Yes, it’s possible! At the urging of Senator Jim Beall, the City of San José has applied for a $34 million California Transportation Commission Grant to complete a significant portion of the Five Wounds Trail from Story Road to Whitton Avenue, including environmental remediation and restoration and design of the trail all the way to the Berryessa BART Station. Grant awards will be announced in late spring 2019. And if we don’t make it this time, we’re confident that Senator Beall and the City of San José will reapply.
We think our chances are good! The purpose of the California Transportation Commission Grant is to connect communities to transportation modes and our trail connects directly to VTA’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on E Santa Clara Street as well as to BART stations planned for 28th Street and the already-built station in Berryessa. Disadvantaged communities are also a priority and – again – we fit.
The 2.17 mile project would include traffic signal modifications to support connectivity to the Three Creeks Trail at Kelly Park and a future bridge crossing over Coyote Creek and Lower Silver Creek, plus landscaped trail improvements, a community-based City Bike Plan addendum, environmental remediation and more.
We’re grateful to Senator Beall for pushing for this application and to the City of San José for submitting the most ambitious proposal possible.
To learn more, join Senator Beall and other local elected and agency officials for his Community Walk and Talk on the Five Wounds Trail on Saturday, October 27, 10 a.m. to noon, meeting at McKinley Elementary School, 651 Macredes Avenue.