Stop Stanford's wasteful and destructive Alpine Road
sidewalk project!
Posted March 20, 2006 / Updated June 2, 2006

• Background    
• Why this is important
• What's next
• What you can do    

Over five years ago, Stanford University promised to dedicate and build two hiking trails in return for building approximately 5 million square feet of new development on its campus.

Stanford has been building for five years, but we still don’t have trails. After years of foot dragging, Santa Clara County capitulated to Stanford’s demands that they accept a mediocre trail plan on the south side of the university’s lands. Even worse, Stanford plans to re-label and expand an existing sidewalk along Alpine Road and present it as one of its new "trails" — depriving the community of the safe, recreational hiking and riding trails which were promised. Santa Clara County violated environmental law by agreeing to Stanford’s demands. It’s now up to San Mateo County and Portola Valley — where the Alpine sidewalk is located — to decide if they too will let Stanford escape its obligations under their General Use Permit. Rejecting the proposal, on the other hand, means the money will ultimately be spent on genuine recreational trail opportunities back in Santa Clara County in the Stanford area.

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Background
For more than half a decade, Stanford has refused to play fair on the alignment of the two promised trails: the S1 trail on the southeast side of its lands, generally following Matadero Creek and Page Mill Road, and the C1 trail on the northwest side its lands near the Golf Course.

Last December, Stanford continued its political maneuvering and convinced Santa Clara County to tie the best of the poor choices for the S1 trail to an even worse choice for the C1 trail — a so-called "trail" that would follow Alpine Road. This dangerous route is not the recreational hiking trail Stanford agreed to provide. It crosses numerous driveways, would require massive grading of a hillside, and could damage San Francisquito and Los Trancos Creeks. The route is on the already-dedicated right-of-way for busy Alpine Road, making a mockery of Stanford's promise to dedicate a new trail easement. Now Stanford is trying to get San Mateo County and Portola Valley to start processing the sidewalk expansion proposal.

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Why this is important
Stanford promised real trail opportunities to compensate for the impacts of all the new people it would bring to the campus area. Instead it proposes to spend millions to cut off the side of a hill, move Alpine Road, and reengineer the creek to fit a wider sidewalk where the current one is adequate. Stopping Stanford means the money will be spent on that trails that will a genuine benefit to the community.

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What's next
San Mateo County and Portola Valley will soon decide whether to accept Stanford’s proposal for further consideration, but no specific date has been set for these decisions.

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What you can do
Please attend the community meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, May 23 from 4–7 pm at Woodland School's Multi-Use Room, 360 La Cuesta Drive, Portola Valley (Ladera) and ask San Mateo County Supervisors Jerry Hill and Rich Gordon to "just say no" to Stanford's proposed urban sidewalk/trail along Alpine Road.

an Mateo County and Portola Valley should decline Stanford's "offer" of $11.2 million to expand the existing Alpine sidewalk/trail. An expanded sidewalk does not repay the debt Stanford owes to the community from its expansive campus development, and foisting new impacts on our creeks and communities to solve Stanford's problems cannot be allowed.

Wasting an astronomical $11.2 million to expand a 3 mile long existing sidewalk in Portola Valley and San Mateo County, the proposal also conflicts with Alpine Road's scenic corridor policies and numerous County, State, and Federal watershed protection mandates.

If San Mateo County and Portola Valley reject the funds, Santa Clara County will be able to provide far greater public recreational benefits to the Stanford area.

1. Write or fax San Mateo County Supervisors and Portola Valley Town Council. Let them know that you oppose the charade of expanding the Alpine Road sidewalk/trail instead of having an actual recreational trail away from traffic exhaust and noise. Tell them to reject the proposal so the money will be spent automatically on actual recreational opportunities in the Stanford vicinity. Let them know you do not support intruding into the creek and riparian areas, massive cutting into a hillside, moving Alpine Road, or creating greater safety problems where the trail crosses driveways. Do not let Stanford create environmental problems while trying to escape its environmental promises.

Write to:

San Mateo County Board of Supervisors
400 County Center
Redwood City, 94063
Fax (650) 599-1027

Portola Valley Town Council
765 Portola Road
Portola Valley, CA 94028

No time to write or fax?
Email the San Mateo County Supervisors.

Email the Portola Valley Town Council Members.

Please send a copy of your message to CGF so we can track our efforts on this issue: fax 650-968-8431 or email: action@GreenFoothills.org.

2. Read the June 2, 2006 article in The Stanford Daily.
   Read the the May 23, 2006 Guest Opinion in The Almanac
   Read the March 6, 2006 letter from Committee for Green Foothills to Portola Valley and San Mateo County.
   Read the December 8, 2005 article in The Mercyry News.
   Read the December 7, 2005 column in The Mercyry News.
   Read the Article from CGF's fall 2005 Green Footnotes newsletter.
   Read our November 2001 action alert on this issue.
   Read our September 2005 action alert on this issue.
   Read our Trails Position Paper.
   Read our Fact Sheet regarding Stanford's compliance.
   Visit the Website of the Stanford Trails Coalition.

Thanks for speaking up for trails. Your voice does make a difference!

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