Willow Glen
Neighborhood Association
P. O. Box 7706,
San Jose CA 95150
408/294-WGNA
www.WGNA.net
August 13, 2007
The Honorable Sam Liccardo, San Jose Councilmember, District 3
The Honorable Pierluigi Oliverio, San Jose Councilmember, District 6
The Honorable Madison Nguyen , San Jose Councilmember, District 7
200 East Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA 95113
cc: Mayor and City Council
Debra Figone, San Jose City Manager
Santa Clara County Supervisors Blanca Alvarado and Ken Yeager
Jim Beall, California State Assemblymember, 24th District
Albert Balagso, Director, San Jose Dept. of Parks, Recreation and Neighb’hd Services
Lisa Killough, Director, Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Dept.
Patrick Congdon, General Manager, Santa Clara County Open Space Authority
Mondy Lariz, Chair, SCVWD Environmental Advisory Cmte.
Barbara Marshman, Editor, San Jose Mercury News
re: Willow Glen Spur Trail right-of-way
Dear Councilmemers Liccardo, Oliverio, and Nguyen,
This letter is to inform you that the Board of the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association (WGNA) has voted unanimously to reaffirm our support for the City of San Jose to acquire the entire Union Pacific Rail Road (UPRR) right-of-way (ROW) of the abandoned Willow Glen Spur Railroad between Lonus Street and Kelley Park. This ROW, which is in or near your Council district, is needed for the eventual creation of the WG Spur Trail, as documented in the San Jose Parks Strategic Plan (“the Greenprint”) and as promised to the public at various Council meetings and other public events.
As can be seen in the graphic, the ROW (shown in red) extends between Willow Glen and Kelley Park, and ties together the Los Gatos Creek Trail, the Guadalupe River Trail, and the Coyote Creek Trail, as well as the bike path along Freeway 87. While it is called the Willow Glen Spur Trail, the name comes from the railroad that once served local canneries and not from the presumption that the trail would only serve Willow Glen. Indeed, the trail would also serve employees at the industrial and commercial regions along Monterey Highway and Senter Road, both as a non-polluting alternative means of transportation and as a lunchtime recreational facility. It would also serve the residents in the historic neighborhoods such as Alma, Goodyear/Mastic, and Washington/Guadalupe, and all the new residents in the high-density housing being built in the Tamien Station and Midtown areas.
We are disappointed to hear that the City has abandoned plans to acquire the entire
ROW (see the letter at http://www.sanjoseca.gov/district6/documents/WGmemo.pdf
from San Jose PRNS Director Alberto Balagso).
We believe that serving trail users between Highway 87 and Kelley Park –
including users of the Coyote Creek Trail and the Senter
and 7th Street bike lanes – is as important as serving the trail users in
Willow Glen proper.
The City had “first right of refusal” when the UPRR abandoned this line, but somehow the procurement of the property has been delay to the point that now there is the real danger of parcels in the ROW being sold off to individual private developers.
You have the support of the Community to pursue this ROW. You also have the support of local agencies, as evidenced by more than $3 million in grants from the Santa Clara Valley Water District, the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority, and the Santa Clara County Dept. of Parks and Recreation. We at WGNA would be pleased to write letters of support should the City seek grants from the State or Federal Governments.
We urge you to promptly work to preserve and obtain the entire right-of-way from Willow Glen to Kelley Park. An opportunity like this to acquire a contiguous stretch of land in the park-deficient central regions of San Jose is rare indeed. It would truly be a pity to let it slip through the City’s fingers.
Please contact us if we can be of any assistance!
Thank you,
//signed//
Dr. Lawrence Lowell Ames
President, WGNA.
addresses:
Sam Liccardo
San Jose Councilmember, District 3
200 East Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA 95113
Pierluigi Oliverio
San Jose Councilmember, District 6
200 East Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA 95113
Madison Nguyen
San Jose Councilmember, District 7
200 East Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA 95113
Mayor and City Council
City of San Jose
200 East Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA 95113
Debra Figone
San Jose City Manager
200 East Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA 95113
Supervisor Blanca Alvarado
Santa Clara County
70 W. Hedding St.
San Jose, CA 95110
Supervisor Ken Yeager
Santa Clara County
70 W. Hedding St.
San Jose, CA 95110
Assemblymember Jim Beall,
Jr.
State of California, 24th District
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0024
Albert Balagso, Director
San Jose Dept. of Parks, Recreation and Neighb’hd Services
200 East Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA 95113
Lisa Killough, Director
Santa Clara County Parks and
Recreation Dept.
298 Garden Hill Dr.
Los Gatos, CA 95032
Patrick Congdon, General
Manager
Santa Clara County Open Space Authority
6830 Via del Oro, Ste 200,
San Jose, CA 95119
Mondy Lariz,
Chair
SCVWD Environmental Advisory
Cmte.
5750 Almaden Expy
San Jose, CA 95118
Barbara Marshman, Editor
San Jose Mercury News
750 Ridder Park Drive
San Jose, CA 95190