SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) — City leaders, residents and organizations are setting out to pick up trash in Columbus Park and the Guadalupe River Trail after the city cleared encampments.
Theo Martinez is an avid cyclist. He’s a member of San Jose Bike Party – a meetup of colorfully lit bikers who head out on a ride every third Friday night of the month. Martinez also bikes off the Guadalupe River Trail every week.
“There’s no question it’s cleaner, I mean it’s night and day,” Martinez said.
This week, San Jose city leaders announced that usage of the trail has more than doubled in some areas since they established zones where camping was banned.
MORE: San Jose’s unhoused residents move out of encampment at Columbus Park into converted hotel
“You know six months ago, there were probably 200 tents up and down the river, now there might be two,” Martinez said.
The no encampment zones started in January of 2024 and encompass over 9 miles of trails. On Friday, we spoke with Mayor Mahan on enforcement. And how they plan to prevent re-encampments.
“We do have bike patrols on overtime, we have a new unit that I basically promoted in my budget message that the council adopted, that’s our neighborhood quality of life unit which is pulled out of patrol to just focus on enforcing quality of life crime,” Mahan said.
As more people return to the trails, the city is extending its cleanup efforts between 880 and 101 – it’s about a 16-mile stretch.
Sonja Stryker says she’s homeless and that she used to live along the river.
MORE: San Jose removes over 100K pounds of trash from Columbus Park encampment cleanup
“Oh I’ve noticed, it’s put hardships on me myself and those that live around me,” Stryker said.
On Saturday, Mahan will be joined by hundreds of volunteers and organizations who will clean up Columbus Park, which had been a popular camping site for the last six years.
“We’re going to need a lot of people power to do this and the more residents we can get to pitch in, the faster we can do it – the more cost effective it will be and we’ll get closer to that day where we can reopen the park as a public park, with amenities for everybody,” Mahan said.
For those who use public spaces recreationally like Martinez, cleanup efforts are going a long way.
“The fact that- that part of the watershed has been cleaned up is a big deal,” Martinez said.
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