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Four months have barely gone by since the pigeon abatement net under the trail bridge near Delmas and Fuller avenues was mended. Now, after being hit by an out-of-state truck, the net is shredded and beyond repair.
On May 28 at 8 a.m., Salvador Martinez, who lives in the Greater Gardner neighborhood, saw a large moving truck with an Illinois license plate turn right onto Delmas Avenue from W. Virginia Street and then travel under the train bridge where it snagged the pigeon abatement netting.
The driver, Martinez said, paused before going under the bridge to considered whether he had enough clearance, but decided to continue on. The netting, which had been secured underneath the bridge to discourage birds from nesting, was pulled loose.
A neighbor of Martinez also witnessed the incident and jumped in his car, following the truck to its destination in North Willow Glen, where he confronted the man. The driver, Martinez said, reported the incident to the police.
Martinez wrote down everything that occurred and reported the incident to Greater Gardner Coalition chairman Kevin Christman.
To Christman, the most frustrating part of the story is that the driver continued under the bridge even after questioning whether it was sufficiently high.
"And that's what ticked neighbors off," Christman said.
For neighbors, the bird netting was a great addition to the Greater Gardner's strong neighborhood initiative area, which includes part of North Willow Glen. Before the original netting was installed several years ago, large quantities of pigeons would nest in the girders. Pedestrians who crossed under the bridge often covered their mouths.
The Greater Gardner Coalition received a San Jose Community Action and Pride Grant to install a bird net. In late January, the netting snagged and was quickly repaired by the San Jose Conservation Corps & Charter School.
However, when the moving truck disturbed the netting in May, the coalition found itself out of options. It had neither money nor connections to buy and install a new net worth about $4,500, Christman said.
Traffic under the bridge further loosened the netting, which ended up being dragged on the road by cars, becoming a hazard to drivers, Christman said. After calling a variety of city workers, San Jose community activity workers Liz Ortiz and Jennifer Vasquez came out to evaluate the problem on June 3. The women recruited Martinez to take down the netting.
Greater Gardner Coalition members, including Christman and city officials, are researching ways to acquire new netting. Christman said he would like to have the moving company's insurance pay for it.
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