Santa Clara staff outline Hetch Hetchy corridor trail plan; major obstacles include SFPUC right-of-way and a railroad overcrossing

Santa Clara Public Works presented a Creek Trail Network master-plan study for the Hetch Hetchy corridor in a virtual public meeting, saying the corridor could connect Sunnyvale and Mountain View through Santa Clara to the Guadalupe River but would require negotiations with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and major engineering work.

"The vast majority of the land is owned by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. It's approximately an 80 foot wide right of way," said Jonna Sokal, principal trail planner for the Creek Trail Network expansion master plan, summarizing the project ownership and constraints. Sokal said the right-of-way carries major drinking-water pipelines from Yosemite into Santa Clara Valley and limits what can be built atop it.

The presentation described a roughly east–west route from Calabasas Creek through the Great America/Levi's Stadium area, across Union Pacific tracks near Lafayette and into Lick Mill Park, Ulistac Natural Area and the Guadalupe River. The corridor crosses three creeks and would likely need three earthen levees, a pedestrian/bicycle bridge over San Tomas Aquino Creek and a substantial overcrossing to span Lafayette and the railroad.

Why it matters: the proposed trail would create an off-street commuter and recreational connection to commuter rail and light rail, parks, and…