The New Moffett Overpass
Dale-Heatherstone update pictures
Here are a couple pictures showing progress being made on the new highway 85 overpass that will connect Dale Ave and Heatherstone way to the existing end of the trail at Sleeper Avenue.
Dale Ave & Heatherstone Way ramp panorama
or
the Sleeper Ave side ramp
Stevens Creek bank repair in Sahara Vill
During the winter rains of March 2011, the rushing Stevens Creek washed away about 15 feet of its 30 foot high banks behind 3 mobile homes north of El Camino Real within the Sahara Mobile Village as reported by ABC news. It has taken until now to get the approvals to do repair work, as reported by the Mountain View Voice.
Since the banks are covered with poison oak and are steep and eroding cliffs,
they are wisely roped off with caution tape, keeping trail users safely away.
So, we bring you this photo collection to satisfy your curiosity about what is going on.
Check out a SLIDE SHOW here!
Google Maps now support bicycling!
Yes, it is true! Google Maps now support bicycling and show bike trails (including the Stevens Creek Trail, of course) as well as bike lanes and bike routes. To see these features highlighted, just click the "More" button at the top-right of the map window and check "bicycling". To get bicycling directions, just select "bicycling" from the pull-down menu when entering your destination.
Read the full details of it on the Google Blog .
Mountain View Celebrates 2 openings
Hi everyone -
Saturday June 13 was a great day for Stevens Creek Trail with two dedications, first the Moffett overpass and then the Sleeper Avenue Extension. It was an excited and friendly crowd in attendance, I’m guessing somewhere between 100 and 150 people. Everything went fine at both locations and in-between. Weather started out a bit threatening but then became quite nice. All seven city council members attended, plus city manager Kevin Duggin, city staffers who played key roles in the projects, Sunnyvale council member Chris Moylan, and Water District rep Patrick Kwok. Live musical entertainment was provided by the city at Sleeper, along with light refreshments and commemorative water bottles. We distributed bike bells with our logo on them.
Kevin talked about how long this great trail project has been going on and how these two new additions are so key to it. The Moffett overpass now makes it safe to cross a busy and hazardous intersection. The Sleeper addition brings the trail to a whole new part of the city. Kevin also said final funding is secured for the next trail segment over highway 85 and it will progress soon – very exciting news!
Thank you to our board members and volunteers who made this a safe and fun event: Walk leaders Alan, Art, Garth and Marianne; Bicycle leads Billy, John, and Roy; and Safety riders Fritz and Kathy. Another big thank you goes to our volunteer of the year Randy Rhody, who continues to earn our gratitude and respect with his fine photo record of Saturday’s dual dedication events! Use the link below, then click on the slideshow button, upper right.
The San Jose Mercury News did a nice article on the event that you can Read Here. Or, check out a nice slide show of the day's events taken by one of our supporters at his SlideShow site.
The New Moffett Overpass
Happy Trails!
Mountain View Trail Opening Celebration
Mountain View has announced that a celebation event is planned for June 13th. This will celebrate both the opening of the new bridge over Moffett Blvd. as well as the trail extension from El Camino Real to Sleeper Ave.
The festivities will begin near Moffett Blvd with a bridge dedication from 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Then attendees are encouraged to walk or ride bikes on Stevens Creek Trail the 2.5 miles to the Sleeper Open Space where there will be music and refreshments from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Sunnyvale removes old policy, will work on a new one
I am happy to report that last night in a 5-2 vote Sunnyvale Council did in fact strike policy 2.2.C.5 prohibiting any creek corridor alignment from the General Plan. It was a two part motion: part one to strike the old policy and a somewhat unclear part two to create a Mayoral subcommittee of three council members to work on resulting issues, including a new policy for creek side (and other) private property protection, potential trail alignments, get community input, and report back with a recommendation before the end of 2009. All council members supported part one; 2 opposed part 2 as presented, hence the 5-2 final vote.
Our count of speakers showed 18 to keep the old policy and 18 to remove it. They were limited to 2 minutes each to keep things moving. People on both sides were mostly considerate and respectful of the their opponents. What especially caught my attention was that many of those speaking to keep the old policy were in favor of Stevens Creek Trail in general and open to amending the old policy. However, it became increasingly clear as the night went on that any meaningful progress on the trail in Sunnyvale, including cooperation with Los Altos, Mountain View, and Sunnyvale at 4-city talks in early May, required immediate action to remove the policy.
It also became very clear that many people along or near the creek between Fremont and Homestead were very worried about losing their privacy and security. Apparently 300 signed a petition opposing removal of the old policy. Most had only heard about the council vote 10 days earlier from a city mailing, and felt it was too rushed. Statements that a trail alignment along the creek there was very unlikely were not very reassuring to them. Part two of the motion that passed is an attempt to respond to those concerns.
The Friends of Stevens Creek Trail fully supports the efforts of the city of Sunnyvale to come up with a new policy to address these concerns that also allows consideration of new trail alignments that make sense. A lot has to happen. Sunnyvale needs to work out its new policy to protect property owners, come up with good ideas for possible trail alignments, go through all the required public hearings and environmental reviews, respond to feedback, and then find funding. This will take a while. We will keep you posted as developments come up, and will continue to work with everyone concerned to find the best trail solution possible. If you would like to be more closely involved with this as a member of our board of directors, please contact me.
Thanks for your work!
Trail Extension to Sleeper Ave. is open!
With little fanfare, the greatly anticipated opening of the Stevens Creek Trail extension from El Camino Real to Sleeper Avenue was opened on Friday 24 April 2009. News travelled quickly and I was among the first to "legally" travel on the opened trail. I took TOO MANY pictures, snapping one every few feet at the fresh pavement in front of me with copious freshly planted native trees and shrubs lining the pathway. It is only 1/2 mile long, but for those who have biked along Grant Road, you know that is a treacherous 1/2 mile we are now fortunate to be able to avoid.
I chose a dozen pictures that I think will give you a flavor for the trail. I apologize, but they are in somewhat reverse order for many of you - starting at Sleeper Park and heading north to El Camino Real.
View slideshow of the trail
Look forward to a grand opening ceremony, probably in early June. It is expected that this section opening will be celebrated along with the new bridge over Moffett Blvd. at that time.
Reach 4 Sleeper Bridge Installed!
Today was an exciting milestone in the development of the Stevens Creek Trail with the installation of the bridge over Stevens Creek to Sleeper Park. Many were on hand from the Friends of Stevens Creek Trail and the City of Mountain View, as well as the contractor and design teams.
It took nearly 2 hours to prepare the 250 ton crane for the job of lifting the 60,000 lb. bridge into place. A second, 50 ton crane was used to load up 163 tons of counterbalance onto the big crane so it could reach out across the creek without hitting the 50,000 volt power lines overhead (I think they had been deactivated for the day). It then took nearly an hour to connect the bridge and move into its precise placement.
Check out a slideshow of the day here.
The trail opening is expected around late April. There is plenty of work still to do before then, including stone work around the bridge, concrete ramps up to the bridge, landscaping along the trail, paving of the actual trail, and some fences and railings. Be sure you are signed up on one of our mailing lists so we can let you know when the grand opening takes place.
Sunnyvale initiates policy change...
Sunnyvale City Council, at their 27 January 2009 meeting, voted to initiate a change to its general plan to reverse their 1994 policy which prohibits consideration of the Stevens Creek Trail along the banks of Stevens Creek. This comes, partially, in response to the City of Los Altos' Stevens Creek Trail feasibility study that resulted in a proposed trail with about 1/8 mile of trail in Sunnyvale.
You can read the Sunnyvale Sun newspaper report on the decision HERE.
Cupertino Update on Stevens Crk Corridor
Every couple months, the City of Cupertino sends out an update on their progress with the Stevens Creek Corridor project. The current phase is taking place around McClellan Ranch and Blackberry farm. The creek itself is being re-routed to restore it to a more gentle slope, allowing removal of the rip-rap and concrete that was put in there 50 years ago when Blackberry Farm was built.
In this installment, the focus is on changing the flow of the creek to the new channel, and the challenges of doing that. (Hint, the fish didn't get the memo, so they needed some assistance.) Read the PDF Newsletter here.
MV Council Approves next section to bid.
Mountain View City Council approved the design and specifications for the next stretch of
Stevens Creek Trail at their 24 June 2008 meeting. They also approved it to go
to bid with an overall budget of $2,074,000.00,
of which $1,590,000.00 is the engineer's estimated construction cost -
the difference is contingency, inspections, management, and administration.
Reference for this project is # 08-37.
Bids are expected to be opened in late July.
Construction is planned to begin in early September.
Completion is to be substantially completed by late May 2009.
The complete report to council can be viewed on the Mountain View city website by
clicking here .
Written by Ross Heitkamp on 2008-6-25.
posted at: 10:04 | path: | permanent link to this entry
Detour Ahead for Moffett Blvd.
There is a detour ahead on the Stevens Creek Trail. Construction is getting underway for an overpass over Moffett Blvd. that will eliminate the only street crossing of the trail. During construction, trail users will need to make a detour on surface streets between Whisman Park and Moffett Blvd.
The city of Mountain View has an information page to tell you more about it -
Click here to go to it
There is a link to a map there, too.
Construction should be completed by Summer 2009 and the overpass opened up and in use, so focus on that benefit while you are being rerouted temorarily.
Written by Your webmaster, Ross on 2008-6-17.
posted at: 10:03 | path: | permanent link to this entry
Please don't forget that the grand opening ceremony for the new trail and tunnel under El Camino Real is happening Saturday, April 12th at 10:00 a.m. at the Yuba Drive Trail Head. After the dedication, the trail will open and all are invited to take a walk on the new trail up to El Camino Real and through the tunnel.
All are encouraged to bicycle or walk to the event, but if you need to drive, it is
strongly recommended that you drive to Landel's School, park there and walk up to Yuba drive.
Click Here to see a copy of the City of Mountain View invitation
If you come from farther to the north,
be sure to look at the south end of the Central Expressway overpass for the newly renovated
Friends of Stevens Creek Trail Reach-3 Dedication Plaque.
Tunnel Under El Camino Real to open!
It was exactly a year ago that we reported upon the groundbreaking for construction of the tunnel under El Camino Real, so today seems a fitting time to announce the upcoming grand opening ceremony. The opening is scheduled for Saturday, April 12th 2008 at 10:00 a.m. at the Yuba Drive trail head. That is all the details I have at this point.
Related to this, if you haven't seen it, is the City of Mountain View's Project Status page. Sorry I didn't discover this sooner!
Finally, I took some pictures of the nearly completed trail a couple days ago. They are already dated a bit since work is proceeding quickly on landscaping. In fact, just today, all lanes of traffic were reopened! When you next drive by, be sure to check out the glass skylight in the center median. My picture is from before it was unveiled.
Yuba Dr. to El Camino Real trail paved
Today is a milestone day! The new section of trail from Yuba Drive along the creek to El Camino Real, through the new tunnel under El Camino Real, and around the other side back to the sidewalk is now all paved. You can witness most of this just driving along El Camino Real southbound.
All looks on target for an opening of this valuable trail section this spring.
New items: Video, Distances, Status
After a long hiatus from posting anything, today I find much to share.
First off, there is a nice new video posted to YouTube about the 2007 Trailblazer Race. This comes was produced by KMVT-15, the Mountain View Television station that has been a longtime supporter of the Trailblazer Race.
Second, in response to numerous requests for distances between different things along the trail, I have put together a new "Distance Calculator". At this point, it is like those ones you used to find on road maps - you find your starting point as a row and then look to see where it intersects with your ending point column and read off the distance. Send feedback from that page if it doesn't quite meet your needs.
Third, we have an update to the Mountain View status page, as gathered from the 13th February 2008 Parks and Rec meeting. Status of other cities has also been updated, too.
SCT at El Camino Real in MV Voice
In case you missed it, or want to re-read it, here is a link to nice article in the 9 August 2007 Mountain View Voice newspaper that summarizes the work being done on Stevens Creek Trail at El Camino Real in Mountain View. It also includes a good summary of the "Grand Vision" for the trail.
http://www.mv-voice.com/news/show_story.php?id=100
Written by Webmaster Ross on 2007-8-14.
posted at: 10:06 | path: | permanent link to this entry
Bay Trail Update (From SVBC newsletter)
(This taken from the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition Aug/Sept 2007 issue of the
Spinning Crank newsletter
)
The 2.5 mile gap in the Bay Trail between the Stevens Creek Trail at Shoreline Park in Mountain View and the Baylands Park in Sunnyvale is expected to be filled. The official opening is planned for Earthday in April 2008.
The initial connection will be made by opening the locked gates to the outer levee in Mountain View and Sunnyvale, bypassing the NASA land at Moffett Field. The outer levee has a soft surface, making it a seasonal trail and is possibly inappropriate for many street bikes. Long term, the trail alignment will shift to a new flood control levee as part of the South Bay Salt Ponds restoration project, and should get a "stabilized surface" providing year-round use.
For more information about the 500-mile Bay Trail, visit
www.baytrail.org
To learn more about the Sourth Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project and to even participate in the Working Groups, visit
www.southbayrestoration.org
Download the complete issue of the Spinning Crank Newletter (1.6MB PDF)
and look for the full article on page 9.
Written by Webmaster Ross on 2007-8-7.
posted at: 10:05 | path: | permanent link to this entry
Visit us at Mtn View A La Carte & Art
If you will be in Mountain View this weekend, 5/19-20/2007, for the A La Carte and Art festivities, be sure to look for the Friends of Stevens Creek Trail booth. There you can find out the latest on what is happening with the trail and talk with knowledgable people about how you can help to realize the dream of having a trail to connect the bay to Skyline ridge and the trail to the ocean.
I am not sure yet where our booth will be located, so just check a map when you get there and look for the free speech area.
Cheers!
Written by Webmaster Ross on 2007-5-18.
posted at: 10:00 | path: | permanent link to this entry
National River Cleanup Day
Just posting this flyer for National River Cleanup Day. It includes 2 cleanups on Stevens Creek. Friends of Stevens Creek Trail is not a sponsor of these events, though many of our members participate in these cleanups, so we encourage you to get out there and help out the creek!
This year it is being held on May 19th, 2007.
Here is a link to the flyer - as a 1.8 MB PDF
Written by Your webmaster, Ross on 2007-5-11.
posted at: 10:00 | path: | permanent link to this entry
Los Altos Community Meeting Announced!
Great News! Perhaps you have heard that the city of Los Altos has decided to do a feasibility study for connecting the Stevens Creek Trail through their city? Well, so far they have put together a process for doing this and hired a consultant. The next thing they want to do is collect input from their citizens for what it should look like, where it should go and all of those details. Also, any concerns or problems that need to be investigated should be brought up.
Here is a copy of the advertisement for the meeting that ran in the 9th May 2007 edition of the Town Crier newspaper:
I hope all of your Los Altos residents will try to make it to the meeting or send a letter with your ideas!
Written by Your Webmaster and Los Altos liason, Ross Heitkamp on 2007-5-10.
posted at: 10:00 | path: | permanent link to this entry
Spring View SC Trail Update
In case you missed The View (and to record it for posterity), here is what it said about the trail when it came out about 2 months ago (now old news):
Construction has begun on the next reach of Stevns Creek Trail from Yuba Drive to the south side of El Camino Real. This trail extension includes the construction of a pedestrian/bicycle tunnel under El Camino Real near the intersection of El Camino Real and Highway 85, as well as an improved trailhead at Yuba Drive.
The Stevens Creek Trail is a bike and pedestrian path that runs along Stevens Creek in Mountain View and is part of a larger network of trails throughout the Bay Area. When finished, the trail in Mountain View will stretch from Mountain View High School to the Bay.
Construction work began with the relocation of a water line along El Camino Real. Work on the tunnel will follow next. The construction will require the removal of the El Camino median, the closure of two lanes and the re-routing of traffic around the work. The work will reduce El Camino Real to two lanes of through-traffic in each direction for approximately nine months. Contruction will take approximately one year to complete.
For more information, call the Public Works Department at (650) 903-6311.Moffett Overcrossing Plan Map
After digging up the design details on the Reach 4, Segment 2 project, I found the overview map for the new overcrossing at Moffett Blvd that will eliminate the only grade crossing of a street along all of Mountain View's trail.
This is a $4,900,000 project that is nearly fully designed and funded. Last I heard, the hold up was a PG&E gas line that is rather close to a proposed footing of one of the piers. Something has to budge. Caltrans, PG&E, or the alignment. Anyhow, take a look at the proposed plan
here
.
Written by Webmaster Ross on 2007-4-18.
posted at: 10:00 | path: | permanent link to this entry
Mountain View Construction Information
For those of you with a thirst for more information about the construction of Reach 4, Segment 2 that is in progress tunnelling under El Camino Real next to Hwy 85, Mountain View has the details for you.
Just
click here to go to the Mountain View city website
where they have a nice map and explanation of what is going on,
In Detail!
Written by Webmaster Ross on 2007-4-17.
posted at: 10:00 | path: | permanent link to this entry
Look for Tom in the Boston Marathon
We are very proud to let you know that our very own Executive Director,
Tom Cronin
will be running in the
111th Boston Marathon
following this weekend on Monday, April 16th, 2007.
Mind you, this is not just an event that you sign up for,
but is one that you have to qualify for and then
be allowed to participate. And, if you don't know,
a marathon is just over 26 miles in length and takes over 3 hours for most to finish.
So, good luck to Tom!
Written by Webmaster Ross on 2007-4-11.
posted at: 10:00 | path: | permanent link to this entry
SCT on YouTube for Bike to Work Day
As I hope you know, Bike to Work Day is coming up on May 17th, 2007.
So, with excitement building for this event, there is a great promotional video coming out
called "Try Bicycling",
a half hour video about bicycle commuting in the south bay area.
It also features our own board member,
John Brazil.
"Try Bicycling" will be airing on on Mountain View's own KMVT station,
cable channel 15 in Mountain View, Los Altos and Cupertino.
(check here for show time listings)
- and is also available at lower resolution
on Google
.
So, here we have a 90 second clip from "Try Bicycling", now available on YouTube,
that shows the leisurely ride along Stevens Creek that an employee at someplace like Google might have.
Check it out:
And be sure to put Bike to Work Day on YOUR calendar.
May 17th, 2007
Written by Webmaster Ross on 2007-4-9.
posted at: 10:24 | path: | permanent link to this entry
Signup opens for the May 5th Creek Clean-up
I just got the poster and waiver forms posted for this years Creek Cleanup,
scheduled for May 5th at 9:00am at our usual location at Whisman Park off Easy Street in Mountain View.
http://www.stevenscreektrail.org/Events/TD_2007/index.html
You can print and pre-fill the waiver form, but be sure to email or call Tom,
our Executive Director, to let him know you are planning to attend.
We want to be sure to have enough snacks and work for everyone.
Written by Ross (webmaster) Heitkamp on 2007-3-26.
posted at: 12:11 | path: | permanent link to this entry
Ground has broken on Reach 4, Segment 2!
If you drove down El Camino Real by Hwy 85 today, you surely would have noticed that there were only 2 lanes open in each direction, even though it doesn't seem to be causing much of any backup or slowdown. Here's an overview
The good news about this is that those lanes are closed for a GREAT reason - the construction of the bicycle and pedestrian tunnel under El Camino Real for the extension of the Stevens Creek Trail!
Workers today were busy with 2 separate projects. One team was pulling up the paving stones from the median strip and stacking them up for later re-use. Click for a peek Another team was working at the entrance of the parking lot for Homestead Studio Suites Hotel to widen the driveway and make room for the new tunnel on the north side of the El Camino. Take a look
Previously, a water hookup on the south side of El Camino Real was already moved a few feet to make room for the tunnel to come through. Later, on the south side, the entrance to Hwy 85 will also be redesigned such that P.G.&E. and SCVWD access to the meadow is preserved.
It's been a month since they said...
In the January 5th Mountain View Voice, it was announced that we could expect to see lanes closed along El Camino Real at Hwy 85 as construction begins on the tunnel under the road that is the first part of Reach 4, Segment 2. But it is now almost a month later and ground has yet to be broken.
Not to worry. It is likely due to working out final details about the new configuration of the Hwy85 onramp that will be accompanying this trail underpass. Caltrans needs to accept the design for that, so you know there are bound to be some delays.
Meanwhile, the City continues to work on securing funding for the remaining portions of Reach 4, Segment 2, that will take it across Hwy 85 and eventually onward to Mountain View High School.
Written by Your webmaster, Ross on 2007-2-3.
posted at: 21:11 | path: | permanent link to this entry
Reach 4, Segment 2 Construction Begins!
Riding my bike to work this morning, as I approached the Stevens Creek Trail entrance at the end of Yuba Drive, I was most excited to see and hear heavy machinery grinding away past the end of the trail.
Sure enough, the City of Mountain View had begun work to demolish the buildings there on the property they recently acquired. It is a beautiful lush and shady area right along the creek that will become a site for some amenities along the next segment of the trail that will be crossing under El Camino Real on its way towards Mountain View's southern border at Mountain View High School.
I'll try to monitor this more closely and start taking some pictures, in case your travels don't take you to this part of the trail. I'll also post some of the planning documents that were recently presented to the City Council for this segment of construction.
FOSCT Annual Report available online!
I have just posted our annual report online for your viewing pleasure, so in case you want to know what we were up to in 2005, it is all in there. I posted it as HTML for fast online viewing, or as a PDF (>7MB!) for printing your own copy. Here are the direct links, or you can find them from under the PR section.
Mountain View Trail Closure Hotline
MV Parks and Rec maintains a Trail Closure Hotline at
650-903-6072, a recorded announcement with up-to-date info,
especially during storm conditions that might necessitate a
closure.
Written by Aaron Grossman, Executive Director (via the webmaster) on 2006-2-13.
posted at: 13:23 | path: | permanent link to this entry
Cupertino Advertises Construction Bids!
Our own keen eyed board member, John, today spied on page 3D of the Mercury news that Cupertino has started advertising an RFP for
"REOUEST FOR PROPOSAL
PROGRAM & CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT SERVICES AT STEVENS CREEK CORRIDOR PARK"
You can read about it yourself on their website - great 1.8MB topographical map of the area on the first page! CLICK HERE to go check it out
South Bay Salt Ponds Shoreline Study
For those who use the Stevens Creek Trail to get to the bay, but still want to keep going, right now you are limited to turning left/west and heading towards Palo Alto through Shoreline Park. But some of us work east and would like to be able to turn RIGHT! This meeting is for us.
Please join us at a public scoping meeting for the Feasibility Report for the South San Francisco Bay Shoreline Study, to be held
Wednesday, January 25, 2006 from 5:30 - 8:30pmat the
More information including a map is available on the SBSP website.Milpitas Community Center, Rooms 7-8 457 East Calaveras Boulevard 408-586-3210
The Shoreline Study is closely related to the SBSP Restoration Project, and is undertaken by the US Army Corps of Engineers, US Fish and Wildlife Service (lead agencies under NEPA) and the California State Coastal Conservancy (lead agency under CEQA).
Written by Your faithful webmaster, and Moffet Park employee, Ross Heitkamp on 2006-1-21.Permanente Creek Trail Overcrossing
As reported in the Winter 2005 edition of The View, in case you missed it:
Construction will begin in summer 2006 on a new overcrossing for the Permanente Creek Trail spanning Highway 101 just north of the Old Middlefield Way exit on Highway 101. When completed, the new pedestrian/bike bridge will allow trail users to travel between businesses and recreational facilities in the North Bayshore area and residential and business areas south and west of the freeway.
The existing Permanente Creek Trail begins in Shoreline at Mountain View Regional Park and runs along the east side of the creek for approximately one mile until it ends just north of Highway 101. The new overcrossing will bring the trail to the intersection of Old Middlefield Road and Spring Street. A traffic signal will be installed at the intersection to assist trail users and help accomodate local traffic.
Completion of the new overcrossing is scheduled for the Summer 2007. For more information, call the Mountain View Public Works Department at (650)903-6311.
Written by Ross Heitkamp, webmaster on 2005-12-21.
CALLING ALL SPONSORS for the 2005 TRAILBLAZER RACE
Now is the time to contact us to become a sponsor of the 2005 Trailblazer Race and Trailwalk. Many of the sponsorship opportunities have already been seized, but there are still a few great ones left.
Sponsoring the Trailblazer Race is a great way to support your community, if your business is located in Cupertino, Mountain View, Los Altos or Sunnyvale. Even if you are not located in one of those cities, your support will give you great exposure and visibility to bring in customers from those and surrounding communities where the thousand participants and family come from.
To review the opportunities available, check out the sponsorship page of the Trailblazer Race webpages. There you can find more information such as the contact people and a downloadable copy of the prospectus.
What does "CUT" and "OVERLAY" mean, spray painted on the trail?
If you have been on the trail today and noticed some large pink lettering around the bridge over highway 237, you might have wondered what it is all about. Is it some random graffiti? Due to some fortunate timing, I have the answer for you.
Granite Rock Construction was out today to survey for repairs to a few locations. Both ends of the bridge have a sizable bump due to settling of the asphalt more than the concrete. These have been marked as "OVERLAY" meaning that they will overlay some additional asphalt in these locations to smooth out those bumps.
On the ramp up to the bridge on the north end (switchbacks), you will see "CUT" marked in two locations where the asphalt has sunken and broken. This means they will cut out thes locations, probably fill and compact them, then lay new asphalt. Simply adding more asphalt in such a case doesn't work well, so this is a better solution.
Come See Us - At Sunnyvale Art & Wine Festival - June 4th & 5th!
That's right, the Friends of Stevens Creek Trail will have a booth at the 2005 Sunnyvale Art & Wine Festival being held June 4th & 5th in downtown Sunnyvale - near South Murphy Street and the Town Center Mall.
You may have to search to find us as we are given space in the Free Speech Area, which isn't always the best location with the highest traffic. But look for other environmental groups or political groups and we'll be there with them (probably - sometimes they have 2 locations).
The exciting news to see this year will be what is shaping up in Sunnyvale. There is a resident who is excited to get something started on connecting Sunnyvale to the Stevens Creek Trail being built by the City of Mountain View. He has some great ideas and stunning photographs of possible areas for the trail. Come sign his petition requesting that Sunnyvale take a fresh look at what they can do to allow its citizens to enjoy this wonderful trail!
Executive Director: Thanks for the Big Turnout at the Creek Clean-up
Subject: Thanks for the Big Turnout at the Creek Clean-up Date: 2005/4/18 Time: 01:42 PM -0700 GMT Hi everyone - Thanks for the Big Turnout at the Creek Clean-up on Saturday, 16 April 2005! My count of volunteers was 43 from Friends of Stevens Creek Trail, 32 from Synopsys, and 17 from Target Store in Mountain View. That totals 92, which is the biggest turn-out I'm aware of! I think everyone had a good time and appreciated all the support and organization from the Mountain View Parks and Rec staff. Jenny Yee was very effective at coordinating the Synopsys team and was wonderful to work with at the front table! I think this was the first participation from Target Stores, so special thanks to HR manager Dave Jones and Store manager Paul Bennie. Please let me know who made the initial contact with you so that I can thank them as well. I also want to credit Felix with doing a great job of organizing your team! Our next big event is the 11th Trailblazer Race and Walk on Sunday morning September 25th, starting at the Microsoft campus off Shoreline by highway 101. Please mark your calendar - we need about 200 volunteers for that event! Thanks again!
Aaron Grossman, Interim Executive Director Friends of Stevens Creek Trail
FOSCT Weblog goes ONLINE!
Hello and welcome to the Friends of Stevenscreek BLOG.
I won't make any promises about how often this will get updated or what content you can expect to see here, but, with luck and this easy to update method, there is a good chance you will see things sooner and more often than in the past.
I also hope that you might see things from other Friends of Stevens Creek and the Trail get posted here - if only because I cut and paste them, maybe.
Now, if this worked, then I will post the message from Executive Director, Aaron Grossman, about last weekend's widely attended Trail Work Day...
your friendly, neighborhood webmaster, Ross Heitkamp
