Large GRT segment closure for a 3.5 weeks

[Mikhail Haurylau]

Team, 

To my dismay, I just ran into this sign on the Guadalupe River Trail. After talking to the security person, Valley Water is closing this ~3 mile section of the GRT for some pipe repair.  

No contact information, no explanation why, no heads up. 

I ended up taking this "sidewalk" on the Montague to get to that detour, where i encountered several bicyclists going against the traffic on a stretch of expressway with no bike lane or sidewalk (the shoulder pictured below disappears into a turning lane after 200ft). 

And this is the kind of intersections which the "detour" is taking you through. 

I did not find any trail closure information on either the City, Parks or Valley Water websites.

Do any of you know any contacts at the Valley Water who we can give grief to? Looks like they don't give a crap about the trail users when closing the trail for almost the whole months. 

@Shiloh Ballard , has the SVBC been notified about this closure? I've noticed your old post from 2015 about GRT closure, but this time it looks like we got completely blindsighted. What can SVBC do to prevent this kind of issues? This closure alone might hurt local biking / walking more than we can make up for. 

Mikhail

[buki wilson]

Mikhail,

I saw it in Twitter on the SJDOT feed, but I haunt them daily so that’s why I saw it:

https://twitter.com/sanjosetrails/status/1552723726654812160?s=21&t=bx4uEd-b6ttXvGUVK-ZiTQ

Buki 

---

From: Mikhail Haurylau <haur...@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 2, 2022 1:01:52 PM
To: SVBC San Jose Team <san...@bikesiliconvalley.org>
Cc: Shiloh Ballard <ballar...@gmail.com>
Subject: [SAN JOSE] Large GRT segment closure for a 3.5 weeks

 

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[Mikhail Haurylau]

Thanks, Buki. I see that this tweet is from July 28. Pretty late, but better than nothing. I am surprised I missed that tweet - i am following that account too. 

I wonder what prompted closure of such a long stretch for so long, and if this could have been broken down into smaller segments or shorter schedule.   

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[Ian Emmons]

They have to do maintenance on the creek every few years to dig out sediment from the creekbed.

         -Ian Emmons
               I...@emmons.name

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[Tim Claes]

Can we just use the West Bank/left bank? 

https://goo.gl/maps/UirpCKrqjTJRt8y6A (link won't show correct route on mobile)

Stretches of that are not paved so no good for roadies but for anybody else that seems a much better solution vs gambling with your life on 1st street.

This is part of my commute, but I won't be able to try this alternative for 2 weeks orso due to scheduling conflicts. Happy report back then unless someone else beats me to it

Tim

---

From: Mikhail Haurylau <haur...@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 2, 2022 2:28 PM

To: SVBC San Jose Team <san...@bikesiliconvalley.org>

Subject: Re: [SAN JOSE] Large GRT segment closure for a 3.5 weeks

 

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[Ian Emmons]

first street isn't that bad :) it's got bike lanes now too.. 

to be honest i usually take zanker and they did a really nice job repaving that during the pandemic.

         -Ian Emmons
               I...@emmons.name

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[Diana Crumedy]

Hey Mikhail, 

Moving forward we will be in regular communication with SJ DOT to be alerted of significant closures like these, so that we are better able to keep you all in the know.

As we discussed earlier I am looking forward to you joining us at the next check-in with DOT Mikhail. 

Thanks for flagging this! Sorry for your unpleasant experience on GRT today.

All the best,

Diana Crumedy 

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[Tim Claes]

Hi Diane,

Can we ask SJ DOT why the detour does is not over the west/left bank? That seems a much more obvious choice for a detour (for anybody but roadies on 23c's). For people who walk also, and there are a lot of them. Doesn't make sense to me.

We started this conversation on how this would undo trying to get people to bike. Most people are not 'road warriors'. Those hard core riders are over-represented in SVBC. I know some of you will ride in any weather, any time of day, irrespective of presence of adequate bike infrastructure.  But again that is not most people.

Tim

---

From: Diana Crumedy <di...@bikesiliconvalley.org>
Sent: Tuesday, August 2, 2022 7:03 PM

To: SVBC San Jose Team <san...@bikesiliconvalley.org>
Cc: Shiloh Ballard <ballar...@gmail.com>

Subject: Re: [SAN JOSE] Large GRT segment closure for a 3.5 weeks

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[Richard M]

Trail maintenance belongs to Valley Water, and trail issues to San Jose Parks. SJDOT tweeted about the closure but they have no influence or any other control of the GRT. SJ Parks Trails has historically been pretty good about getting issues like this corrected. I haven't had the opportunity to interact with San Jose's current trail program manager though.

West bank mostly isn't unreasonable, and I don't know why anyone would think "roadies" can't ride it. I kind of recall some trickiness with the entries on Trimble, like there's a fence across the trail on the eastbound side of Trimble but a gate you can traverse on the westbound side. I know you have that situation at Montague. The gates are open on both side of Tasman on the west bank of Guadalupe.  The bit between Trimble and Montague can feel a little bit shady. I don't know if anyone is currently camped directly on the trail or not.

North 1st is kind of the usual detour for when it rains, and light rail from Trimble to Tasman is also an option if you want to avoid traffic, though you still need to get to North 1st.

Richard

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[Richard M]

Correction: SJ Trails tweeted it, not SJDOT. My mistake.

http://www.cyclelicio.us/ is yummy!

[Mikhail Haurylau]

  100% agreed, Tom! 

Even though i consider myself a "hard core rider", and I ride any time of the day and year, the 1st street detour is very unconfortable for me (in particular Trimble or Montague approach to it).

@Diana Crumedy , are you sure DOT even has a jurisdiction over this part of trail? This looks like predominantly Valley Water domain, with SJ Park&Rec Dept as their liaison to trail users. I suspect DOT was not alerted about this themselves.

Generally speaking, I also consider this as a missed opportunity to SVBC. The warning / detour sign was clearly made by someone who did not care / does not know about bicycling. If we could at least give heads up / give better detour directions, it could help with brand recognition and get us some "street cred". Otherwise we will keep getting the questions like "so what exactly the SVBC is doing?"

See the example of the Strave post from a trail user below. WE should be doing it. 

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[Richard M]

I was just reminded that Valley Water recommended the west bank trail when they did this work in 2019. Here's video of that west bank trail from Trimble to River Oaks.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFkleYkixf0

This was 2019. I haven't done any guerilla trail maintenance on that west bank since before early 2020 so it's possibly impassable with trees and heavy sediment at the Montague underpass.

Richard

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[Martin Delson]

Mikhail, I just forwarded your email (minus your contact information) to one of the directors of the Water District who I happen to have met a while back.

-Martin

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[Tim Claes]

I replied to the SJ trails tweet saying basically what we discussed. Fast is not in their vocabulary. Should we tweet to the mayor?

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From: 'Martin Delson' via SVBC San Jose Team <san...@bikesiliconvalley.org>
Sent: Wednesday, August 3, 2022 9:49 PM
To: san...@bikesiliconvalley.org <san...@bikesiliconvalley.org>

Subject: Re: [SAN JOSE] Large GRT segment closure for a 3.5 weeks

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[Richard M]

The avenue for action is emailing park.c...@sanjoseca.gov. I don't know that Liz (the current trails program manager) is big on Twitter. Her main job is writing grant requests.

Richard

http://www.cyclelicio.us/ is yummy!

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[Mikhail Haurylau]

Good suggestion, Richard. I will forward my message to that email address. Although if Liz is not big on Twitter, she might not be big on email either ;) 

@Diana Crumedy , could you please also follow up separately with Liz? It is too late to do anything for this particular closure (the damage is done), but I hope we can get a bit more of heads-up next time. BTW, any chance we could have a meeting with Park&Rec staff similarly to what you have with DOT? 

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[Diana Crumedy]

Hello All,

I spoke with Ryan from DOT and he suggested that I contact Liz with the Trail Dept. I just sent an email to Liz and requested an ongoing check-in with her similar to the one with SJ DOT. I also made a request for information on any additional closures that may be in the pipeline, so that we are all in the loop. I will keep you all posted.

All the best,

Diana Crumedy

Diana Crumedy

Associate Director of Advocacy and Community Development

408-476-0041 ext 226

Twitter @bikeSV | Instagram @bikesiliconvalley

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[Denis Lynch]

Not totally sure about the details, but I rode this Tuesday. Coming from the Bay you can ignore the first warning to leave the trail. It seems premature because you can take the nice exit at River Oaks. By my reckoning, they say to continue on 1st to Trimble because there's no safe way to get across Montague Expressway. A group of us decided to walk our bikes across -- what a horrible idea that was! Thank you courteous drivers!

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[Mikhail Haurylau]

Ugh, just the thought of walking across Montague gives me shivers. 

I have just sent a message to Park&Rec "concerns" email. I hope they check it, and it does not go to "trash" folder automatically. 

Thank you

Mikhail "The Squeaky Wheel" Haurylau

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[Diana Crumedy]

Hello Mikhail, 

I was able to  connect with Liz and she is open to answering any questions regarding closure.  Feel free to  forward your questions to me and I  will  talk with Liz to see what we can do. 

All the best,

Diana Crumedy 

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[Ian Emmons]

Part of the reason many of us are numb (hi Richard :) ) to these closures is that the GRT floods when it rains so you have to use these other routes to get home anyhow. and the places it floods are the underpasses so theres really no getting around things.

admittedly it's a drought and we really haven't gotten much rain lately but hopefully we get more this fall

         -Ian Emmons
               I...@emmons.name

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[Tim Claes]

Ian, thumbs up for letting nothing stand between you and biking, clearly you area a road warrior. But I think the lack of heads up and current detour discourages non-hardcore riders

I use Richard's Flood status monitor and if it's flooded, I'll skip riding that day to live & ride another day. Especially since those days correlate to after dark evening commutes in the rain.

But since this IS summer and the left bank trail is most certainly not flooded, Diane, can you please confirm that you will just ask Liz why we don't just use the left bank detour like in 2019?

This trail arguably is the crown jewel of the SJ Trail system with 1M users/year, and this is how they deal with it?

---

From: Ian Emmons <I...@emmons.name>
Sent: Thursday, August 4, 2022 1:34 PM
To: san...@bikesiliconvalley.org <san...@bikesiliconvalley.org>
Subject: Re: [SAN JOSE] Large GRT segment closure for a 3.5 weeks

 

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[Mikhail Haurylau]

I have been out of town for a couple of days, but I was finally able to post better detour signage. Better late than never...

(thanks to Tim C for the underpass picture)

BTW, it turns Valley Water only really closed the Montague underpass, and only during regular working hours, and only for equipment access to the river bed. Closing 3.5 miles of trail 24 hours a day for >3 weeks looks like a major overkill for such an activity. 

Also, still no reply to my messages to both the "public concerns" Park&Rec and Valley Center. It is as if messages are just going directly to their trash bins.

No notification of the upcoming 101 underpass anywhere either. @Diana Crumedy , can you please check with Liz when she is going to post the notification? Is there a policy on how much in advance trail users should be notified? 

Mikhail

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[Richard M]

Mikhael asks:

Is there a policy on how much in advance trail users should be notified? 

City of San Jose *requires* closure and detour information is posted for two weeks prior to the closure.

https://www.sanjoseca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/29669/636692603723130000

Historically, Valley Water has always done this, so this is really weird.

Richard

[Martin]

As a follow-up, the Water District has designated Yvonne Arroyo as the contact person if similar issues should arise in the future. Her email is yar...@valleywater.org.

-Martin

On Aug 8, 2022, at 8:34 AM, Richard M <rmas...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Mikhail Haurylau]

It is good to meet you, Yvonne! I am looking forward to collaborating with you - we are happy to help with bike routes, signs, social media etc.

I am also happy that Valley Water and Park & Rec listened to our advice and improved the signage. The signs for this closure are much more clear, and explain the nature of work, and hours when the trail will be closed - much appreciated! 

I can only hope that the work does not take until September 15, and the trail can be opened earlier than that - it is a very inconvenient location to close.  

 

[Mikhail Haurylau]

Yvonne:

We can definitely do that. Indeed different trails have different priority/impact, based both on the number of daily users and alternative detour options. Luckily, we have several sources like trail user count records and Strava "heat maps" which can be used to prioritize the trail segments. 

Would you mind sending us a map of trails managed by the Valley Water? We can take a stab at segment priority, perhaps using a 3-level system (moderate/important/critical). 

We should also brainstorm on a "checklist" of user notifications, including physical signs and social media, to warn the maximum number of trail users about trail closures. 

Team: let me know your thoughts on this topic! 

Thank you

Mikhail

On Wed, Aug 10, 2022 at 11:00 AM Yvonne Arroyo <yar...@valleywater.org> wrote:

Hi Mikhail,

 

Yes, it is good to meet you, too.  We appreciate your feedback.  It would be good to know which trails or trail reaches are most used by your members (high traffic corridors) in any of the cities within Santa Clara County.  It would also be helpful to understand the various ways your organization currently receives information on potential trail closures, and if you have any suggestions on improvements to the way potential trail closures are communicated, we would appreciate any ideas so we can include them in discussions with our trail partners who operate and maintain the trail system.

 

Thank you,

 

YVONNE ARROYO
Senior Water Resources Specialist

Community Projects Review Unit

YAr...@valleywater.org

Tel. (408) 630-2319   Cell. (408) 529-3792

SANTA CLARA VALLEY WATER DISTRICT

5750 Almaden Expressway, San Jose CA 95118
www.valleywater.org

 

Clean Water  ^.  Healthy Environment  ^.  Flood Protection

 

 

 

From: Mikhail Haurylau <haur...@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 09, 2022 10:25 PM
To: Martin <martin...@yahoo.com>
Cc: SVBC San Jose Team <san...@bikesiliconvalley.org>; Tim Claes <timcl...@hotmail.com>; Diana Crumedy <di...@bikesiliconvalley.org>; Yvonne Arroyo <yar...@valleywater.org>
Subject: Re: [SAN JOSE] Large GRT segment closure for a 3.5 weeks

 

 

It is good to meet you, Yvonne! I am looking forward to collaborating with you - we are happy to help with bike routes, signs, social media etc.

[Diana Crumedy]

Hello Yvonne,

Thanks for reaching out.  It's great to meet you. My name is Diana Crumedy, I am the  Associate Director of Advocacy and Community Development with the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition.

I am in communication with Liz Sewell with Trails,  and she has been providing information on the GRT closures but I  would love your suggestion on whom to reach out to, to be kept abreast of potential trail closures.

Additionally if you  are available or if there is a more appropriate person I would like to schedule some regular check ins   to learn more about upcoming projects and how we can assist and support  you with getting the word out to the community.

All the best,

Diana Crumedy 

On Wed, Aug 10, 2022, 11:00 AM Yvonne Arroyo <yar...@valleywater.org> wrote:

Hi Mikhail,

 

Yes, it is good to meet you, too.  We appreciate your feedback.  It would be good to know which trails or trail reaches are most used by your members (high traffic corridors) in any of the cities within Santa Clara County.  It would also be helpful to understand the various ways your organization currently receives information on potential trail closures, and if you have any suggestions on improvements to the way potential trail closures are communicated, we would appreciate any ideas so we can include them in discussions with our trail partners who operate and maintain the trail system.

 

Thank you,

 

YVONNE ARROYO
Senior Water Resources Specialist

Community Projects Review Unit

YAr...@valleywater.org

Tel. (408) 630-2319   Cell. (408) 529-3792

SANTA CLARA VALLEY WATER DISTRICT

5750 Almaden Expressway, San Jose CA 95118
www.valleywater.org

 

Clean Water  ^.  Healthy Environment  ^.  Flood Protection

 

 

 

From: Mikhail Haurylau <haur...@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 09, 2022 10:25 PM
To: Martin <martin...@yahoo.com>
Cc: SVBC San Jose Team <san...@bikesiliconvalley.org>; Tim Claes <timcl...@hotmail.com>; Diana Crumedy <di...@bikesiliconvalley.org>; Yvonne Arroyo <yar...@valleywater.org>
Subject: Re: [SAN JOSE] Large GRT segment closure for a 3.5 weeks

 

 

It is good to meet you, Yvonne! I am looking forward to collaborating with you - we are happy to help with bike routes, signs, social media etc.

[Tim Claes]

Hi Yvonne and Diana,

I spoke to one of the security agents at the 101 underpass this morning. They confirmed that as of tomorrow, the Guadelupe River Trail (GRT) would indeed close, but not at the 101 underpass. They said it would instead close at Trimble underpass. And that they would put up a barrier to prevent any cyclists coming through. So the underpass under 101 would remain open actually. Can you confirm or deny that information?

If that is the case, could we please re-do the detour map so we just use the left bank there? Left bank will be much safer and is basically the same distance vs otherwsie a 2 mile detour.

There seems to be so much confusion on this, but I think it's worth to get this right. According to the annual survey, GRT at the nearby station has 2000 daily users or 750k/yr (see page 12) https://www.sanjoseca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/79715/637726542962300000

Since this is happening tomorrow, can we look into this immediately?

Thanks!

Tim

P.S.: for critical connectors on high traffic trails (such as the 101 underpass of GRT), it would be great if we could at least still have a pedestrian crossing. There almost always is enough space for workers to walk, why not allow users walk as well? I would rather dismount and walk 50 yards in my cleats vs doing a 2 mile detour over a 4-6 lane, high traffic road

---

From: Diana Crumedy <di...@bikesiliconvalley.org>
Sent: Wednesday, August 10, 2022 8:47 PM
To: Yvonne Arroyo <yar...@valleywater.org>
Cc: Mikhail Haurylau <haur...@gmail.com>; Martin <martin...@yahoo.com>; SVBC San Jose Team <san...@bikesiliconvalley.org>; Tim Claes <timcl...@hotmail.com>

[Tim Claes]

Liz,

We received the same information that the trail is closed at Trimble and at Airport parkway. But in reality airport parkway is NOT closed and only the underpass at Trimble will be closed as of tomorrow (according to the workers on the trail). Can you check again with the team and confront them with what the workers on the actual site told us?

Could just use the left bank like was done in 2019 See video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFkleYkixf0 Maybe that was before your time? FWIW, I rode the left bank a couple of days ago, and there are no gates, no obstacles, no signs, no overgrown bushes, no homeless tent cities, the trail is in tip top shape. It's just gravel.

I strongly disagree that the DOT found the lowest travel stress as possible detour for the upcoming Tasman closure. That would be the left bank. I think they just optimized within the city limits of San Jose. We need to remove that restriction, seems very suboptimal. Can you impress the urgency on your colleagues from Santa Clara city? And if you get a no, inquire why or how this has changed since 2019?

I have a feeling a lot of knowledge and history has been lost in a few years

thanks,

Tim

---

From: Sewell, Liz <Elizabet...@sanjoseca.gov>
Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2022 1:07 PM
To: Yvonne Arroyo <yar...@valleywater.org>; Tim Claes <timcl...@hotmail.com>; Diana Crumedy <di...@bikesiliconvalley.org>

Cc: Mikhail Haurylau <haur...@gmail.com>; Martin <martin...@yahoo.com>; SVBC San Jose Team <san...@bikesiliconvalley.org>

Subject: RE: [SAN JOSE] Large GRT segment closure for a 3.5 weeks

 

Thank you, Yvonne.  According to the Valley Water project team that I have been communicating with, the route is closed at Trimble and at Airport Parkway.  See notice here:

https://twitter.com/sanjosetrails?lang=en

 

I attached the GRT-Airport Parkway Closure map that the City worked on with DOT, Silicon Valley Bike Coalition, and VTA to ensure the Trimble/Airport Parkway detour route is as low-travel-stress as possible.

 

The City is waiting on confirmation from Valley Water that the west bank (located in Santa Clara jurisdiction) is a continuous interim trail versus a maintenance road.  There are different liabilities associated with both of those types of infrastructure.  Once confirmation of route viability is obtained, I am happy to change the re-route maps.

 

I’ve also attached the Tasman closure that is anticipated to begin on August 29. The map is currently under review by City DOT and our friends at Silicon Valley Bike Coalition. Please feel free to let me know if you have any feedback.

 

Liz

 

From: Yvonne Arroyo <yar...@valleywater.org>
Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2022 12:27 PM
To: Tim Claes <timcl...@hotmail.com>; Diana Crumedy <di...@bikesiliconvalley.org>
Cc: Mikhail Haurylau <haur...@gmail.com>; Martin <martin...@yahoo.com>; SVBC San Jose Team <san...@bikesiliconvalley.org>; Sewell, Liz <Elizabet...@sanjoseca.gov>
Subject: RE: [SAN JOSE] Large GRT segment closure for a 3.5 weeks

 

 

[External Email]

 

Hi Tim,

 

I am working on obtaining clarification for you.  Our communications team has updated our trails information page recently, too, in case you haven’t seen it.  It will contain links to the various city’s trail detour plans, when available.  It gives the public a heads up on planned work that may affect a trail:  https://www.valleywater.org/project-updates/your-neighborhood/traffic-and-trail-impacts

We are working on a process to keep it updated with the relevant information going forward.  When I hear back on the Guadalupe closure, I will let you know.  I have also cc’d Liz Sewell so that the City of San Jose can understand your concerns and questions related to the closure and provide any additional information.

 

Yvonne

 

This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.

 

[Martin Delson]

Regarding Mikhail's request, "Team: let me know your thoughts on this topic!"

I think responsible parties should strive to produce an integrated list of closures at a single web address that would merge notifications (along with dates and recommended detours) from all parties: the Water District, VTA, Corps of Engineers (e.g. for the Alviso levee trail), the County, the City of San Jose, other cities with trail maintenance responsibilities, etc.

 

If the list could be expanded to included trails in San Mateo County, so much the better!

-MGD

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/a/bikesiliconvalley.org/d/msgid/sanjose/BYAPR04MB453553F2A59129B7A6F31ADBF0649%40BYAPR04MB4535.namprd04.prod.outlook.com.

[Tim Claes]

Just to add to that. See below for the link of the city of Santa Clara's Trail map. That whole section of left bank is on the map and designated as a Class I, unpaved bicycle path So unless this map is out of date, this should be good to go as an alternative

https://www.santaclaraca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/1326/635713044859030000

---

From: san...@bikesiliconvalley.org <san...@bikesiliconvalley.org> on behalf of Tim Claes <timcl...@hotmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2022 1:42 PM
To: Sewell, Liz <Elizabet...@sanjoseca.gov>; Yvonne Arroyo <yar...@valleywater.org>; Diana Crumedy <di...@bikesiliconvalley.org>

Cc: Mikhail Haurylau <haur...@gmail.com>; Martin <martin...@yahoo.com>; SVBC San Jose Team <san...@bikesiliconvalley.org>

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/a/bikesiliconvalley.org/d/msgid/sanjose/BYAPR04MB453553F2A59129B7A6F31ADBF0649%40BYAPR04MB4535.namprd04.prod.outlook.com.

[Tim Claes]

Thank you Liz an Yvonne!

Thank you for the quick response and for cross checking. And thank you for the extra resources both of you were able to secure, that is much appreciated!

This evening, I biked the west trail from Tasman to 101 and can confirm that it is fully accessible (even the part below trimble). IF the project supervisor can prioritize the 101 underpass, that would be great. Because if he needs to block just the trimble underpass, that is not an issue as you can exit the trail, go west on trimble, cross around the red light at Trimble & de la cruz and rejoin the trail. But I understand that is not so easy for them to organize their work that way.  Thanks again for running this to ground!

So the only thing left to do is to get city of Santa Clara to collaborate to use the West Bank for the Tasman detour. Let me know if you need any help. Or SVBC might be able to connect you to the right person if you don't already have access? Much appreciated in advance! This is more for others than for me, I know where to go now 😉  

I fully understand the need for maintenance to minimize the risk of flooding. Nobody wants that. And we all know this maintenance is a recurring need, so hopefully it will all go a little smoother next time!

Tim

---

From: Sewell, Liz <Elizabet...@sanjoseca.gov>
Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2022 5:29 PM
To: Yvonne Arroyo <yar...@valleywater.org>; Tim Claes <timcl...@hotmail.com>; Diana Crumedy <di...@bikesiliconvalley.org>

Cc: Mikhail Haurylau <haur...@gmail.com>; Martin <martin...@yahoo.com>; SVBC San Jose Team <san...@bikesiliconvalley.org>

Subject: RE: [SAN JOSE] Large GRT segment closure for a 3.5 weeks

 

Hi Tim,

 

According to Valley Water O&M, the east side of the trail will be closed starting Monday, August 15 between Trimble and Airport Parkway including the 101 underpass. The west maintenance road dead ends at 101.

 

A supervisor from the project team has mentioned that there are increased resources to make faster progress and Valley Water is hoping to complete the project much sooner than anticipated end date.

 

Please let me know if you have any further suggestions to the map provided earlier, we are open to ideas.

 

Liz

 

From: Yvonne Arroyo <yar...@valleywater.org>
Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2022 12:27 PM
To: Tim Claes <timcl...@hotmail.com>; Diana Crumedy <di...@bikesiliconvalley.org>
Cc: Mikhail Haurylau <haur...@gmail.com>; Martin <martin...@yahoo.com>; SVBC San Jose Team <san...@bikesiliconvalley.org>; Sewell, Liz <Elizabet...@sanjoseca.gov>
Subject: RE: [SAN JOSE] Large GRT segment closure for a 3.5 weeks

 

 

[External Email]

 

Hi Tim,

 

I am working on obtaining clarification for you.  Our communications team has updated our trails information page recently, too, in case you haven’t seen it.  It will contain links to the various city’s trail detour plans, when available.  It gives the public a heads up on planned work that may affect a trail:  https://www.valleywater.org/project-updates/your-neighborhood/traffic-and-trail-impacts

We are working on a process to keep it updated with the relevant information going forward.  When I hear back on the Guadalupe closure, I will let you know.  I have also cc’d Liz Sewell so that the City of San Jose can understand your concerns and questions related to the closure and provide any additional information.

 

Yvonne

 

From: Tim Claes <timcl...@hotmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2022 10:28 AM

 

This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.

 

[Tim Claes]

Just to put a small addition to Mikhail's point:

There is a specific edition of the strava heatmap, Called Metro, that is available only to city planners. I don't know if it is useful, but I am sure that Liz and/or SJ DOT already have access. https://metro.strava.com/. I don't have access.

I am not aware of an iOS or Android equivalent. My minor quibble with Strava is that it might be skewed towards 'excercise' vs transportation. e.g. when my kids bike to school, they don't record their rides on Strava. Metro will probably still be better than us opining on the regular version of the heatmap or depend on the manual counting exercise done by the city, that only seems to happen 1x year and only on 10 orso points in the whole network. 

If nothing else I hope that Strave Metro will have more detail, more real time in in much more detail than what is currently avaialble

Tim

---

From: 'Martin Delson' via SVBC San Jose Team <san...@bikesiliconvalley.org>
Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2022 2:11 PM
To: san...@bikesiliconvalley.org <san...@bikesiliconvalley.org>
Cc: Mikhail Haurylau <haur...@gmail.com>; Sewell, Liz <elizabet...@sanjoseca.gov>; Yvonne Arroyo <yar...@valleywater.org>; Diana Crumedy <di...@bikesiliconvalley.org>

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/a/bikesiliconvalley.org/d/msgid/sanjose/472590513.330726.1660252265073%40mail.yahoo.com.

[Tim Oey]

Hi Tim C!

Glad to see you are super active in bike advocacy and that you are still with Silver Spring/Itron. Say hi for me to the old Silver Spring folks who are still there :-).

Regarding Strava Metro, SVBC also has a metro account (nonprofits and gov't can get free-ish accounts, I think others can purchase accounts). Strava Metro can be very helpful and interesting. I use it for a number of things including to measure the impact of Bike to Work/Wherever Day(s). At the moment it is the best big data tool I have used  to see somewhat detailed bicycling patterns. While it skews toward recreational riders there are a number of bicycle commuters (like me) who use it a lot and these cyclists also tend to pick the best bicycling routes. I've also seen some info out of Streetlight Data and while promising its data was not as good for me as Strava Metro. SVBC does NOT have a Streetlight Data account (much bigger bucks required).

Note that the staff at SVBC are overloaded with a ton of projects and work -- we keep running out of bandwidth because there is so much to do (!!!) and we have so few staff to cover it all.  We cannot respond to all requests and have to carefully budget our time. If you or anyone else knows how to send much bigger bucks our way (say doubling or tripling our current yearly budget), we could hire a lot more staff to address more projects as well as purchase better tools for us all to use :-)

If you have not already, please attend the Silicon Valley Bike Summit this Thursday -- https://BikeSIliconValley.org/summit

Also sign up for SVBC's Ride to the Future at https://bikesiliconvalley.org/events/bike-to-the-future

Again, we need a lot more money to get a lot more done for all of you ;-). 

BTW, I've always found it frustrating that people are willing to throw trillions of dollars at already ridiculously wealthy folks to buy the latest tech gadgets, etc., but not to nonprofits working to make our world a better place. For a good read on this subject, check out Uncharitable (https://www.amazon.com/Uncharitable-Restraints-Nonprofits-Contemporary-Perspectives/dp/1584659556)

Thanks!

Tim Oey

(408) 624-0200 Program Manager | he/him/his

LCI #6033

Take one of our classes to become a Smart Cyclist!!

Register for Bike Summit 2022 (to be held on Aug 18 @Millbrae)

Donate to SVBC to make our streets safer for everyone!

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/a/bikesiliconvalley.org/d/msgid/sanjose/BYAPR04MB4535369A6F83B911D1D48E4EF0699%40BYAPR04MB4535.namprd04.prod.outlook.com.

[Mikhail Haurylau]

Yvonne, 

Thank you for keeping us in the loop! Your explanation of the work schedule let me take the trail on the way from work after 5pm - which is a great help! 

I notice that the crew is wrapping up the hwy 101 underpass - today the mounds of sediment were completely removed. 

If the Trimble underpass is next, I suspect the crew will need to close either North or South access to the Trimble road underpass. May i suggest to close North access (green highlight) instead of the South access? This will let trail users cross the Trimble Rd bridge and use the West Trail as a detour. 

Thank you

Mikhail

On Thu, Aug 11, 2022 at 5:24 PM Yvonne Arroyo <yar...@valleywater.org> wrote:

Hi everyone,

 

The latest information I received from our O&M team today is:

 

Trail will be open tomorrow (August 12^th)  but will be closed starting Monday (August 15^th ) from Trimble Rd to Airport Parkway, including the underpass on US 101 Hwy.  The west maintenance road is not paved, is surfaced with gravel, and dead ends at the north side of Hwy 101 from Trimble.  The trail from Trimble to Airport Parkway is outside the City of Santa Clara trail agreement area (the agreement for their Guadalupe River unpaved west bank trail extends from Trimble to Highway 237).

 

Valley Water has increased resources (equipment, trucks etc.) to make faster progress, and we are hoping to complete the project much sooner than anticipated end date.  Please let me know if you have any questions, thanks.

 

Yvonne

 

From: Sewell, Liz <Elizabet...@sanjoseca.gov>
Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2022 1:08 PM
To: Yvonne Arroyo <yar...@valleywater.org>; Tim Claes <timcl...@hotmail.com>; Diana Crumedy <di...@bikesiliconvalley.org>
Cc: Mikhail Haurylau <haur...@gmail.com>; Martin <martin...@yahoo.com>; SVBC San Jose Team <san...@bikesiliconvalley.org>

Subject: RE: [SAN JOSE] Large GRT segment closure for a 3.5 weeks

 

Thank you, Yvonne.  According to the Valley Water project team that I have been communicating with, the route is closed at Trimble and at Airport Parkway.  See notice here:

https://twitter.com/sanjosetrails?lang=en

 

I attached the GRT-Airport Parkway Closure map that the City worked on with DOT, Silicon Valley Bike Coalition, and VTA to ensure the Trimble/Airport Parkway detour route is as low-travel-stress as possible.

 

The City is waiting on confirmation from Valley Water that the west bank (located in Santa Clara jurisdiction) is a continuous interim trail versus a maintenance road.  There are different liabilities associated with both of those types of infrastructure.  Once confirmation of route viability is obtained, I am happy to change the re-route maps.

 

I’ve also attached the Tasman closure that is anticipated to begin on August 29. The map is currently under review by City DOT and our friends at Silicon Valley Bike Coalition. Please feel free to let me know if you have any feedback.

 

Liz

 

From: Yvonne Arroyo <yar...@valleywater.org>
Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2022 12:27 PM
To: Tim Claes <timcl...@hotmail.com>; Diana Crumedy <di...@bikesiliconvalley.org>
Cc: Mikhail Haurylau <haur...@gmail.com>; Martin <martin...@yahoo.com>; SVBC San Jose Team <san...@bikesiliconvalley.org>; Sewell, Liz <Elizabet...@sanjoseca.gov>
Subject: RE: [SAN JOSE] Large GRT segment closure for a 3.5 weeks

 

 

[External Email]

 

Hi Tim,

 

I am working on obtaining clarification for you.  Our communications team has updated our trails information page recently, too, in case you haven’t seen it.  It will contain links to the various city’s trail detour plans, when available.  It gives the public a heads up on planned work that may affect a trail:  https://www.valleywater.org/project-updates/your-neighborhood/traffic-and-trail-impacts

We are working on a process to keep it updated with the relevant information going forward.  When I hear back on the Guadalupe closure, I will let you know.  I have also cc’d Liz Sewell so that the City of San Jose can understand your concerns and questions related to the closure and provide any additional information.

 

Yvonne

 

From: Tim Claes <timcl...@hotmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2022 10:28 AM

 

This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.

 

[Adina Levin]

Hi, all,

Do you want to know where candidates on the November ballot stand on issues relating to biking, walking and transit? SVBC is a co-sponsor of a project.  

City Council members and county supervisors make key decisions about making our streets safer for walking and bicycling, and serve on the boards of transit agencies and regional bodies like MTC. 

Your help is needed distributing the questionnaire to candidates and collecting responses. Please sign up for this Zoom meeting on Sunday at 5pm to learn about the project and get the tools you need to get responses from your local candidates.

https://actionnetwork.org/events/candidate-questionnaire-project-transit-walking-bicycling

Here is the draft questionnaire. Is there a specific question you want to ask in your council district? Add it to the page

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GKSVpz_wZ1BQ6yTU1nyEyoS6JP-wKTJD_fIhAlnzvXQ/edit

This project is co-sponsored by Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, BikeEastBay, Transport Oakland, Peninsula for Everyone, South Bay Yimby, Seamless Bay Area, Transbay Coalition.

Thanks,

- Adina

Adina Levin

SVBC Policy Committee

Seamless Bay Area

650-646-4344

[Mikhail Haurylau]

Thank you for sharing the good news, Yvonne! I would also like to thank your crew for keeping the trail as open as possible throughout the project, and for fielding all the questions from the trail users - the security guards were very friendly and helpful. 

Mikhail

P.S. If you still would like our team's input on the trail priority, can you please kindly share the map of trails under the Valley Water jurisdiction?

On Wed, Aug 17, 2022 at 5:53 PM Yvonne Arroyo <yar...@valleywater.org> wrote:

Hi Mikhail,

 

Our O&M staff has indicated that we have no plans to perform work at the Trimble underpass, so a detour there will not be necessary.  Our crews are working real hard to complete this work earlier than planned due to the public’s heavy use of the trail.

 

Yvonne

 

From: Mikhail Haurylau <haur...@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2022 10:02 PM
To: Yvonne Arroyo <yar...@valleywater.org>
Cc: Sewell, Liz <elizabet...@sanjoseca.gov>; Tim Claes <timcl...@hotmail.com>; Diana Crumedy <di...@bikesiliconvalley.org>; Martin <martin...@yahoo.com>; SVBC San Jose Team <san...@bikesiliconvalley.org>
Subject: Re: [SAN JOSE] Large GRT segment closure for a 3.5 weeks

 

*** This email originated from outside of Valley Water. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. ***

 

Yvonne, 

 

Thank you for keeping us in the loop! Your explanation of the work schedule let me take the trail on the way from work after 5pm - which is a great help! 

 

I notice that the crew is wrapping up the hwy 101 underpass - today the mounds of sediment were completely removed. 

 

If the Trimble underpass is next, I suspect the crew will need to close either North or South access to the Trimble road underpass. May i suggest to close North access (green highlight) instead of the South access? This will let trail users cross the Trimble Rd bridge and use the West Trail as a detour. 

 

 

Thank you

Mikhail

 

SANTA CLARA VALLEY WATER DISTRICT

5750 Almaden Expressway, San Jose CA 95118
www.valleywater.org

 

Clean Water  ^.  Healthy Environment  ^.  Flood Protection

 

 

 

From: Mikhail Haurylau <haur...@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 09, 2022 10:25 PM
To: Martin <martin...@yahoo.com>
Cc: SVBC San Jose Team <san...@bikesiliconvalley.org>; Tim Claes <timcl...@hotmail.com>; Diana Crumedy <di...@bikesiliconvalley.org>; Yvonne Arroyo <yar...@valleywater.org>
Subject: Re: [SAN JOSE] Large GRT segment closure for a 3.5 weeks

 

 

It is good to meet you, Yvonne! I am looking forward to collaborating with you - we are happy to help with bike routes, signs, social media etc.

 

I am also happy that Valley Water and Park & Rec listened to our advice and improved the signage. The signs for this closure are much more clear, and explain the nature of work, and hours when the trail will be closed - much appreciated! 

 

I can only hope that the work does not take until September 15, and the trail can be opened earlier than that - it is a very inconvenient location to close.  

 

 

 

On Mon, Aug 8, 2022 at 9:49 PM Martin <martin...@yahoo.com> wrote:

As a follow-up, the Water District has designated Yvonne Arroyo as the contact person if similar issues should arise in the future. Her email is yar...@valleywater.org.

 

-Martin

On Aug 8, 2022, at 8:34 AM, Richard M <rmas...@gmail.com> wrote:



Mikhael asks:

Is there a policy on how much in advance trail users should be notified? 

 

City of San Jose *requires* closure and detour information is posted for two weeks prior to the closure.

 

https://www.sanjoseca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/29669/636692603723130000

 

Historically, Valley Water has always done this, so this is really weird.

 

Richard

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[Tim Claes]

Thank you for getting the job done so fast. I can confirm the trail was open this morning. Tasman is not closed yet.

For next time: can the site supervisor do some preliminary work or inspection ahead of time to more accurately estimate the closure time? I don't think it's a success if the job is done in 10 days instead of 45. It's great in itself, but it feels like a planning failure. I think that a lot of the push back came from the lengthy estimated closure. It's one thing to get it done ahead of time but getting a more accurate estimate would be better.

Perhaps the site leader can make notes based on the current work to better estimate the length next time. Also they can start on portions where there is a perfect alternative such as the west bank so when he needs to tackle the critical underpass where there is no good alternative, they are more confident on how long the job will actual take?

thank you!

Tim

---

From: Sewell, Liz <Elizabet...@sanjoseca.gov>
Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2022 8:22 AM
To: Yvonne Arroyo <yar...@valleywater.org>; haur...@gmail.com <haur...@gmail.com>
Cc: Tim Claes <timcl...@hotmail.com>; Diana Crumedy <di...@bikesiliconvalley.org>; Martin <martin...@yahoo.com>; SVBC San Jose Team <san...@bikesiliconvalley.org>

Subject: RE: [SAN JOSE] Large GRT segment closure for a 3.5 weeks

 

Thanks, Yvonne and Mikhail.  I will make sure the information on the early completion and re-opening of the trail (almost one month before anticipated!) is posted on twitter. The next work will be at Coleman and will not require trail closure.  The next to close will be Tasman.  Both on-road and off-road detours are available as shown in the attached map.  Liz 

 

From: Yvonne Arroyo <yar...@valleywater.org>
Sent: Wednesday, August 17, 2022 6:20 PM
To: haur...@gmail.com
Cc: Sewell, Liz <Elizabet...@sanjoseca.gov>; Tim Claes <timcl...@hotmail.com>; Diana Crumedy <di...@bikesiliconvalley.org>; Martin <martin...@yahoo.com>; SVBC San Jose Team <san...@bikesiliconvalley.org>
Subject: RE: [SAN JOSE] Large GRT segment closure for a 3.5 weeks

 

 

[External Email]

 

Yes—we do want your input on trail priority/ranking.  I was just discussing with our engineering tech today on the level of detail she needs to provide in the maps so your group can identify the trail limits and rank each trail.  It may take a week or two for her to create the maps of trails located over Valley Water right of way which have the potential to be closed due to our flood protection and stream stewardship operations and maintenance activities.  We really appreciate your feedback.  I will forward those maps when they are ready, thanks.

[Mikhail Haurylau]

Agreed with Tim on the duration of work. 

Liz: your detour map looks good to me, thank you for checking with us. One question: what do you mean by "please walk your bike across Tasman"? I don't think you can directly cross Tasman at that crossing on the surface, because of 4 car lanes + VTA tracks. 

There is however a perfectly good undercrossing UNDER Tasman drive on the west side of river. 

May I suggest either rephrasing or removing this callout altogether - the undercrossing is quite obvious?

[Mikhail Haurylau]

No, they will have to cross the Guadalupe River bridge, using a sidewalk on Tasman. 

On Thu, Aug 18, 2022 at 9:20 AM Sewell, Liz <Elizabet...@sanjoseca.gov> wrote:

Good morning, Mikhail.  If the trail user would like to take the west side route, they will need to cross Tasman to access the west side. I’ve added clarity. Liz

 

From: Mikhail Haurylau <haur...@gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2022 9:07 AM
To: Tim Claes <timcl...@hotmail.com>
Cc: Sewell, Liz <Elizabet...@sanjoseca.gov>; Yvonne Arroyo <yar...@valleywater.org>; Diana Crumedy <di...@bikesiliconvalley.org>; Martin <martin...@yahoo.com>; SVBC San Jose Team <san...@bikesiliconvalley.org>
Subject: Re: [SAN JOSE] Large GRT segment closure for a 3.5 weeks

 

 

[External Email]

 

[Mikhail Haurylau]

Thank you, Yvonne! Let me crowdsource the response from the team and get back to you. --Mikhail

On Thu, Sep 22, 2022 at 7:06 PM Yvonne Arroyo <yar...@valleywater.org> wrote:

Hi Mikhail,

 

We have created maps of trails located on Valley Water right of way that may be impacted by our work.  The maps are by the 5 major watersheds in the County.  We would appreciate any feedback you have on ranking these trails on usage intensity.

Thanks,

 

Yvonne

 

From: Mikhail Haurylau <haur...@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 10, 2022 5:58 PM
To: Yvonne Arroyo <yar...@valleywater.org>

[Mikhail Haurylau]

Folks, 

Your input is needed!

Attached is my take on the relative priority of trails managed by the Valley Water, to give them an idea which trails are in high use, and therefore need more advance warning for trail work/closures. I include both PDF and Powerpoint docs, to give you more flexibility. Can you please review and let me know what needs to change? 

My rules of thumb for prioritization:

- High usage areas and “mobility arteries” get higher priority
- Highway underpasses and trails with no/difficult detour get higher priority
- Disconnected trails get lower priority

I will also send this doc to the Santa Clara, Sunnyvale and Mountain View teams, for their inputs. Does anyone know if we have a local team in Morgan Hill? 

Thank you

Mikhail

On Sat, Oct 22, 2022 at 11:05 AM Tim Oey <t...@bikesiliconvalley.org> wrote:

For a simple heatmap snapshot, you can just use the public Strava heatmap at https://www.strava.com/heatmap

Strava Metro is for much more detailed analysis where you can look at relative frequency counts, demographics, compare travel segments, direction of travel, and time of day and time of year comparisons from year to year. It is this latter work that can get much more involved.

While I'm somewhat trained in Strava Metro now I've got a pile of projects of my own to address so do not have time to help. I use Strava Metro mainly for BTWD analysis and choosing placement of Energizer Stations and other outreach activities. It is a pretty powerful tool but with power comes some complexity and responsibility.

Diana is relaying my own assessment of its use as I'm currently the only SVBC staff member using Strava Metro. It is a pro grade tool mainly used by professional engineers and planners.

BTW, my own Strava recording can be seen plainly on the public Strava Metro heat map, here is a snapshot where the heat map trace goes down my street and up my driveway (just below the blue dot):

Nearly 100% of my travel is for transportation, not recreation.

Tim Oey

(408) 624-0200 Program Manager | he/him/his

LCI #6033

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On Sat, Oct 22, 2022 at 10:43 AM Tim Claes <timcl...@hotmail.com> wrote:

Tim Oey told me he has strava metro access for svbc?

Maybe he can weigh in on what data we should look to extract for this purpose and how to do it?

Tim Claes

timcl...@hotmail.com

On Oct 22, 2022, at 9:54 AM, Mikhail Haurylau <haur...@gmail.com> wrote:



Diana, 

I am very much aware that Strava is limited to showing trends and popularity - and even those are skewed towards athletic users. However it would be a solid starting point for the "trail priority" map. 

I am not looking for an extra Strava account. All I am asking for is for a "heat map" screenshot of the Santa Clara county trails. If you (or anyone else in SVBC staff) has it, you can either share this screenshot, or we can have a brief online meeting and look at the heat map together. 

Please let me know your preference.  

Thank you

Mikhail

On Sat, Oct 22, 2022 at 8:53 AM Diana Crumedy <di...@bikesiliconvalley.org> wrote:

Hi Mikhail,

Getting Strava Metro is a much bigger lift than it may seem.It is hard to get a Strava Metro account,  the user must be a nonprofit or gov't agency.

Our Strava Metro account is tightly controlled and each member of our staff needs to sign up for their own account.Getting an entirely new account (not associated with SVBC) could take weeks or months .

 Additionally it would require a designated staff person to monitor the non staff person's use and make sure they are following Strava's rules on sharing the data.  In addition it would require tech support for those volunteers.

I am working with Sandhya to see if this is possible and feasible. Thank you for your patience. I will let you know what I find out.

Lastly Strava Metro can be used to rank trails on usage intensity and it is very helpful to get relative metrics but it does not show absolute data like a counter. Strava shows trends and popularity. Is that what you are looking for?

All the best,

Diana 

On Thu, Oct 20, 2022, 1:40 PM Mikhail Haurylau <haur...@gmail.com> wrote:

Diana, 

This is a kind reminder. 

Mikhail

On Wed, Oct 12, 2022 at 7:51 PM Mikhail Haurylau <haur...@gmail.com> wrote:

Diana, 

Did you get a chance to look into the possibility of getting Strava heat maps? 

Thank you

Mikhail

On Fri, Sep 23, 2022 at 3:57 PM Diana Crumedy <di...@bikesiliconvalley.org> wrote:

Hello Tim and Mikhail,

I am looking into seeing if this is something that we can assist with via Strata or other means. I will be in touch. Thank you two for being so engaged!

All the best,

Diana Crumedy

Associate Director of Advocacy and Community Development

408-476-0041 ext 226

Twitter @bikeSV | Instagram @bikesiliconvalley

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On Fri, Sep 23, 2022 at 10:24 AM Tim Claes <timcl...@hotmail.com> wrote:

Minus Yvonne

Mikhail,

Tim Oey (of SVBC) told me that SVBC has a Strava Metro account that might be able to bring some objective data to this discussion. Diana should be able with that, I hope.

Tim

---

From: Mikhail Haurylau <haur...@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, September 23, 2022 6:42 AM