New Five Wounds Trail would link San Jose's cycling and walking network to the 28th Street/Little Portugal BART station by 2031

The Mercury News has a story about a trail that has been in the works for over 20 years. 

The Five Wounds Trail--named after the Five Wounds Portuguese National Church it would run by--would be a paved 2.17 mile route starting at the intersection of Story and Senter Roads. This is where the Coyote Creek and Lower Silver Creek trails come together. It is also near Kelly Park, Happy Hollow Park & Zoo, the Japanese Friendship Garden, and History San Jose.

From there it would follow an abandoned railroad track all the way to Little Portugal, which is anchored by Five Wounds Church and is the site of the proposed 28th Street BART station, sometimes also referred to as the Alum Rock BART station.

What has become an unofficial walkway for some would be cleaned up, paved, and turned into a nice trail for walkers, runners, and cyclists with a few potentials areas for basketball courts and exercise equipment. It is all part of a master plan to connect hundreds of miles of trails together in Santa Clara County and would be a tremendous amenity for residents, especially those that are planning to utilize the new BART station.

Source: The Merc

San Jose Trail Count 2012

In mid September the San Jose Trail Program took an annual count of trail usage during peak travel periods. The results are looking pretty good for 2012.

At the Guadalupe River/Coleman, there was a 3.4% increase in usage over last year despite a partial closure for paving. Guadalupe River and San Fernando showed a huge 34.5% increase in usage. Los Gatos Creek at Hamilton was up 13.9%. Los Gatos Creek at Auzerais stayed the same while Los Alamitos Creek at Camden was up 6.4%. They also counted 82 people in what will become a new future trail in the Five Wounds neighborhood.

Here is the trend for the total number of trail users:

• 2007 - 243 users
• 2008 - 420 users
• 2009 - 531 users
• 2010 - 561 users
• 2011 - 593 users
• 2012 - 613 users

For more information click here, or expand the image below. A big thank you to Yves Zsutty for submitting this information.

FYMO’s 3rd Annual “Giving to Live” 5k Cancer Run/Walk

Benefiting Greater Bay Area Cancer Patients and Survivors

San Jose, CA.  – Fashion Your Mind Organization is seeking to honor the STRENGTH, COURAGE, and POWER of cancer survivors and patients at its 3^rd annual “Giving to Live” 5k non-competitive run/walk fundraiser in South San Jose, CA at the Almaden Lake Park on July 14, 2012.

“Every year we look forward to giving more and gaining more supporters. I am so happy to see that we are making a difference and moving closer to our goals”, says Tiffany Mays, founder of FYMO. “For the first time I can agree with those that tell me that my mother would be proud of me. With great joy I honor my mother and others who have been affected by cancer.”

In September of 2009 Ms. Mays’ mother loss her battle to a rare cancer type and since then Ms. Mays’ has been dedicated to supporting cancer patients on their journey to wellness along with raising awareness to the importance of cancer screening and early detection.

“I will continue to support FYMO’s cause and next year my goal is to raise $2500,” remarks cancer survivor, Janis Crumb. Raising $643 in 2011, Crumb first became involved with FYMO after a cancer screening and early detection saved her life, “I love what FYMO is doing and that they are here providing the support that they provide.”

The 5k-run/walk-course route follows the Los Alamitos Creek trail connected to the 32 acres of lake, hike, and bike in the Almaden Lake Park. The paved trail will take you by scenic agricultural lands and riparian communities.

Registration is now open. Early registration is $25 for each participant and $10 for children age 10 and under. All donations and proceeds will be going towards cancer patients’ health related costs, such as: medication, living expenses, transportation, supportive services, and home care.

Walk or run, but come…to the 3^rd Annual “Giving to Live” 5k-cancer run/walk fundraiser for cancer patients and survivors.

Visit http://www.fymo.org or http://on.fb.me/f-y-m-o for more information or to register for the race. Follow Fashion Your Mind Organization on Twitter at FashionYourMind.

Fashion Your Mind Organization (FYMO) is a Non Profit 501 (c) (3) Corporation. Our mission is to support cancer patients on their journey to wellness. Each year, our vision grows as does the need to provide a better quality of life to cancer patients. By promoting healthy living and the importance of early cancer detection we hope to decrease the lives loss to cancer in our community.

San Jose Trails update from City Trail Manager Yves Zuetty

from One Square Mile by noreply@blogger.com (Carlos)

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San Jose Trails Update - May 2012

Highway 237 Bikeway Construction

Construction of the bikeway project between Zanker Road and Coyote Creek (north side) continues. Asphalt paving, striping and fencing are in place. Opening of the trail is delayed until early June as final work items are completed – installation of bollards, new wheelchair ramps and restoration of a vehicle detection loop at the nearby freeway off-ramp traffic signal. Follow “SanJoseTrails” on Twitter for notification of the trail’s reopening and get more detailed updates and photos by following the Construction Updates.

Lower Guadalupe River Trail Construction

A construction contract has been awarded and the pre-construction meeting occurred on May 23. The City will provide a project schedule and details about phasing during the week of June 4. Weekly project updates are posted on the Construction Updates link found on the Trail Program homepage: www.sjparks.org/trails.

Lower Guadalupe River Trail – Tasman Under-Crossing

A grant has been secured to elevate the under-crossing at Tasman Drive so that it is flooded less frequently from seasonal rains and tidal flows from the Bay. The project is within the limits of the larger Lower Guadalupe River Trail project, however, the City has postponed construction until after the larger trail project is completed. In this way, the 6.4 mile trail project is not subject to a possible seasonal closure that would only occur due to flooding at the under-crossing. The California Transportation Commission approved a grant extension on May 23, 2012. Work on the under-crossing is to get underway immediately after completion of the Lower Guadalupe River Trail project.

Thompson Creek Trail (Tully-Quimby)

Preparation of construction documents is on-going. PG&E has issued a permit and the City has positively identified all utilities along the trail alignment. Funding is in place to construct the 0.65 mile trail (improving the existing interim gravel surface). A schedule for construction will be provided once construction documents are completed.

Doerr Parkway

Two community meetings have occurred for Doerr Parkway project. The west San Jose project will develop a landscaped trail along a short 500' parcel currently used as a utility corridor. Design work is now underway – you’ll find conceptual drawings of the future trail posted at: http://www.sjparks.org/Trails/TrailsMeetings.asp

Los Gatos Creek Trail Under-Crossing (San Carlos Street)

The City has secured $1.6M in grant funding to prepare environmental and construction documents for the under-crossing that will span beneath the West San Carlos Street bridge, active Caltrain/Amtrak railway bridge and future High Speed Rail alignment. A Request for Qualifications was issued on May 24 to hire a design consultant for the project. A schedule will provided at a later date when the project team is hired. A conceptual image of the under-crossing is available.

San Jose Three Creeks Trail Moves Forward!

Three different agencies have come together to make a critical land acquisition that allow San Jose's Three Creeks Trail project to come closer to realization. The City of San Jose, The Santa Clara County Open Space Authority, and the Parks and Recreation Department of Santa Clara County have jointly chipped in a total of $6M to acquire land and add an additional mile to San Jose's interconnected trail network. This will eventually connect the Guadalupe River, Coyote Creek, and Los Gatos Creek Trails.

There are currently 53 miles of trails in San Jose, with plans to bring the total to over 100 miles, making it one of the nation's largest jurisdictional networks.

For more info, I highly recommend checking out the press release right over here. Thanks to Yves for the tip!

San Jose is Developing a 100-Mile Trail Network

San Jose's Annual Trail Program was released a few weeks ago, and it reveals quite an ambitious plan to link up and develop a network of trails that would exceed 100 miles. To give you an idea of the scope of this, we currently have 36 miles of paved trails. The Annual Trail Program is a great read and provides the status of over a dozen different projects that are currently in process. Some of these are pretty impressive, such as a 9 mile trail extension from Montague Expressway to Story Road consisting of at least 5 pedestrian bridges and 11 under-crossings. Read all about it right over here.