The Ronan Channel Trail project in Gilroy was one of the big winners Tuesday when Santa Clara Valley Water District authorized more than $730,000 in grants to local organizations and municipalities for projects aimed at preventing pollution, increasing trails, open space and enhancing the environment.
Gilroy’s Ronan Channel Trail project – which runs from Sixth Street to Leavesley Road – follows the $1.5 million Lions Creek Development that wrapped up in 2012, which opened up a whole new world to local walkers, runners and cyclists.
“This is awesome. This is so beautiful. The city is doing something really good,” said Phil Padron, 58, back in February 2012 as he walked along the Lions Creek Trail that meanders through bucolic countryside from Kern Avenue to Farrell Avenue.
The development of Ronan Channel Trail will mark another stepping stone in the growth of Gilroy’s urban trail system. The far-reaching vision is laid out in the city’s 2005 Trails Master Plan; a “long-range blueprint for a comprehensive citywide trails system” that includes 43.2 miles of trails. There is no timeline in the master plan, rather, trails will be realized over time as funding for projects becomes available.
The $190,000 the City received for the project was the second-largest grant given out by the SCVWD in this round of funding. The money comes from the district’s voter-approved “Clean, Safe Creeks and Natural Flood Protection Plan” and is issued through four grant programs: Trail and Open Space; Environmental Enhancement Implementation; Environmental Enhancement Planning; and Watershed Stewardship. Gilroy’s grant falls into the Trail and Open Space category.
With 70.89 miles of trails already completed through the Trail and Open Space Grant Program, explained Marta Lugo of SCVWD, the district has surpassed the goal set by Clean, Safe Creeks of creating 70 miles of public access to trails and open space.
