Guadalupe River Trail ride Saturday, but watch for trail work

Corinne Winter of the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition will lead a SPUR-sponsored ride on the Guadalupe River Trail on Saturday. This is my daily commute route and I can easily recommend this ride for anybody who wants a relaxed 14 mile ride tomorrow. This trail runs from downtown San Jose to the Bay in Alviso and is a real gem.

Expect temperatures getting in the 80s during this morning ride so bring some water.

If you ride this trail, you might also check with the various agencies with jurisdiction on the Guadalupe River. This morning, I and several other dozen bike commuters encountered this work truck blocking the trail at Montague Expressway.


Guadalupe River Trail blocked at Montague Expressway

These workers had heavy equipment just beyond this truck removing debris from a culvert.

I can understand the importance of their work, but a little heads up about this trail work would have been nice, y’know? It’s dangerous and legally impossibly to cross Montague Expressway at this location. Just in the minute or so it took me to turn back to the levee, I counted a half dozen cyclists trying to figure out what to do and where to go. Unless you know the immediate neighborhood, sussing out an alternate route is not obvious.

On bike, I can make a half mile detour to 1st Street, but people on foot are stuck — pedestrians are forbidden from walking on this portion of Montague Expressway. I ended up riding the wrong way on Montague for 30 yards to cross the bridge to hop the guard rail, go through the cut fence and access the levee trail on the opposite bank of the Guadalupe.

The Guadalupe River Trail has become an important commute route for the thousands of people who now use it on a daily basis. Can we start treating it like the transportation facility that it is?

One Comment

  1. Richard – thanks for posting the photo and concern. I’m raising the issue with our Operations Team to eliminate unplanned closures to the greatest extent possible as well as share that approach with other partner agencies which may also be working along the trail and river channel. Yves Zsutty – San Jose Trail Network Manager

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