Santee’s effort to complete a continuous trail along the San
Diego River has received a boost from the State Department of Parks and
Recreation, which has recommended the
city for a $247,830 grant under the Recreation Trails Program.
 |
| The Walker Preserve along the San Diego River |
The grant will be used to partially offset the cost of
constructing a 1.3-mile long multi-use trail along the river east of Magnolia
Avenue to the city’s boundary with Lakeside. The area, known as the Walker
Preserve, has been off-limits to the public
for decades while it was being used for industrial sand mining.
“This grant ensures
that Santee will continue to make progress on the San Diego River Trail,
which when completed, will be a major recreational amenity and improve our
standing as a walkable and bicycle-friendly community, ” said Community
Services Director Bill Maertz. Construction of the Walker Preserve Trail is expected to start in 2014. When it is finished, Santee will have completed approximately 3.5 miles or about 80 percent of the city’s portion of the San Diego River Trail.
Santee was one of six communities statewide - and the only one in Southern California - to win the state’s endorsement for a total of $1.47 million in 2014 Recreation Trails Program grants. In all, the state received 56 grant applications for proposed projects totaling $20.7 million. The trails program is funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
