Photograph by Douglas Rider
Jon Vorreiter takes a ride on the newly opened portion of the Bay Trail in Sunnyvale on June 4. The new one-mile portion of the trail runs from Moffett Field to Carl Drive, next to the Sunnyvale Water Pollution Control Plant.
New section of Bay Trail opens up in city
Built with $55,000 grant from ABAG
By Gretchen Knaup
Together, the city of Sunnyvale, Lockheed Martin and the Association of Bay Area Governments opened one more mile of the San Francisco Bay Trail. Out of the 13 cities given grants to do so, Sunnyvale is the first to make it happen.
On the morning of June 5, partners of the San Francisco Bay Trail Project in Sunnyvale held a ceremony to celebrate the opening of the trail behind Yahoo and across the street from Lockheed, at Borregas Avenue and Caribbean Drive. Those who showed up could take self-guided tours of the new trailhead.
Key members in attendance included Mayor Jack Walker, representatives from ABAG, Councilman Robert Walker and representatives from Lockheed and NASA.
Sunnyvale Councilwoman Julia Miller, who is on the San Francisco Trail board of directors, was instrumental in the trail's opening. During her campaign, she made the commitment to work toward completing Sunnyvale's portion. Letunic said it's because of people like Miller that the trail is now open to the public.
The opening is the consummation of three years of effort on the part of Miller and others. "It's very exciting for me because it's not just for us, but for generations to come," Miller said.
According to Niko Letunic, Bay Trail planner for ABAG, the completion of each section of the trail depends on the attention it receives from each individual city. ABAG gave the Sunnyvale $55,000 to complete its portion, along with 12 similar grants for other cities in the Bay Area. Of the12, Sunnyvale is the first to take action with the grant, and actually open a new section of the trail.
Photograph by Douglas Rider
Dave McDermott runs along Sunnyvale's newly opened portion of the Bay Trail June 2, between Moffett Field and the Sunnyvale Water Pollution Control Plant. This portion of the trail adds a mile to the Bay Trail Project, working to link trails all over the Bay Area to create one long trail that circles the San Francisco Bay.
The new section is called the Lockheed Section, not only because it runs behind the Lockheed building, but also because Lockheed owns part of the land the trail expanded on. According to Miller, Lockheed owns the wetlands behind Yahoo, and so the city had to get permission from the company to continue the trail through that area. Along with giving permission to use its land, Lockheed gave a donation of $15,000 to the city for the project
"It's a public service contribution," said Dave Klinger of Lockheed, adding Lockheed will also maintain flood management and security. Klinger said because Lockheed is a defense institution, it needs to keep controlling the access of people around the premises.
The trail runs alongside a levee, with one side owned by NASA and the other by Lockheed. The Department of Parks and Recreation will maintain the trail, as well as the surrounding area.
The trail is designed for bicycling and hiking and is now open to the public. Employees from surrounding companies can also use it to commute to work by bicycle. Joggers began using the new additiion just minutes after the opening ceremony.
ABAG's goal is for the trail to be 400 miles when it's completed. Letunic said he hopes it will eventually span the entire Bay Area, running through nine counties and 47 cities. The concept of the trail began to materialize with the introduction of a bill in the state legislature in 1987. Once passed, the new law directed ABAG to develop a plan for the 400 mile "ring around the bay" plan. The Bay Trail Plan, adopted by ABAG in 1989, included proposed policies, design and implementation of the trail routes.
The San Francisco Bay Trail Project created by ABAG in 1990 has accomplished half of its goal, making approximately 200 miles of the trail accessible. "While more needs to be done to complete the entire Bay Trail, Sunnyvale is pleased to be able to do our part in seeing the Bay Trail vision become a reality," Miller said, adding, "The only part left for us to do is the spur trail from Yahoo and work with NASA to make the final connection to Mountain View."
According to Miller, the city's long-term goal is to make the connection without any barriers.
The Bay Trail can also be reached from the Carl Road Trailhead and from Sunnyvale Baylands Park.
For more information about the Bay Trail Project, visit the Association for Bay Area Government website at www.abag.gov/bayarea/baytrail/baytrail.html or call 510.464.7915. To find out more about trails within Sunnyvale, visit the Sunnyvale Baylans Park website at www.ci.sunnyvale.ca.us/baylands.
Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
