Parks from a Manhattan perspective

Justin Davidson  is a classical music and architecture critic for New York Magazine. I thought I would share a New York version of parks and open space given the limitations or advantages of designing in a dense urban setting. Notice the attention to detail. The quality of the park features.

How would you like to see your own parks? Enjoy!

Guadalupe River Trail Project Update from San Jose's Yves Zsutty

San Jose's Guadalupe
River Trail System

The following is a construction project update on the lower Guadalupe Trail from Yves Zsutty, Trail Manager with the City of San Jose

Please be aware that paving occurs this week between Highway 101 and Montague Expressway.  Large paving equipment, supply trucks and workers will be working on site from Monday to Friday.  Please continue to use the posted detour until the trail is officially reopened. 

You can find additional information on the Trail Program website on the Construction Updates page and Twitter (SanJoseTrails). 

GRT update #6

New generation of San Jose leaders poised for positive changes

Hans Larsen, Director of SJ DOT
 before a SJ Bike Party ride
 last summer.

While riding the streets of downtown San Jose in the early evening hours the other day, I tweeted about my sighting of the city's Director of the Department of Transportation, Hans Larsen heading home after a day at the office in his suit, and on his bike on the the San Fernando Bicycle Route.

Yesterday, while riding near San Pedro Square I caught the city's Trail Program Manager, Yves Zsutty walking to work in the morning hours just before an unseasonable rain shower.

And just this morning I happen to run into the city's Director of the Office of Economic Development and she asked if I had any additional information regarding San Jose Bike Party's annual 'Lady's Ride'. She mentioned that she wanted to invite some of her friends along.



Poster from 2011 Ladies Ride.
 Art: Jill Quindiagan

I am glad to say that I was not surprised by her interest in the ride. Kim Walesh, the Director of the Office of Economic Development, along with Hans Larsen SJ DOT Director have both been on multiple San Jose Bike Party Rides. In fact it was because of Kim Walesh public support for SJ Bike Party that I even considered putting on the Dublin Mayor's Ride, an early morning ride with the Mayor of Dublin, Ireland.

Council members Pierluigi Oliverio, Sam Liccardo, and Rose Herrera also get it. Council member Oliverio has been extremely supportive of many cycling and community building events such as Bike Party and Kidical Mass in the Glen. Sam Liccardo, the council representative for the downtown area has been a strong supporter of cycling and is a yearly competitor in the King of the Mountain ride. Rose Herrera has also supported Via Velo and was one of the only council members to show for the Dublin Mayor's ride.

It is encouraging to see these newer leaders in the Parks, Transportation, and Economic Development fields. These new leaders get it. Not so much with the old guard, some of whom are no longer with the city. My most memorable quote was from the former head of the San Jose Redevelopment Director Harry Mavrogenes. When asked by columnist Scott Herhold in a August, 2010 column about the San Jose MarketCenter development he responded directly from the sprawl playbook.

When I asked Mavrogenes why he believed MarketCenter was downtown, he resorted to a bureaucratic defense: "It's part of the greater downtown," he told me. "When we extended the borders of the redevelopment area, we included this center." Then I asked how he'd gotten to the grand opening. He said he had driven from his City Hall office. So we have a downtown location that you have to drive to from your downtown office. Sorry, Harry. Something doesn't compute.

Another instance was at the very same event where Kim Walesh took a stand and publicly supported San Jose Bike Party. Just a few moments later when San Jose Planning Director was asked about author and feisty critic of the planning profession during its last 50 years, Mr. Hordwell was unclear as to just who Mr. James Howard Kunstler is. Where as Messrs. Walesh, Larsen, and Zsuetty have made countless appearances to neighborhood workshops, meetings, and events I have yet to see the Planning Director leave the City Hall campus.

So given all of the fiscal constraint, labor tensions, and other challenges that face today's leaders I applaud these new leaders, both elected and city staff who not only make a difference but are also highly visible in their communities. The only problem is that we need more like you.

San Jose Trails update from City Trail Manager Yves Zuetty

View San Jose Trails - Updates from Yves Zuetty in a larger map

San Jose Trails Update - May 2012

Highway 237 Bikeway Construction

Construction of the bikeway project between Zanker Road and Coyote Creek (north side) continues. Asphalt paving, striping and fencing are in place. Opening of the trail is delayed until early June as final work items are completed – installation of bollards, new wheelchair ramps and restoration of a vehicle detection loop at the nearby freeway off-ramp traffic signal. Follow “SanJoseTrails” on Twitter for notification of the trail’s reopening and get more detailed updates and photos by following the Construction Updates.

Lower Guadalupe River Trail Construction

A construction contract has been awarded and the pre-construction meeting occurred on May 23. The City will provide a project schedule and details about phasing during the week of June 4. Weekly project updates are posted on the Construction Updates link found on the Trail Program homepage: www.sjparks.org/trails.

Lower Guadalupe River Trail – Tasman Under-Crossing

A grant has been secured to elevate the under-crossing at Tasman Drive so that it is flooded less frequently from seasonal rains and tidal flows from the Bay. The project is within the limits of the larger Lower Guadalupe River Trail project, however, the City has postponed construction until after the larger trail project is completed. In this way, the 6.4 mile trail project is not subject to a possible seasonal closure that would only occur due to flooding at the under-crossing. The California Transportation Commission approved a grant extension on May 23, 2012. Work on the under-crossing is to get underway immediately after completion of the Lower Guadalupe River Trail project.

Thompson Creek Trail (Tully-Quimby)

Preparation of construction documents is on-going. PG&E has issued a permit and the City has positively identified all utilities along the trail alignment. Funding is in place to construct the 0.65 mile trail (improving the existing interim gravel surface). A schedule for construction will be provided once construction documents are completed.

Doerr Parkway

Two community meetings have occurred for Doerr Parkway project. The west San Jose project will develop a landscaped trail along a short 500' parcel currently used as a utility corridor. Design work is now underway – you’ll find conceptual drawings of the future trail posted at: http://www.sjparks.org/Trails/TrailsMeetings.asp

Los Gatos Creek Trail Under-Crossing (San Carlos Street)

The City has secured $1.6M in grant funding to prepare environmental and construction documents for the under-crossing that will span beneath the West San Carlos Street bridge, active Caltrain/Amtrak railway bridge and future High Speed Rail alignment. A Request for Qualifications was issued on May 24 to hire a design consultant for the project. A schedule will provided at a later date when the project team is hired. A conceptual image of the under-crossing is available.

Project Update: Lower Guadalupe Trail Construction

photo: Richard Masoner

The Lower Guadalupe River Trail extends from Highway 880 to Gold Street in Alviso. The current gravel trail is jointly used by the City for recreation and the Santa Clara Valley Water District for maintenance of the waterway.

Goal number 10 of the City of San Jose's Green Vision is interconnected trails. More specifically "Create 100 miles of trails connection with 400 miles of on-street bikeways by 2022". More information can be found on the city's Green Vision website.

The project scope includes the installation of 12’ wide asphalt paving with gravel shoulders to improve pedestrian and bicycle access. Entry to the trail will be via all intersection streets. Under-crossings exist at all roadways so the trail system is entirely off-street. Decorative pavement in the form of a multi-color compass will appear at trail entry points and reinforce the direction of travel. Five interpretive stations will educate and inform trail users about the history of Alviso, the river’s ecology, the Hetch-Hetchy Water System, the discovery of “Lupe” the mammoth, and the history of San Jose’s airport. During construction, a signed detour will guide trail users to North First Street for pedestrian and bicycle travel.

The project is funded through the 2005 Federal Transportation Bill (Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users or SAFETEA-LU) and local City funding.

This project is tentatively set to be on the City Council Agenda for bidder selection on April 24, 2012. Construction is scheduled to start in June. Construction is expected to take 10 months - contract documents limit work to a 300-day period.

About San Jose Trails
San Jose has one of the nation’s largest urban trail networks with nearly 54 miles already open to the public. The City’s Green Vision advances development of a 100- mile interconnected network by 2022. The Guadalupe River Trail is a core system in the network and serves both recreational and commute users.

-For more information:

Twitter – SanJoseTrails for construction and general trail updates Construction updates for this and other trail projects. Closures & Traffic for closures along all San Jose trail systems

San Jose Trails Manager Yves Zsutty speaks to Save Our Trails Group

Monday evening, Yves Zsutty spoke to a packed room in Willow Glen about the status of the Three Creeks Trail as well as other trails within the city's growing network of multi-use trails. Yves was brought into the position when the city's trail system was just getting started and admittedly his own growth and expertise has grown right along with the the city's trail system.

He started out by updating the audience with several announcements;

• The recent awards given to the "Reach 6" extension of the Guadalupe Trail just south of the Children's Discovery Museum.
• A new iPhone app titled Transit and Trails.
• A new trail signage and mileage marker system to help emergency personnel locate those needing assistance.
• The planned improvements to the current bicycle under crossing under the San Carlos overpass near Bird Ave. and
• The latest survey showing that Bicycle communing has increased dramatically along the Guadalupe Trail system.

The trail extension noted as Reach six of the Guadalupe River was recently completed after many years of hard work between the City of San Jose, Caltrans, and the Santa Clara Valley Water District.  Not only is the trail much more scenic, but the new trail eliminates an unsafe steep portion that was right next to the creek.

Transit and Trails a new iPhone app by Bay Area Open Space Council was also highlighted which details campgrounds, trails, and trail heads based on your current location. (I plan to review it within the next week or two).

Also Yves highlighted new mile markers which will allow for quick deployment in the expansive Guadalupe Trail system. Trail markers are located at quarter-mile increments, labeled with a unique icon and color defining the trail system. The combination of icons, colors and mileage figures makes the system more accessible to children and non-English speakers as they seek to communicate their location to 911 operators. With over 35 different trail systems within the city this will help to inform users who may be confused about their whereabouts.

The existing San Carlos (roadway) Overpass will undergo improvements and widening in the future. The city has plans to connect the bicycle path under the roadway to Diridon Station, but given the planned improvements on San Carlos, possible high speed rail construction, and a possible ballpark these complications could delay planning and construction.

Each spring the city conducts a trail usage survey along the Guadalupe Trail and the last survey noted that 52% of the cyclists using the trails were commuters. With the planned paving of 6.4 miles of the trail north of 880 to Gold Street in Alviso it is expected that this number will climb even more. Mr. Zsutty compared the trail to a spine linking with other trails in the form of ribs to connect with this important north/south connector; given that San Jose's industrial geography puts housing in the southern part of the city and industrial land in the north portion of the city.

After listing off recent accomplishments Yves, quickly switched to updating attendees on the status of the Three Creeks Trail which was recently purchased from Union Pacific Railroad. The section also referred to as the Western Alignment spans from Lonus St. in the north to Minnesota Ave. on the southern portion. The city recently finished a large soil remediation project along the western alignment, ans the city will seek to provide an interim solution for the trail while putting together a master plan for the whole trail.

Could the Three Creeks Trail be as popular as
New York City's High Line Park someday?

The interim plan is to lay down some temporary solutions for the trail until funding for complete trail construction will take place. This will include a fence at grade crossings (intersection with the streets) to deter vehicles from driving onto the trail. Yves took a hand counted vote to see what type of fence would be appropriate in both aesthetics and cost.

During this interim period the trestle over the creek just south of Lonus St. will be fenced off to prevent access while an engineering study is performed by CH2M Hill, a global transportation engineering company.

Save Our Trails was instrumental in obtaining funding for the acquisition of the western alignment of the Three Creeks Trail and continues to work on the future acquisition of of the eastern alignment as well.

To find out more about what is happening on the San Jose City Trail system you can follow status updates on the department's Twitter account.

Guadalupe River bike trail improvements almost complete

For the last year contractors have been working on Reach 6 of the Guadalupe River Trail, the section just south of the 280 freeway. Here is a photo I took this afternoon where the trail is visible. San Jose City Parks officials have announced that trail is scheduled to open in December.

November 29,2011
Palm and Grant St. Looking Southwest
towards Guadalupe River

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