Gatos Creek trail will someday be completed, connecting downtown to Lincoln Ave. near Willow St.
SJ’s legacy of backwater leadership shines through once again. Instead of a lively river walk that draws residents and tourists, we have a disjointed trail. What is this? Wagon Train? Do we want no sense of place or civic pride in our downtown green zone? I agree with RIP. Don’t expect anything remotely dynamic to happen with Reed at the helm for the next few years.