The 3 mile long Jeffrey Open Space Trail (JOST) represents approximately 96 acres of park and trails, with an average width of 265 ft. The three-mile long spine is designed for passive uses with a network of trails that connect to residential neighborhoods and active recreation parks. Influenced by Fredrick Law Olmstead’s public parks (New York’s Central Park and Boston’s Emerald Necklace park system), JOST is designed with extensive attention to grading that helps buffer the park from surrounding roads and provides a continuous trail system over and under crossing streets. The design process included a series of workshops to solicit community comments, design ideas, and concerns on the project. Based on these workshops the basic program and design character for the corridor was established.
User’s experiences are enhanced by sculptural grading and native grass meadows that visually connect with the nearby Saddleback Mountains. A 15 foot wide Class 1 bike trail accommodates bikers, walkers and joggers, and sequentially ties together a series of spaces ranging from large event lawns to small seating areas.
The bike trail also connects the park with the history of Irvine using a linear timeline beginning with the per-colonial era to present day spans. This timeline is expressed with three distinct designs that reflect each of the unique eras covered over three trail segments: Era of Exploration, The Ranch Era, and Community Building Era. Ranging from tile mosaic, to images and text embedded in precast concrete, to modular block walls with stainless steel photo panels; Irvine’s evolution from rural agricultural fields to a thriving metropolitan city is prominently displayed for the community to enjoy.