San Jose officials are doubling down on efforts to revitalize the Guadalupe River Trail and prevent homeless residents from seeking shelter there.
The San Jose City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved allocating $200,000 to remove roughly 20 people living by the river and work with community partners to encourage residents to frequent the trail. Mayor Matt Mahan and Councilmember Arjun Batra were absent.
The city will remove existing tents by April and establish a “no return zone” so the city doesn’t have to do multiple sweeps of homeless camps in the area between Woz Way and Julian Street. The goal is to make the trail a popular place for people to walk through and help revitalize downtown.
The city sees the trail as a major downtown amenity that connects neighborhoods like Washington Guadalupe to businesses like Adobe and Zoom.
Last fall, officials allocated $2 million in state funding to clear dozens of tents in the same area. The city moved some of the unhoused residents into interim and permanent housing, including the Arena Hotel.