There is an underground tunnel in the Shasta Hanchett neighborhood of San Jose that enables safe passage under The Alameda, a very busy 4 lane street just west of downtown. On the east side of the street is the former Hester School, which now houses the Santa Clara County Office of Education program supporting special education programs.

This tunnel was built in 1928 after children were killed crossing The Alameda. It has had its up and downs and in the past couple of decades was largely ignored by the city. Recently the city was more interested in closing it up than keeping it clean and safe. Dave Thomas and his daughter Taylor have adopted it and spent a huge number of hours cleaning, restoring and painting murals on the walls, mostly on their own dime. During this process they also helped a homeless man who made the tunnel his home and was causing damage in the tunnel and at neighborhood businesses.

The man is now back and is damaging the beautiful work Dave and Taylor did. This page is an opportunity for the community to help them out in replacing the broken/stolen equipment and completion of the beautification work they started.

Our neighborhood and the special education school need this tunnel to be clean and safe. Crossing The Alameda at the street level requires both very good mobility and street smarts. Some of the kids attending Hester School move slower and the tunnel is a huge help to them.

Please help our tunnel!