Santa Clara presents alignment options, environmental trade-offs for proposed Calabasas Creek Trail

At a virtual community outreach meeting, City of Santa Clara Public Works staff and consultants presented alignment options and design considerations for a proposed Calabasas Creek Trail that would run roughly six miles from near Benton Street downstream to the Baylands and a potential connection to the San Francisco Bay Trail.

The consultant team lead, Jana Sokow, said most of the proposed route would be built on elevated levees owned by Valley Water and would aim to connect to Caltrain and light rail, local schools including Wilcox High and Mission College, and businesses along El Camino Real. "Most of the trail would be built on existing elevated levees that are owned and operated by Valley Water," Sokow said during the presentation.

Why it matters: the alignment would provide a new continuous active-transportation corridor linking neighborhoods, schools and transit, but it faces technical and environmental constraints — multiple rail and highway crossings, levee ownership and trail-use policies, and sea-level rise and tidal flooding in downstream underpasses.

The project and options described

Ralph Garcia, senior civil engineer and project manager for the Creek Trail Master Plan, opened the session and said the meeting was a recorded public outreach step in a multiyear planning process. Consultants described three broad types of crossing treatments where the creek and major infrastructure intersect: elevated pedestrian overcrossings, conventional underpasses where vertical clearance exists, and tunneled underpasses where tracks or drainage infrastructure prevent an open underpass.

At the Caltrain/Joint Powers Board (JPB) corridor, consultants presented three crossing concepts under study: (1) a pedestrian bridge that could replace the existing Agate Drive bridge and include long accessibility-compliant switchback ramps; (2) a straight flyover with ramped approaches; and (3) a tunnel or bored underpass that would remain on the creek bank and pass below the rail corridor. Sokow said one of the pedestrian-bridge options would require the lowest usable elevation for the bridge deck to be about 27 feet to clear the rail corridor, which necessitates long ramps or switchbacks to meet accessibility standards. The team also described potential underpasses at Keifer and Arquez and an overpass at Central Expressway; Highway 101 was described as requiring an overpass rather than an underpass because existing box culverts do not provide enough room for trail fill or ramps.

Environmental and regulatory constraints

Consultants emphasized that the corridor crosses habitat and culturally sensitive areas. Sokow noted Santa Clara has records of Central Coast steelhead migrating into Calabasas Creek and that burrowing owls and, further downstream, Ridgway's rail, create habitat constraints. Valley Water's recent criteria and guidance for trails on its lands were cited repeatedly as a new stakeholder policy that affects what can be built and where. Sokow also pointed to the downstream Calabasas–San Tomas Aquino Creek/Marsh planning process by Valley Water and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (a separate restoration project) as a longer-term effort that could change downstream creek geometry and how the proposed trail connects to the Bay Trail.

Sea-level rise and flood risk were central constraints for low-lying segments: the consultants said several downstream underpasses are tidal or have standing water year-round and will face increasing frequency of flooding with sea-level rise. The team said five roadway crossings of Calabasas Creek were identified as potentially adaptable to trail underpasses, while other crossings (notably culverts or box culverts) would likely require overpasses.

Regreening and mitigation options

Because construction in creek zones requires mitigation for habitat impacts, the team presented conceptual "regreening" alternatives for the Calabasas Boulevard corridor (Pomeroy to Georgetown Place) that would remove concrete channel linings, widen the channel in places, and replace nonnative trees with native riparian plantings. Those concepts would reduce roadway width and parking in exchange for mitigation credits that could help offset trail impacts. Sokow framed the regreening exercise as an initial feasibility test rather than a final design, noting hydraulic analyses showed the three conceptual options could still pass required flood flows.

Community questions and concerns

During a questions-and-answers session, residents raised recurring concerns about safety, accessibility and maintenance. Multiple speakers asked the project team to avoid long switchbacks where possible because they can be difficult for people using wheelchairs, cargo bikes or trailers. One commenter, identified only as Betsy, urged street redesigns on Calabasas Boulevard that would slow traffic and reduce lane widths to free space for trail or greenway improvements.

Several residents expressed concerns about vegetation and maintenance: Linda (a resident) said, "Do not put eucalyptus next to bike lanes," citing falling branches and root damage to bikeways. Another resident asked about lighting; the team said the proposed trail segments would generally not include continuous lighting except where crossings over freeways or rail would require low-level illumination. Residents also raised local issues such as homelessness in creek encampments and mosquito presence; staff said those are separate policy areas (homeless services, vector control) but noted building an active public trail can sometimes change the suitability of areas for camping.

Timeline and next steps

The consultant team said public outreach is ongoing: the immediate next steps include follow-up corridor meetings in fall or winter with more refined alignments and a draft master plan circulated for comment; the team anticipates a final creek-trail master plan in 2026. Sokow cautioned that construction would occur in many smaller projects over many years if the plan is implemented, pointing to the San Tomas Aquino (San Tomas) Creek Trail as an example of phased construction carried out over many years.

What the meeting did not decide

There were no formal votes or regulatory approvals at the meeting. Staff and consultants presented options and collected public input; formal design choices, environmental approvals and interagency agreements (notably with Valley Water, Caltrain/JPB, Union Pacific and Caltrans) remain to be negotiated.

Where to get more information

Garcia said project materials and recordings will be posted on the project web page and provided the project email for questions. The team encouraged residents to sign up for project updates on the webpage to receive notices about future meetings and plan publications.

Ending

Consultants and city staff reiterated the project is in master-plan development and emphasized coordination with multiple agencies will determine which alignment and crossing options are feasible. The team said they will return to the community with refined designs and a draft plan for public review in the coming months.