One of communities bordering Mount Diablo, where The Mules stayed the night before, is the Town of Danville. Running through the town is the Iron Horse Regional Trail which The Mules traveled some distance on. Multi-use suburban trails like this one are exactly what John (“Mule”) is advocating — a way to safely travel from town to town without using an automobile.
Established in 1986, this 34-mile long multi-use trail follows the abandoned Southern Pacific Railroad right-of-way. When completed, it will span over 55 miles connecting two counties and nine communities.
Despite initial skepticism, and even opposition, the trail is now a major transportation and recreation corridor on which one million trips are made each year.
I interviewed former Danville mayor Beverly Lane who played an integral role in making the Iron Horse Trail a reality. I’ll be using this interview in a separate 10-minute video to be available to other communities who want to see how it can be done.