"In terms of scope, our project is unique in the nation," Zsutty said. "Other cities say that our approach at going after all the trails at once is exhausting."

Also unique in the country's trail systems, according to Zsutty, will be the stone monuments erected with the Proposition 40 money to create "signature gateways." This $450,000 grant will also be used to set down mile markers to help law enforcement pinpoint locations and to create map brochures for the public. With 27 call boxes already installed on open trails, safety is a priority, Zsutty said.

With 48 percent of the 27 trails ready to be funded and constructed and the completion of the Guadalupe River Master Plan, Zsutty said the entire 100-mile circuit could be finished in three to four years.

Interagency coordination, however, is still delaying the construction of some sections of the project.

The trails project between 280 and Capitol Expressway must be coordinated between the Santa Clara Valley Water District and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who are still awaiting word about federal funding, said Santa Clara Valley Water District Guadalupe Watershed Manager Dave Chesterman. As funding allows, the two agencies will complete portions of the bypass channel, which would allow the city to add a trail on the east side of the Guadalupe River.

But progress is continuing to move forward with the opening of Willow Glen's Gregory Street bridge at Lonus Street and the city council's approval to purchase the Willow Glen Spur Trail that runs along the old, unused Union Pacific railroad line.

"The Willow Glen Spur Trail is a great resource for Willow Glen especially," said Willow Glen Neighborhood Association board member Larry Ames. "It connects to Kelley Park and is a great place to jog or meet your neighbors."

Zsutty added that the Willow Glen Spur Trail, which skirts past Highway 87—the easternmost Willow Glen boundary—will eventually continue to the Coyote Creek Trail, which he said is one of the most picturesque. The six miles of Los Alamitos Creek Trail in the southern portion of San Jose is also some of the most aesthetically pleasing and has housing developments that face it, Zsutty said.

Although Willow Glen's trails, the Los Gatos Creek and the Guadalupe River are not surrounded by acres of preserved habitat like other sections of San Jose, Zsutty said District 6 is well positioned. The Willow Glen Spur Trail connects to the Los Gatos Creek Trail, Guadalupe River Trail, Coyote Creek Trail and the Highway 87 bikeway.

"And the Los Gatos Creek Trail is one of our most popular," he added.

Willow Glen resident Jim Gardner frequently runs 20 miles round trip on Los Gatos Creek Trail from Lincoln and Minnesota avenues to Lexington Reservoir in Los Gatos.

"The great advantage is you never have to cross traffic after Meridian Avenue," Gardner said. "There are lots of walkers, riders and joggers, and it looks like people even take the route to work."

For Don Hebard, who served on the Santa Clara County Streamside Parks Committee, maintaining the trails' health is a chance to preserve the valley's resources.

"Going back to when we didn't have trails, the creeks were being ignored," he said. "They were places to dump your junk. But we've changed a dump into an asset."

On some stretches of the Los Gatos Creek Trail, the environment is so pristine, Hebard said, "You think you're 1,000 miles away."

Hebard said watching the public and local officials realize what they have has been rewarding.

For more information on the trail system, visit http://www.ci.san-jose.ca.us/prns/ index.htm. The Aug. 18 meeting about the Guadalupe River Trail from Interstate 880 to Alviso will be held at the Alviso Community Center at 5050 N. 1st St. at 6 p.m.