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City Beat
Community meetings bring issues to residents
Yeager and city staff discuss trails plan, airplane traffic noise
By Kate Carter
Willow Glen residents are looking forward to improved trails and less overhead airplane noise. Many of them showed up at two community meetings last month to find out about the city's plans to make those goals reality.
District 6 City Councilman Ken Yeager brought city officials along to discuss those concerns on two Saturday mornings, Nov. 10 and 17, at the Ernesto Galarza Elementary School.
More than 100 people showed up and surprised Yeager and the city's Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services staff Nov. 10 to learn about the city's long-term plans for a complete trail system around the South Bay area.
"I'm so excited you're all here," Yeager told the group. "We had no idea how many to expect. It tells me we're on the right track because there's a lot of interest in completing these trails."
Parks Department Director Mark Linder gave a PowerPoint presentation to explain the city's plans for creating 100 miles of connected trails. So far, he said, 22 of those miles have been completed.
Linder outlined the final route the proposed trails would take and then showed the audience a detailed description of two trails through Willow Glen--the Guadalupe River Trail and the Los Gatos Creek Trail.
The Guadalupe River Trail would extend 15 miles along the Guadalupe River from the Baylands to Almaden Lake, he said. The trail from the Baylands to Highway 101 has not yet been started, and it is estimated it will cost between $800,000 and $1 million, he said.
The section of trail from Highway 101 to Highway 880, which runs by the Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport, would be done in conjunction with the airport's expansion plans, he said. There is no cost estimate yet.
The trail from Highway 880 to Coleman Avenue is already built and developed by the Guadalupe River Park and Gardens, he said, but the section from Coleman to Highway 280 has parts that still need to be completed.
The trail from Highway 280 to Highway 85, which runs on the east side of Willow Glen, was the most interesting topic for most of those present.
Linder said the city has approved an interim master plan for this stretch of the trail, which would run along residential areas owned by private property owners. Because of the challenge of gaining the permission or buying the land to extend the trail along the river in these areas, parts of the trail may have to run along city streets, he said.
"What makes creek trails challenging in urban settings is multiple property owners," Linder said. "We just have to be creative."
The final segment of the trail, from Blossom Hill Road to Almaden Lake Park and then to Caleros Creek Park, is already completed, he said.
The Los Gatos Creek Trail would extend 11 miles along the Los Gatos Creek from Lexington Reservoir to downtown San Jose, Linder said. Significant portions of the trail through Los Gatos, Campbell and into Willow Glen have already been built. The plan is to continue the trail that now ends near Meridian Avenue in Willow Glen all the way to the river's confluence in downtown San Jose near the Arena Green, he said.
Linder said the connection from Meridian Avenue to Lincoln Avenue near Coe Avenue would likely be along Willow Avenue rather than along the creek. The city has already begun purchasing property for the section from Lincoln Avenue to Auzerais Avenue and has already hired Harris and Associates to develop a plan, and even has a tentative timeline of about six months for the design and four years for completion, he said.
The section of trail from Auzerais Avenue to Santa Clara Street near the Compaq Center, formerly the San Jose Arena, would likely be incorporated into plans for the former Del Monte Cannery site and the Redevelopment Agency's Mid-town Specific Plan, Linder said.
Some neighbors expressed concern about the erosion along the residential portions of both the Guadalupe River and Los Gatos Creek that affects private property. Some asked if it would be possible to build retaining walls on those areas, and city officials said they would look into the possibility.
Neighbors also pointed out that portions of the trail along the Guadalupe River are already built but are gated off by the Santa Clara Valley Water District. They wanted to know why those areas couldn't be opened now and said many trail-users jump the fences. The city officials said they would ask the water district about opening the trail.
The water district is an important partner in most of the plans for trails, Linder said, and the district's plans for a major flood control project along portions of the Guadalupe River could slow the process of building the trail, but could ultimately make it more durable.
Another neighbor expressed concern that a trail along the river could be dangerous because of the homeless people who live in areas along the riverbed. A neighbor responded, and city officials concurred, saying that trails tend to increase an area's security and discourage people from living near them. City officials added that they were working on the homeless issues from a variety of angles.
The officials said residents can help support the new trails by participating in the water district's Adopt-a-Creek program and attending city council meetings to express support for agenda items that contribute to the trail projects.
A somewhat smaller and more frustrated group gathered Nov. 17 to discuss its problems with airplane noise with city staff and airport personnel.
Yeager said his office had received complaints of more planes flying over Willow Glen and flying "lower than before."
Marina Dyke, the airport's community liaison for District 6 (as well as Districts 2 and 9) and Gary Stowell, the airport's noise abatement manager, explained their roles and presented the current airplane traffic situation to the largely dissatisfied audience.
The airport allows most flights to land and depart only between the hours of 6:30 a.m. and 11:30 p.m. Stowell described the flight patterns as "pretty constricted" over the Bay Area, with traffic coming and going from San Francisco International Airport, Oakland Airport and Moffet Field. The flights are also at the whims of the Bay Area winds, he said. Airplanes must take off and land facing into the wind, so 85 percent of the time they face north.
Dyke takes comments and questions from the public and can be reached at 408.501.7613 or by email at mdyke@sjc.org. Call 408.452.0707 or email noisecenter@sjc.org to lodge a complaint; be sure to leave information about the day, date and time of the offending flight.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
