Election season is almost here. There is a large group of mayoral candidates and a number of City Council races that will determine the direction of San Jose’s city government for years to come. One important issue I hope every candidate addresses is the future of San Jose’s parks and trails.

In a sight to behold, Obed Rivera stood in front of a crowd of 300 volunteers, city of San Jose staff, elected officials, family and neighbors, as he accepted the Anti-Litter Program Volunteer of the Year Award. The award was one of several presented at the annual volunteer appreciation event hosted earlier this month by Parks, Recreation & Neighborhood Services (PRNS).

We tend to live our lives according to the seasons, as defined by popular opinion and advertising. Though it is technically still summer, autumn is nearly upon us. As such, it is appropriate to look through the lens of our future periscope. I see a handful of issues and challenges that lie ahead for San Jose.

We previously talked about the need for an active, empowered role for citizens in the stewardship of San Jose’s parks and trails. The significant cutbacks in budget and personnel have left city staff to do more work with less people and less money. The solution is to create multi-partnerships with citizens, neighborhood associations, businesses and community groups to provide a collective stewardship for the future.

Thanks to the work of the staff of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, and under the recent leadership of trails manager Yves Zsutty, San Jose’s entire trail system has undergone an amazing transformation.

I have mentioned before that we are now all part of a new paradigm in civic life, especially as it relates to our parks, trails and recreation programs. The new paradigm is not a great distance from this traditional view. It is merely a small step forward by the citizenry toward a closer level of ownership and participation than we have generally assumed. That one step is active care. A recent example relates to bags supplied at our local dog parks.

Like many people who were raised in Santa Clara Valley, before it was Silicon Valley, I spent my youth playing a lot of baseball, bicycling, running, shooting hoops and hanging out with friends at our local park. I took for granted that this magical place was always here for me.