By foot, bicycle or horse, the Iron Horse Trail is slowly but surely connecting to become what many hope will someday be a complete regional trail that will offer Pleasanton residents the ability to ride not only through town, but all the way up to Suisun Bay in Contra Costa County.
On Monday, the city celebrated the dedication of the newest segments of the Iron Horse Regional Trail in Pleasanton. The first segment stretches from Santa Rita Road south across Mohr Avenue. The second segment connects from Mohr Avenue south to Busch Road in the Ironwood neighborhood.
The segments comprise one mile and feature a 10-foot-wide paved pathway and a 2-foot-wide decomposed granite lane for walkers, runners, skaters and cyclists.
Amenities on the trail include benches, distance markers, a fountain, landscaping and a traffic crossing device at Mohr Avenue.
The project cost $1.6 million and was a partnership between the city of Pleasanton, East Bay Regional Parks District, the Alameda County Transportation Improvement Authority (ACTIA) and Ponderosa Homes, which is building out the Ironwood community near Busch Road and Valley Avenue. ACTIA put up $450,000 of the costs for the Santa Rita Road to Mohr Avenue trail segment through a grand administered by the East Bay Regional Park District. ACTIA was formed as a result of the 1986 voter-approved Measure B, a half-cent sales tax. Ponderosa paid for the design services for the project as well as funding and construction of the Mohr to Bush segment. The trail borders homes in the Ironwood community, which includes single-family homes and senior apartments, and a soon-to-open church campus built by Pleasanton Presbyterian Church. Both trail portions will be maintained by the city and patrolled by the parks district.
Recognizing that the trail is a leisurely attraction for walkers, runners, cyclists and equestrians, East Bay Parks District President Ayn Wieskamp said it is also an everyday route for some.
“We are about real people who use the trail to get to work and school,” said Ayn Wieskamp, president of the East Bay Parks District.
Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi, D-Hayward, said the trail is yet another tool for youths and adults to stay fit and healthy.
“At the state level, we’re talking a lot about health,” said Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi, D-Hayward.
The Iron Horse trail is just another way to get children out exercising, she said.
Alameda County Supervisor Chris Gray said the county has worked hard to purchase right-of-ways to build trails and connectivity between cities.
“We’re going to continue to help make this thing go to Fremont,” he said.
Kurt Kummer, chair of the city’s Trails Ad Hoc Committee, said there is still much more that needs to be done with the Iron Horse Trail, but said he is excited that some progress has been made.
“It’s something we’ve been waiting for for a long time,” he said, adding that the newest segment is positive for the entire Tri-Valley. “This isn’t going to be complete, but it’s a good start.”
In the future, the goal is to connect the Iron Horse Trail with downtown Pleasanton, the Dublin/Pleasanton BART station on Owens Drive and to Lake Del Valle in Livermore.
“We’re not going to stop until we get it all,” Kummer said.
Issues linger as to how the trail would all connect through Pleasanton. One section could cross through the Alameda Transportation Corridor, but Archstone Apartments on Stoneridge Drive abuts the easement owned by the parks district for the trail and a public hearing process would be required for access of a right-of-way there. Other portions by Hacienda Drive and Stoneridge Drive would force trail users to cross mid-block which could provide safety problems.
About the Trail
Goes from…
Fully connected, from Concord to Dublin, 24.5 miles
History
In 1896, the multi-use, whole-access trail between the cities of Concord and Pleasanton follow the Southern Pacific Railroad right-of-way established in 1891 and abandoned in 1977. The name Iron Horse came from the iron horse steam engine trains. When many train stations and tracks became a thing of the past, communities lobbied for the old railways to be converted into trails.
What it provides
The trail corridor connects residential and commercial areas, business parks, schools, public transportation (BART, County Connection), open space and parks, regional trails and community facilities. Currently, the trail is developed from Marsh Drive near Highway 4 in Concord south to the Dublin/Pleasanton BART station. The newest segment to open in Pleasanton connects from Santa Rita Road, across Mohr Avenue to just south of Busch Road.
Future
Extensions are planned in Pleasanton that will connect the BART station to Shadow Cliffs Regional Park and farther eastward. When fully complete, the Iron Horse Regional Trail will span from Livermore to Suisun Bay in Contra Costa County, a distance of more than 40 miles, connecting two counties and 12 communities.
Road rules
* trail curfew is 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
* open containers or consumption of alcoholic beverages are not permitted within 50 feet of paved trails, roads or parking areas
* keep to the right side of the pathways
* helmets are required by law for bicyclists under 18 and strongly recommended for all bicyclists and equestrians
* dogs must be on least (with a six-foot maximum) where posted and under full verbal control elsewhere
* people walking more than three dogs at a time must obtain a permit by calling 510-544-3009
* bicycles should always yield to pedestrians and equestrians, establish verbal contact and/or ring bell
* pedestrians should yield to equestrians
Source: East Bay Parks District
