July 1, 2004

Improvements underway for Almaden Lake Park

By Lorraine Gabbert
Staff Writer

The serene, tranquil beauty of Almaden Lake Park, with its backdrop of panoramic rolling hills, has provided local residents a relaxed retreat for more than 20 years. The park also offers hiking and biking trails, boating, fishing, a sandy beach and picnic areas for family gatherings, bird watching opportunities, and a playground for children to enjoy. Interestingly, the lake, which was created in the 1940s as a result of a rock quarry operation, was once a meadow where dairy cows grazed.

In the 1970s, the city of San Jose partnered with the local community to create a master plan for designing Almaden Lake Park to best meet residents’ needs. Over the past six years, Vice Mayor Pat Dando has been working with the community to update this master plan, and on Tuesday, the San Jose City Council approved awarding a contract for the Almaden Lake Park Improvements Project (Phase 1) to Robert A. Bothman, Inc., with a base bid in the amount of $920,889.

“I’m excited in this happening before I’m out of office,” said Dando. “I can remember when Almaden Lake Park opened, and people were so delighted to see a lake and so much open space in the middle of a neighborhood.

Since that time, there have been changes in regulations and needs in the community, so I met with community groups to find out what they’d like to see in regional parks, and with the planners to talk about how these things would fit into the budget, and gave that information to the designers. Now we have the project that the community asked for, and we’re ready to start construction.”

Proposed improvements to the park include recreational amenities like bocce courts for senior citizens, a bridge connection to the Guadalupe Creek Trail, upgrades to the marina stations, and enhancements to the picnic area.

Construction, which will be done in two phases, is expected to start as early as the first week of July and will be completed within a year. Phase 1 will feature a large group picnic area, a new tot lot with a water feature, shaded bocce courts, and environmentally sensitive lighting along the trail for pedestrian safety. Phase 2, which is budgeted for $900,000, will be awarded by the City Council in early August, and will include a boat rental office and ramp, and trail connectors.

“We have three waterways that meet at that junction,” noted Dando. “Alamitos Creek (which runs south of Almaden Lake), Guadalupe River (which runs north of the lake), and Guadalupe Creek (which runs west along Coleman Avenue). We want to make sure that these creeks all have good connectors that are easy for people to use at Almaden Lake Park.”

The City of San Jose is hoping to enlist the aid of a grant program to create a pedestrian crossing over Almaden Expressway from the lake to the trail alongside Guadalupe Creek. “Last week we approved a master plan opening trail access from the Water District Property ponds to the Quicksilver Mines,” shared Dando. “And we hope to have that beginning trail opening completed by the end of the summer.”

“This is one of those projects that makes you feel very good about being involved in public service,” expressed Dando. “And working with the community to help a plan like this move forward.”