A very important meeting is coming up on Wednesday, August 26th.
The City’s General Plan shows a trail planned along abandoned tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR). The right of way will provide a unique connection between three north-south trail systems: the Los Gatos Creek Trail, the Guadalupe River Trail, and the newly extended Coyote Creek trail, which goes south all the way to Morgan Hill.
However UPRR has sold one segment of the right of way to a company which has applied for a permit to erect a structure across the path of a potential trail. If this construction is allowed to proceed, it will forever preclude the possibility of a genuine cross-town trail connection. There is no other similar east-west corridor in central San Jose!
Unfortunately, the Planning Director has granted the construction permit. The organization Save Our Trails has filed an appeal and the arguments for and against this appeal will be heard at a meeting on Wednesday, August 26th, in the Council Chambers of San Jose City Hall (second floor of the low curved building at Santa Clara and 4th Street). Check for details at http://www.sanjoseca.gov/planning/hearings/planning_com.asp .
There are good bike stands on the south side of the building, at the end of the stub of 5th Street. If you drive, you can park in the garage on 6th Street and get your ticket validated at the table at the top of the council chambers.
This is a meeting where a large public turnout may prove decisive! Please make every effort to attend and show your support!
Material relevant to the issue can be found at the Save Our Trails website, www.saveourtrails-scc.org.