Trail will give residents legal access to the top of El Toro mountain
Published in the Sept. 3- 16, 2014 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Staff Report
The City of Morgan Hill invites interested residents to a special 7 p.m. Sept. 4 Parks and Recreation Commission workshop meeting to learn about and share their thoughts on the proposed “access strategy” for a trail system on El Toro Mountain.
A view of El Toro Mountain from West Dunne Avenue.
Photo by Marty Cheek
Based on information from city staff members and comments provided by the public, members of the PRC will make a recommendation to the City Council on the next stage of trail development and possible access points for people to eventually walk trails on publicly-owned property on El Toro.
The access strategy proposes that a main trailhead be located near the West Hills Community Church on DeWitt Avenue with potential neighborhood access points located at the end of Dunne, Alkire, Via Grande and Main avenues, according to a letter sent last month to residents living in the neighborhoods at the base of the mountain. The primary trailhead is intended to attract people using vehicles to reach the trail. The neighborhood access is intended for local residents and to guarantee connectivity with local streets.
“Your comments are important to the development of the access points that minimize impacts for residents that live adjacent to these locations, while still providing for neighborhood access points and trail connectivity,” said Morgan Hill Associate Engineer David Gittleson in the letter to residents.
Representatives of the Open Space Authority, which is working in conjunction with the city to create the paths, and Morgan Hill Police Department officials will be at the meeting to address issues, said Kimberly Leiser, chair of the PRC.
“We’re inviting anyone from the public who would care to come to offer their input on trail formation and access and trail safety,” she said.
Many of the comments at the workshop meeting will come from people who live in the vicinity of El Toro, but Leiser encourages people who live in other areas of Morgan Hill to also attend.
“Anyone who is an outdoor enthusiast and enjoys walking on trails and wants to see a new trail destination created and provide input on trail safety, trail management, trail design, may be able to offer some good ideas that could be considered when developing a path we can enjoy now and hopefully for many generations down the road,” she said.
Money has been budgeted through the City’s capitol improvement program to develop the trail, and work was targeted to begin this year, but that might be delayed depending on input from the public and the City Council’s decision, said Julie Behzad, senior civil engineer with the City. The completion date of the project is uncertain.
“With any project, it’s sort of a moving target,” she said. “That’s what we were anticipating as we moved ahead with the project. It’s taking longer than we anticipated so there is no guarantee that this project will be completed this year or next year, so there is no timeline at this point.”
The trail project goes back to 2007 when the City Council approved the Trails and Natural Resources Study. In 2012, the Council approved Transportation for Clean Air grant funding for $44,000 for the project.
Currently it is illegal for the public to hike on El Toro, but many people do because they want to see the view of Morgan Hill from the top of the city’s iconic mountain. Residents on streets leading up the trail have expressed concerns about people using the trail.
The city wants to make sure all El Toro trail concerns are addressed to the benefit of all in the community, Behzad said.
“Staff members feel it’s a very important project and we’d like to move it forward so that we get a recommendation and take it to the City Council,” she said.
Individuals who cannot attend can submit their comments in writing to Gittleson at City of Morgan Hill, 17575 Peak Ave., Morgan Hill, CA 95037 or email him at [email protected]. Documentation on the access points can be located at www.morganhill.ca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/13754.
