New signs coming on popular bike trail in downtown area

QWe could sure use some signs to guide us along the Guadalupe River bicycling/walking trail through the downtown San Jose area. If it were possible to follow the path, it would probably be a safer way to bicycle than trying to ride crowded downtown streets. … There are spurs and branches off the main trail that go nowhere. A runner or biker could run down one for several hundred feet only to reach an embankment or locked fence.

— Tim Zadel, Peter Reynolds and others

AA signage and striping plan has been developed for the trail from Interstate 280 to I-880. Striping will be updated to more clearly indicate the main trail alignment. If funding is approved you could see this in place in a year. The trail has seen more than 400 percent increase in use since 2007, and up to 55 percent are regular users and bike commuters.

QA few years ago there were lots of skunks on the Guadalupe River Trail. This year there are rats. Lots of them. Particularly where it goes under West Santa Clara Street. If I bicycle through at night, I typically see one or more rats crossing the trail there. What’s caused the increase?

And when you hit one, should you notify someone with the city? I was trying to avoid two of them running together when one took a fateful turn and went directly under my wheels.

— Stan Searing, San Jose

A: THIS FROM JOAN-OUR-CRITTER-EXPERT » “Last year produced a bumper crop of rats. While rats always are prolific breeders, they are more so in times when food and shelter are plentiful, and thanks to all the rain we had last year, they were highly motivated. It looks like we’ll be continuing the trend this year, too.

“Rats are mostly nocturnal, but they will venture out during the twilight and even broad daylight. It all depends on what they’re doing — looking for food, a new home or some rodent romance. In most cases, there is no need to report the dearly departed rodents. Many animals will take care of carcass removal and be thankful for the fast food meal.”

QDo you think we will ever see the connection of the Los Gatos Creek Trail to the Diridion Station directly in this decade? Currently you have to walk around via Park or Montgomery streets when you can see the platforms from the end of the trail.

— Robert Patterson, San Jose

AThe city and Caltrans are planning an under-crossing to permit direct travel from Auzerais Avenue to Montgomery/Bird Avenue. Not sure when this will happen, though.