After a three-year process, the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District's board of directors finally expanded the number of open-space preserves where visitors may bring their dogs.
Several criteria were used to determine the suitability of reserves for dog access, including the history of dog use, overall use of a preserve, the miles of trail and number of loop trails, available parking, trail width and visibility, potential for disruption of wildlife habitat, difficulty of patrol and enforcement, and potential of conflicting uses.
Coal Creek, Fremont Older, Pulgas Ridge, St. Joseph's Hill, Thornewood and Sierra Azul open-space preserves, as well as selected trails at Windy Hill Open Space Preserve, now welcome dogs on leashes. An off-leash area is being developed at Pulgas Ridge, scheduled to open in the spring.
Dogs are no longer allowed at Long Ridge Open Space Preserve, which did not meet the dog-access criteria.
Funding for the dog-access expansion is provided by a small share of the annual total property tax revenues collected within open-space district boundaries.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, January 10, 1996
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