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Uploaded: Monday, March 31, 2008, 5:48 PM
COMING UP: Saturday dedication for new tunnel
Stevens Creek Trail now extends to south side of El Camino Real
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by Daniel DeBolt
Mountain View Voice Staff
Photos
 
| For nearly a year, workers tunneled their way beneath El Camino Real while 4,000 cars barreled by overhead every hour.
Now their work is all but complete, and on April 12 the city will hold a ceremony to dedicate the southernmost leg of the Stevens Creek Trail, which now goes from Shoreline Park to the south side of El Camino.
Engineer Bob Kagiyama said the $3.5 million project would not have happened without the city's aggressive efforts to get over $2 million in grant funding. He added that the city was lucky to have a good contractor.
The biggest challenge: moving numerous utility lines, which were under El Camino Real and are now buried beneath the tunnel. Also, two rundown residential buildings had to be demolished at the end of Yuba Drive.
Among its features, the tunnel has a set of thick glass skylights laid in the middle of El Camino, providing natural light at the midway point.
Last Friday, workers were tiling the mouth of the tunnel and putting the final touches on the extension from Yuba Drive, where Stevens Creek Trail used to terminate. The extension will be lined with 17 different kinds of plants native to the Stevens Creek watershed.
This summer the city hopes to begin on the next extension, which will continue the trail to a bridge at Sleeper Avenue, creating another neighborhood access point.
The April 12 ribbon cutting is scheduled for 10 a.m. Participants are encouraged to park cars at Landels Elementary School and walk or bike to the dedication, which begins at the Yuba Drive trailhead. There will be a short walk to the tunnel for a ceremony, refreshments and entertainment. Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.
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| Comments
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Posted by walker, a resident of the Whisman Station neighborhood, on Apr 1, 2008 at 7:34 pm Glad to hear that project is done, but that photo of tunnel looks down right scary. I wouldn't want to walk through there alone.
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Posted by Andrew, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Apr 1, 2008 at 11:00 pm I think the lighting looks pretty good, considering it is going under a 6 lane road.
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Posted by mh, a resident of the Martens-Carmelita neighborhood, on Apr 2, 2008 at 12:42 pm The tunnel defintely needs to be all lit up, I mean all lit up. I
suggest installing cameras in case of a crime. What a perfect spot to
attack someone, and guess what? Witnesses down there will be pure luck.
The city needs to protect, provide and prevent. Protect citizens,
provide a safe city and prevent crime.
mh
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Posted by Ago, a resident of the North Whisman neighborhood, on Apr 2, 2008 at 10:05 pm I wouldn't mind seeing some of those emergency/police call boxes you see on the sides of the Golden Gate Bridge located up and down the trail. Seems like a perfect place to commit a crime and get away with it...
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Posted by chaz, a resident of the Martens-Carmelita neighborhood, on Apr 3, 2008 at 1:10 pm Many of us who live in the Sleeper neighborhood have long opposed this 'trail', for safety reasons. Since it follows the freeway, highway noise makes it difficult to hear anybody behind you, and a cry for help would probably not be heard, even if there were somebody else around. I wonder how much this trail will be used, except for nefarious purposes.
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Posted by avid trail user, a resident of the Waverly Park neighborhood, on Apr 3, 2008 at 2:54 pm What is the City planning on doing about the dozen homeless encampments along the creek on City property? Their existing camps will be right along the trail from the new tunnel at El Camino to Sleeper Ave. I don't think lighting in the tunnel will be the only concern for us regular trail users.
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Posted by fanofstevenscreektrail, a resident of the Waverly Park neighborhood, on Apr 3, 2008 at 6:51 pm The trail is a regionwide treasure. As a resident, I am excited it will soon be a part of our neighborhood. Sure, there is a potential for the crimal element to try and exploit some parts around the trail, but community use and involvement will help make sure they do not feel welcome.
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Posted by mh, a resident of the Martens-Carmelita neighborhood, on Apr 3, 2008 at 11:59 pm Install surveillance cameras. The stores have them, the trail should have them. After reading Chaz's comment, they need to be installed along the entire trail along with heavy duty lightning. The lights will deter the homeless encampments. Something so simple could make the trail much safer.
mh
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Posted by Bell, a resident of the Sylvan Park neighborhood, on Apr 4, 2008 at 9:17 pm You can be sure if there is a any kind of crime the Mountain View police won't give us the public any information. Thats scary!!!!!
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Posted by Steve, a resident of another community, on Apr 4, 2008 at 10:05 pm This will be really great for bicycle commuters. A bike path that is separate from car traffic is much safer for cyclists. I currently commute from south-west Sunnyvale and use the Stevens Creek trail. When its extended to Sleeper Ave, I'll be able to avoid the busier streets that I'm taking now.
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Posted by AM, a resident of the Waverly Park neighborhood, on Apr 11, 2008 at 8:19 pm We welcome the new extension to the Steven's Creek trail. Our family is eagerly waiting for it to connect with Sleeper so we do not have to ride down Grant Rd. Those who are so concerned with safety are obviously not regular users of the trail. It is used daily by commuters, both on bike and foot, and people, from the mother's with their strollers to senior citizens. The city has said the tunnel will be well lit, it will be much safer then crossing the very busy El Camino Real. I suggest if you have concerns, walk the trail, meet your neighbors and enjoy the little bit of nature that runs through our community.
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Posted by stunned, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Apr 12, 2008 at 8:12 am Wow! I guess this is where the fringe/conspiracy theorist crowd in Mountain View hangs out.
"The city needs to protect, provide and prevent. Protect citizens,
provide a safe city and prevent crime."
As a resident of Old Mountain View who lives two blocks from the intersection of Hope & El Camino Real, I have to say that I think the City does just about everything that can be done to "Protect and Serve" it citizens. My god, you can't drive four blocks in this town without seeing a black-and-white, any time of day or night! Besides which, can anyone point to any history of crime vis-a-vis the use of this trail? If I recall correctly, our two murders thus far this year have taken place at ECR and Ehrhorn and on Higden, near Central Expressway. Seems to me you'd want to start watching those spots more closely first!
"Seems like a perfect place to commit a crime and get away with it..."
Yeah, police call boxes and the power they consume just to exist and sit there in the .000000001% chance they'll ever be needed is just what an environmentally sensitive project like this needs. Big yellow boxes with blue strobe lights will add a nice ambiance to the trail.
"I wonder how much this trail will be used, except for nefarious purposes."
Do you people have nothing better to do than worry and manufacture worst-case scenarios in your ultra-secure homes with New York City-style doors that have fifteen deadbolts each? YOU LIVE IN MOUNTAIN VIEW, not EPA or Watts or the South Bronx! Nefarious purposes? To answer your question, I would point you to the violent criminal past of the trail thus far in its fifteen(?) or more year existence thus far. I know of none. Our Idiot-in-Chief's foreign policy and bellicose bullying on the world stage create far more danger in your life than this trail and tunnel do.
Hey, I have an idea that will address your concerns in a more environmentally sensitive and neighborly way than installing cameras and call boxes: GET OUTSIDE AND WALK THE TRAIL! The fresh air will do you good and when Charlie Manson escapes and begins his next bloodbath on Stevens Creek Trail, you'll be there to serve as a witness! Assuming, of course, you're not one of the victims. :)
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Posted by Ago, a resident of the North Whisman neighborhood, on Apr 13, 2008 at 1:08 pm I went for a bike ride on the trail yesterday and was happy to see that the tunnel under El Camino was lit up like a Christmas tree with both light from the skylight and from electric light fixtures down the whole length of the tunnel. It made the other tunnels along the Stevens Creek Trail (under Highways 101 and 85) look really bad in comparison because the lighting in those tunnels is woefully dim and sparse.
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Posted by watch your back 'PUNK', a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Apr 15, 2008 at 11:59 pm [Post removed by Mountain View Voice staff.]
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Posted by your neighbor, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Apr 16, 2008 at 10:47 am [Post removed by Mountain View Voice staff.]
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Posted by staff, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Apr 16, 2008 at 10:56 am Are you condoning the comment from stunned or is that in fact a comment from the staff? I QUESTION THE STAFF AT M.V. VOICE. I can see why the paper is free. I believe the entire staff needs to be replaced, even the editor and publisher. I am not impressed with the information I read.
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Posted by SUE, a resident of the Whisman Station neighborhood, on Apr 16, 2008 at 2:07 pm To the Staff,
Do you really allow people to degrade other peoples comments.
That is highly disrespectful and I am shocked that you allow this immature, childish behavior.
Is this the mentality of Mountain View Voice? I know for a fact the City of Mountain View would not tolerate nor condone this sort of behavior.
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