Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
City of Saratoga officials have closed off a portion of the trail that runs from Parker Ranch Road to Fremont Older Open Space Preserve by erecting barriers and signs. City officials say they closed the trail to repair a slide that has made it unsafe.
City and sheriff's office try to keep damaged trail clear
By Rebecca Ray
A white fence blocks the entrance to the half-mile-long trail that runs from Parker Ranch Road to Fremont Older Open Space Preserve. Nailed to the fence is a sign that tells people not to use the trail because of hazardous conditions.
People have torn down signs and barricades like these and thrown them into Prospect Creek, which runs alongside the trail about 40 feet below, and then used the trail, said Sgt. Luther Pugh of the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department and Judy Alberts of the city parks and recreation commission.
City officials and sheriff's deputies are trying to discourage people from using the closed portion, which runs about 850 feet, from Parker Ranch Road to Picea Court, because a severe wash-out has made it too dangerous, said Teri Baron, founder and head of the Saratoga Trail Enthusiast. City officials are especially concerned about mountain bikers using the trail, which the city has designated for pedestrian and equestrian use only.
City officials don't want mountain bikers using the trail, which ranges in width from 2 to 8 feet, because bikes may be creating more erosion and contributing to the washout in the already "unstable" area, said Saratoga Trail Enthusiast member James Baron. City Public Works Director John Cherbone added that bikers have created jumps, which have damaged the trail.
Also, as trail use increases, more plants are destroyed and the trail gets wider, which reduces good drainage and could further cause more erosion, Pugh said.
Sheriff's deputies have joined city officials in their efforts to educate residents about why the trail is closed and are currently patrolling the area on foot. They plan to post more signs. If that doesn't work, a team of deputies will form a bike patrol unit and patrol the area during times when trail use is the heaviest. They won't patrol the area in cars, Pugh said, since bikers would see them and wait for them to leave before using the trail.
Teri Baron said bikers have told her they don't want the trail fixed, since the hills make it more challenging and enjoyable to ride. But city officials point out that the trail was never meant for bikers to begin with.
To fix the trail, city officials are considering a retaining wall, a bridge or rerouting the trail, Cherbone said. They are currently looking at the cost and feasibility of each of the three options, and will decide which one to ask council to consider in the fall, when council members will decide on the five-year capital improvement budget.
According to Teri Baron, the trail was washed out six years ago. Each year, the trail has become progressively more dangerous--unchecked slides get progressively worse during the rainy season--until the city was forced to close it about a year and a half ago, Cherbone said.
According to Pugh, as mountain biking has increased in popularity during the last three or four years, so has use of the trail. Pugh added that more people have also been using the trail, probably because more people have been moving to Saratoga within the last 10 years.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
