Bike, trail system will keep community healthy

Get out and walk

Have you tried crossing this city on foot? We need trails to connect so that folks of all ages have an opportunity to walk. Sidewalks are expensive to maintain … and I believe they aren’t in harmony with the natural beauty of our area. Folks, get out there and walk. It does a body good.

• Dear Walker: Red Phone couldn’t agree with you more. The Red Crusader is an avid exerciser who rises at 5 a.m. for an invigorating run to relieve stress and stay mentally and physically healthy. But getting back to your comment, the city has a Bikeways Master Plan, which is a blueprint for bicycle paths, lanes and routes throughout the city. Many runners, walkers and bicyclists use these with caution wearing a light-reflective vest for protection. Red Phone is happy to learn from Karl Bjarke, an engineer working for the city on the Bikeways Master Plan, that emphasis is being placed on connecting bicycle paths to residential areas, schools, public facilities and shopping areas. As you are also probably aware, the city is currently working on a trails study to develop a pedestrian network throughout the city. Once the study is completed, the city will need to move that effort into a Trails Master Plan (similar to the Bikeways Master Plan), which requires a more detailed look at trail locations and an environmental review. Until all these efforts are completed, we encourage you to continue your healthy habit of walking daily. And you’re absolutely right, it does the body good.

Teen activities

I have a teen who wants to do things on weekends especially at night, from 9 p.m. to 12 midnight. I have surfed the Net and searched locally and am unable to find anything besides bowling and movies. Are there any other options out there for a teenage boy and his friends to do?

• Dear teen parent: Steve Rymer, Morgan Hill’s Recreation and Community Services director, told the Red Phone that the city provides a variety of programs and activities for our community’s teens. From guitar lessons, aquatic classes, personal training, and enrichment classes, to music, art, tennis, and yoga, his department strives to provide opportunities for teens to learn lifelong skills, enhance their overall fitness levels, and enrich their lives. Rymer also said the city has the free Teen Center located at the Centennial Recreation Center that is open evenings, as well as the Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) that serves as a prominent voice representing the youth in our community.

The majority of the city’s programs are offered on weekends or during the early evening hours to ensure that teens have access to our services without interfering with their schooling and other obligations. Rymer said the city wants to learn more about what teenagers want to do to recreate and how it can better meet those needs. There are two easy ways for community members to provide input on how the city can enhance services. Residents can contact recreation coordinator Chiquy Mejia at Ch**********@***rc.com or (408) 782-0008, ext. 508 to discuss their ideas. Second, residents can attend a monthly YAC meeting held the first Monday of each month in the City Hall Council chambers starting at 5 p.m.  

Sidewalk blues

I’ve been living in the neighborhood around El Toro Elementary School for several years and I am surprised that nothing has been done to put sidewalks on the stretch of East Main Street between Calle Mazatan and Grand Prix Way. On the school side of the street, a fence forces walkers into the narrow bike lane for about a one-block stretch. During the day, kids from the school are walking only a few feet from traffic. At night, the road is not well lit, so cars going over 40mph often speed past the narrow path, unable to see pedestrians. The other side of the road has an unpaved dirt path that offers the only alternative.

Since it seems that a road is being torn up or a traffic light installed every week or so within Morgan Hill, why is upgrading the walkways near a school and in an established neighborhood an apparently low priority?

• Dear sidewalk complaintant: To address your question, we spoke to Karl Bjarke, with the city’s Public Works Department, who said the city is aware of the need for sidewalks along E. Main Avenue and does consider sidewalks near schools a priority. One of the biggest drawbacks is getting the proper right-of-way to build them. That involves paying private property owners for road dedications. With the limited funding available for street projects, the resources are focused on the “brick-and-mortar” expenses. The city is communicating with the property owners where right-of-way is needed along E. Main Avenue and is also exploring all options for widening the street and building sidewalks.