Has anyone seen the bridge?

When will the Sixth Street bridge be complete?
Red Phone:
Has anyone seen the bridge?

When will the Sixth Street bridge be complete?

Red Phone:

Dear Anxious: First of all, broaden your horizons. Sixth Street ends on the west side of U.S. 101. On the east side, it becomes Gilman Road. But it’s not the Gilman Road bridge, either. The bridge will connect Camino Arroyo from the north side of Gilman to the south side, thus it’s the Camino Arroyo bridge.

Red Phone contacted city of Gilroy Traffic Engineer Don Dey for an estimate.

He told us that the bridge and connection is scheduled to be fully completed by spring 2009. A targeted opening for traffic is expected by November 2008. Construction is expected to begin next summer.

Blinded by the night

How can we get the city of Gilroy to brighten up the street lights?

Red Phone:

Dear Shawdow Citizen: Before you ask that question, you might want to ask “How bright do we want the street lights in Gilroy? Do we want them so bright we will need to seal up our bedroom windows so we can get some sleep at night? Or just a little bit brighter? How many watts is a “litte bit?” Is your “little bit” the same as your neighbor’s? Are you willing to pay a higher city electric bill?

You can see the issues city Traffic Engineeer Don Dey faces when looking at changing the standards. Red Phone called Dey, who explained that the standards used today are long-held specifications, but that the city is investigating as to whether it should change its design standards. “If it’s a new subdivision, it’s easy to modify our standards, such as moving poles closer together,” Dey said. “When we have the older sections of town where existing lights stand, do we just change the bulbs, and if we change all the bulbs in the city then the electric bills go up. Also we have to consider whether increasing wattage would create darker areas elsewhere.” (When adjusted to bright light, human eyes are less able to see objects in darkened areas.)

“We are looking at our standards, but the basic question is whether it would actually improve safety to have higher wattage bulbs,” he said.

Finding the way to San Jose

A while ago Red Phone was telling folks the best way to get to the airport without driving.

I have a great way: Take CalTrain from Gilroy to the Santa Clara station. You arrive in time to take the No. 10 Flyer right to San Jose International Airport.

Red Phone:

Dear Transit Traveler: Red Phone appreciates all the tips we can convey to readers. This one sounds like a keeper. Thanks!