Morgan Hill
– The City Council favors narrowing Monterey Road through
downtown make the area more pedestrian friendly. No longer on the
table is a plan to reduce the road to one lane each way between
Dunne and Main avenues. While popular with some downtown business
owners, the idea was not a hit with the gene
ral public.
Morgan Hill – The City Council favors narrowing Monterey Road through downtown make the area more pedestrian friendly. No longer on the table is a plan to reduce the road to one lane each way between Dunne and Main avenues. While popular with some downtown business owners, the idea was not a hit with the general public.
The council has been looking at ways to slow traffic through downtown after business owners complained, but city officials say speeding is not the problem.
“We don’t think speeding, in general, is a big problem downtown,” Police Chief Bruce Cumming said after he and Public Works Director Jim Ashcraft experimented crossing Monterey at First and Third streets. “But there is certainly a problem getting drivers to stop for pedestrians. If we had waited we could have found a gap. When you mix aggressive drivers and aggressive pedestrians, you have a problem.”
While they didn’t officially make any decisions, they asked staff to collect council thoughts and return with a preferred list and costs on Jan. 26. Some $125,000 is available from Redevelopment Agency funds to calm downtown traffic.
All five councilmen favored narrowing the existing lanes from 12-feet to 10-feet, 6-inches, keeping two lanes each way, at a cost of $15,000.
High visibility crosswalks – bright, white stripes – at the intersections of First and Third streets and Monterey Road would get drivers’ attention, prompting them to slow down and give pedestrians a chance to make it across the street.
Ideas the council dismissed included installing trees in the empty median at Fourth Street ($25,000), imbedded flashing pavement lights – that seem to be more visible at night – ($100,000) and putting planters or bollards in front of the community center, narrowing the entrance to downtown for $75,000 or less.
An overhead “entry statement” – a place to hang banners – was popular with the Downtown Association. Anything to announce that a driver is entering a special place and should slow down, said Ashcraft.
“We want people to realize downtown is a different environment,” Ashcraft said.
Two “radar speed signs” will be installed when money from a grant to make walking to Britton Middle School saferº is used.
