Here are a few pictures of where the new Greenway Trail, a 5.1 mile long Rails-To-Trails conversion of abandoned railroad right-of-way that spans the City of Whittier will soon be built.  The Trail will convert blighted property into a regional bike/walking/jogging/rollerblading/wheelchair accessible asphalt paved pathway for everyone. 

The plan for this Trail was conceived in 1989 when I went on bike rides on city streets with my two kids and we were nearly hit by cars on several occaisions.  In my spare time, and as an ordinary Dad, I developed a detailed painted-stripe bike path plan which provided a safer pathway for cyclists and a much safer way to school for our local kids.  Although the plan was a low cost proposal with just paint stripes along local streets, it was rejected by two official City of Whittier Commissions.  One Commission listened politely and the other one had one had rather rude Commissioner who said "I don't see people riding bikes, so we obviously don't need bike paths" and tried to end my presentation.  If I had been thinking quicker on my feet, I would have retorted "You don't see bike riders because you don't provide a safe place for them to ride!"

Since it was obvious to me that we were getting nowhere with the Trail plan and that I would never be able to get appointed to a Commission in order to implement some changes, I ran for City Council in 1992.  The main issue at the time was concerning saving the Whittier Hills, but this plan figured into my fututr plans for our community.  

The Greenway Trail is about to be built. This 12 million dollar project is being done with no increase in taxes!  Most importantly, it could not have been built without many positive votes by a team of many councilmembers over a 12 year span of time!  Also, several citizen committees provided the ideas we needed our excellent staff to implement this immense project.