A river parkway reaching from San Juan Bautista to the San Benito County Historical Park in Tres Pinos is in the early planning stages, and residents Wednesday had a chance to give some input on where they want the trails to go along the corridor.
“First we want to start by having you say when you hear the word ‘park,’ what does it conjure up in your mind?” said Janelle Cox, a county management analyst who works with the parks and recreation commission.
Cox wrote down words as the three dozen residents shared their thoughts. Some of the words shared included: biking, space, trails, play, getting away from it all, water features, flowers, family, improving quality of life, recreation, education and health.
“That’s a very good picture of what we all consume at parks and how you envision parks,” Cox said.
Planners from SSA Landscape Architects, Inc. talked about their findings during field research along the San Benito River and then led residents through an activity that allowed them to plot their favorite routes for four segments of the eventual trail. Alison Hobbs, a senior project manager, and Steve Sutherland, a principal planner, with SSA led most of the discussion.
“One of the goals tonight is to develop what you think the goals are for the trail corridor,” Sutherland said. “Look at where you would like to see the trail align and look at parkway amenities.”
Sutherland explained a bit about the different characteristics along different segments of the river, which they broke into four segments for planning purposes. The first part near San Juan and Highway 156 is largely agricultural in nature while near Hollister it is more urban.
“Once you cross the bridge there is more vegetation,” Sutherland said. “It changes again and again before it crosses the Historical Park. There are opportunities for themes or different things you want to see.”
The planners said there may be some limitations to where the trails can align based on geology, hydrology, flood zones and other issues, such as acquiring land along the river that is largely held by private owners.
“We looked at the hydrology and flood zone,” Hobbs said. “We need to know where it is to make sure permanent structures are built outside of it.”
The planners mapped out other resources along the path, such as schools, private businesses and existing parks. The idea is that the trail could connect to other areas, such as an offshoot that could connect the San Juan portion to De Anza Trail or San Juan Mission.
“If we can’t do one preferred trail, we want to look at alternatives,” Hobbs said, “Especially if the land can’t be acquired.”
In asking residents about what specific amenities they would like to see or their goals for the trail, many different ideas were shared. Some of those ideas included:
science education; accessibility for law enforcement or rescue crews to be built in from the start; accessibility to the river water; a continuous path with separate trails for various uses such as pedestrian, bicycle and equestrians of varying levels of mobility; connections to the wine trail; staging area for horses; connection into downtown and neighborhoods; native plants that require low maintenance and can compete with invasive species; coordination with high school or other user groups and more.
Sutherland noted the county is working on the portion of the trail that stretches from Fourth Street to Hospital Road as the first leg to be developed. This portion of the River Parkway will connect with a regional park that is planned south of San Benito High School.
“The county has contacted everyone in reach 3 (the Hollister segment of the trail) and most are willing to negotiate,” Sutherland said of the private landowners.
But as the residents looked over large copies of the maps overlaid with tracing paper, Hobbs and Sutherland, along with the county’s Capital Project Manager Adam Goldstone, were quick to point out some of the obstacles. In part of the San Juan segment, there is thick vegetation that could make trail maintenance difficult. In parts of segment between Fourth Street and Hospital Road, current and future mining sites could influence where the trail is laid. In other parts, the 50-year flood zone is wide around the riverbed, leading to concerns that paved trails may not last.
“It is steep on one side, and there are many property owners on the other side,” Goldstone said, of the segment south of Hospital Road. “We may have to go out on Blossom Lane to Southside Road.”
Residents offered up the idea of a bridge or boardwalk that might allow trail users to cross from one side of the river to the other.
The final alignment, of course, will take into account cost, land acquisition, any environmental constraints as well as residents’ input.
A future workshop will be held for residents to share input on what they would like to see at the regional park.
