San Tomas Aquino Creek Trail
The first undercrossing closures along the trail this season took place on Friday, October 31st, between Old Mountain View Alviso Rd. and Highway 101. Precipitation for that day was only 0.03 inch, but heavier rainfall had been forecast for Saturday. The practice of the Street Dept., which is responsible for locking and unlocking the undercrossing gates, has been to lock certain gates on Friday if heavy rain is forecast for the weekend. In this case, the rainfall for Saturday, November 1, was 0.52 inch, which was a new record for that date. Rainfall totals for Sunday and Monday were 0.08 and 0.10 inch respectively so that the gates were probably open by Monday morning.
The undercrossings north of Scott Blvd. are the most likely ones to be closed during rainy weather because they are at lower elevations and are also affected by tides. Some of the bridge structures require that the trail descend further into the creek channel to maintain sufficient clearance. In some cases, reopening may be delayed until debris deposited by floodwater is removed from the trail surface.
CSC-BAC
The next meeting of the City of Santa Clara Bicycle Advisory Committee is scheduled for January 28, 2009, in the Inspection Division Conference Room at City Hall, 1500 Warburton Ave.
Submitted by John Sullivan.