A letter from Alum Rock Park Supervisor Mike Will below outlines the City’s plan to manage the anticipated crowds and traffic in and around Alum Rock Park on Easter Sunday, April 20th. Information on two other great opportunities to visit the Park on April 18th and April 26th is at the end of this message.
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Dear New Neighborhood Voice:
Due to the popularity of Alum Rock Park on Easter Sunday, I am taking this time to remind your readers of the higher level of activity this day brings to the park. Many people enjoy coming to the park to celebrate Easter through picnicking and egg hunts. Last year, in addition to the Easter related activities, the park experienced very heavy vehicular traffic at the park's Penitencia Creek Road entrance, some of it as early as 6 am. The parking lots filled up and the park actually closed to vehicular traffic from 10:30 am until 4:30 pm. During that time, park visitors walked into the park in mass numbers to get to the popular picnic sites.
We expect a similar experience for this Easter Sunday, April 20, 2003. In order to assure a high quality and safe experience for our visitors, and those residents living adjacent to Alum Rock Park, we have developed a traffic control plan with our local public safety agencies. The plan includes various traffic control checkpoints inside and outside of Alum Rock Park. These checkpoints will go into effect once the parking inside of Alum Rock Park becomes full. The purpose of this traffic control plan is to minimize the impact of the heavy Alum Rock Park visitation on its roadways and adjacent neighborhoods. This plan will ensure that emergency vehicles can get to these areas should the need arise. The San José Police Department will be setting up one of these checkpoints on Penitencia Creek Road at Toyon Road. They will discourage traffic past that point that is heading for Alum Rock Park. They will, however, let vehicles carrying people that work or live in the areas adjacent to the park past the checkpoint.
The traffic plan also includes setting out additional traffic signs to advise of traffic conditions and to control parking. Two shuttle vans will operate within Alum Rock Park from 8:30 am until 7:30 pm. These vans will be used to assist visitors that walk into the park.
We also expect an increased presence from the California Highway Patrol, Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, and the San José Parking Control Office in the Alum Rock Park area.
I ask now for your patience and understanding in dealing with the expected higher level of Easter Sunday park traffic, as well as the traffic plan that we have developed. Please be cautious and courteous for other drivers, and in particular, pedestrians and bicyclists in and around Alum Rock Park.
Thank you in advance for your patience. For additional park information, please call the park rangers at (408) 259-5477, or view the park on the web at http://www.sanjoseca.gov/prns/regionalparks/arp/arp%20index.dwt.
Sincerely,
Mike Will, Parks Facility Supervisor
City of San José
Department of Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services
Alum Rock Park
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Please send us a Letter to the Editor if you have comments on the City’s plan for Alum Rock Park on Easter Sunday. Please put “Letter to the Editor” in the Subject line and include your name. Your name will be published with your letter but no contact info will be included.
Two other excellent opportunities to participate in events in Alum Rock Park and the adjacent open space during less crowded times are below.
Eastside Churches WAY OF THE CROSS Walk in Alum Rock Park – Good Friday, April 18
Boccardo Trail "Stop and Smell the Flowers" Hike - April 26
You can read the current edition of NNV online at http://www.nnvesj.org/Current.htm.
Thanks,
Judy Thompson
New Neighborhood Voice
Copyright© 2003-2004 by Judy Thompson. All rights reserved. Updated 07/18/04.