Date: Aug. 29, 2003

Grant awards funding creation of 130 acres of open space,
48 miles of trails for Santa Clara County residents

SANTA CLARA COUNTY - The Santa Clara Valley Water District board of directors is awarding more than $2 million in grants to local public agencies to build 48.3 miles of trails and secure 130 acres of open space for Santa Clara County residents.

Awards from the district's Trails, Parks and Open Space Grant Program are funded by the Clean, Safe Creeks and Natural Flood Protection program, a special tax approved as Measure B by county voters in November 2000.

"We've heard time and again the community's desire to be able to visit local waterways and undeveloped lands in the county, which is something that the board of directors has tried to provide over the years," said Sig Sanchez, chairman of the water district board of directors.

"Thanks to voters' approval of Measure B, we now have the ability to use our partnerships with cities and the county to make those wishes come true."

The Clean, Safe Creeks and Natural Flood Protection Program is a 15-year effort to accomplish multiple objectives, including enhancing the natural conditions of streams for public enjoyment and to protect people and property from flooding. The special tax collects approximately $920,000 annually to provide public access to an additional 70 miles of trails or an equivalent amount of open space by 2016.

Grant recipients are:

• Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department - $200,000 toward a $620,000 project to create access to 16 miles of trails and two new staging areas at Coyote Lake-Harvey Bear County Park east of Gilroy.

• City of Milpitas - $89,400 toward a $1.14 million project to open 1.75 miles of trail along the east levee of Coyote Creek, between Dixon Landing Road and Ranch Drive, and opening access to 5.1 miles of trails elsewhere along the creek.

• Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department - $35,040 toward a $116,620 project to protect, and provide trails to, De Anza Knoll in Cupertino's Rancho San Antonio Park, and to link the park by trail to the Stevens Creek Trail.

• City of Sunnyvale - $200,000 toward a $633,000 project to open 1.5 miles of creek along the Calabazas Creek Trail, between Manzano Way and Prescott Avenue, and creation of a bridge to link a trail on the east side of the creek to a trail on the west levee.

• City of Santa Clara - $162,500 toward a $3.8 million project to build a trail along San Tomas Aquino Creek, between Agnew Road and Scott Boulevard, which will link pedestrians to 12.28 miles of existing trail.

• City of San José - $250,000 toward a $4.5 million project to improve access from Selma Olinder Park to the Coyote Creek Trail and to enhance the park by planting trees on two acres of the 13-acre recreational area.

• City of Campbell - $471,200 toward a $589,000 project to add 2.2 miles to the San Tomas Aquino Creek and Smith Creek trails, between Westmont High School and Virginia Park.

• City of Milpitas - $90,000 toward a $925,000 project to create 1.5 additional miles to the existing 5.45-mile Berryessa Creek Trail. The new section will open up access between Abel Street and the Town Center.

• City of San José - $250,000 toward a $400,000 project to construct a bridge over Silver Creek, between Dobern Avenue and Bambi Lane, to allow access to 5.45 miles of trail.

• City of San José - $300,000 toward a $6 million project to acquire the Willow Glen railroad spur along the Guadalupe River, between Lonus Avenue and Kelly Park, which will be converted to part of a 3.5-mile-long trail.

• City of Campbell - $300,000 toward a $375,000 project for landscaping and other improvements to the South Page Recharge Pond at the corner of Hacienda Avenue and Winchester Boulevard. The project is providing 0.32 miles of trail and opening the facility for public use.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District manages Santa Clara County's wholesale drinking water resources, coordinates flood protection for its 1.7 million residents and provides stewardship for the county's 10 reservoirs and more than 700 miles of streams.