The Gilroy City Council on Monday heard from another group that formed to address unsafe traffic conditions in its part of the growing city. This time it was members of the three-year-old Upper Welburn Neighborhood Group, which says Wellburn Avenue has turned into a speedway and cut-through for motorists driving to major thoroughfares such as Santa Teresa Boulevard.
The council heard that the group, which represents about 37 residences, had met with city staff, in particular former traffic engineer Henry Servin, who recently left the city for a similar post in Santa Monica, at various meetings to work out traffic calming measures.
A staff recommendation to authorize a traffic study for $35,000 was met with derision from some on the council, at which point Councilwoman Cat Tucker reminded the council the situation had been going on for more than three years. She said that through previous conversations with Servin, she felt the city now had the data needed to make improvements.
Since the agenda item was for the council to receive an update on the matter, the council will revisit the issue in November. At that time, city staff will present the council with an action plan and estimated costs for the implementation of soft measures Servin had recommended the city could try without incurring much cost or disruption while also working on the traffic study.
Some of the soft measures include adding reflective striping along Welburn Avenue, putting up soft bollards with a “Do Not Enter” sign at the western entrance of Welburn at Mantelli Drive, and installing “No Right Turn” signs along southbound Mantelli just before the Welburn intersection.
Planning update
It’s been a busy year, Planning Commission chair Sue Rodriguez said on Monday as she delivered the group’s annual presentation to the council. Since its last report in September 2015, the commission has held 16 meetings, making decisions on about 30 agenda items, including architecture and site reviews, zoning changes, tentative maps and urban service agreements. The commission also approved five conditional use permits, including the expansion of Princevalle pet hospital, New Hope Community Church operations, replacement of three wireless antennas at Wheeler Manor, a plastic recycling facility on Obata Way and a card room casino in the San Ysidro Shopping Center. Several Planning Commission decisions later resulted in variations, modifications or different outcomes when they got to the City Council, said Rodriguez, including the general plan update and Urban Service Agreement for the 721 acres north of the city. She concluded the four-minute presentation with the suggestion that, going forward, planners and the council hold a joint study session on large projects. Two members of the current planning commission, Paul Kloecker and Tom Fischer are running for City Council on Nov. 8.
Cleaner electricity to come
Silicon Valley Community Choice Energy, the new energy cooperative of which Gilroy is a member, along with 12 other jurisdictions in Santa Clara County, last week received the necessary permit and certificate from PG&E and the state’s Public Utilities Commission to begin operations next year, reported councilman Dan Harney, who represents the city on the cooperative’s governing board. The energy group aims to source 100 percent carbon-free electricity for residences and businesses to help reduce the region’s greenhouse gas emissions.
