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I read that the city has spent over $600,000 on repaving Gilroy
streets. I was wondering how much of that money was spent on
streets east of Monterey?
Neglected Neighborhoods
“I read that the city has spent over $600,000 on repaving Gilroy streets. I was wondering how much of that money was spent on streets east of Monterey? I was also wondering how the city determines how to and where to spend our tax money. I recently bought a house on Alexander Street, and one of the things my neighbor brought to my attention is the lack of city spending in our neighborhood.”
Red Phone:
Caller, streets in need of repair are a perpetual problem. The city does have a process they follow to determine which streets are re-paved and when. If you read about the $600,000 re-paving project in the Oct. 4 issue of the Dispatch, then you would have noted that city has a regular rotation of road repairs over a period of eight years.
City Traffic Engineer Don Dey did shine a little more light on priority and/or certain areas being repaved. “Usually as far as prioritization goes, it’s based on the structural condition of the pavement. The city goes out and surveys the condition of the roads, that’s usually on a period of several years. After information is gathered on which streets are notably the weakest, they are placed in prioritization,” Dey said.
Dey added that the city does in fact look at how spending throughout the city is broken down, he didn’t have those figures in front of him, but if you want a little clarification of where tax dollars go, don’t miss the last of Mayor Al’s classes on city spending. The meeting will be tonight from 7 to 9pm at Luigi Aprea Elementary School’s multi-purpose room, or check out the city budget online at www.ci.gilroy.ca.us/finance/index.html. And remember good caller your voice is important to the city, if there is a problem that immediately needs to be taken care of, call city maintenance at 846-0281.
Delayed Signal
“Calling about the traffic signal lights on southbound Monterey at 10th Street. Didn’t know if that could be looked into, looks like the cycle time is about three minutes, thank you.”
Red Phone:
Contacted city traffic engineer Don Dey. “I will have our traffic signal maintenance crew look into it that, and see if everything is working properly. A lot times if a signal runs long, and no cars are present, the traffic sensors could be malfunctioning, Dey said. Thank you caller, the situation will be addressed.
Share the Wealth
“I just returned home from the opening ceremonies at the new sports complex. It’s a beautiful addition to our city and a tribute to our youth. One of the speakers mentioned that this is the fourth park that the city has opened this year, great but let’s spread the wealth around. Being a senior with a wheelchair bound family member how about doing something about our deplorable sidewalks and curbs. We may be in the minority but our needs are also great. Let’s see about getting these sidewalks fixed, thank you.”
Red Phone:
Good caller glad you enjoyed the opening of the new sports park, a wonderful addition to our grand city. Red Phone contacted Mayor Al with your concerns about how money is divvied out to improve and enhance the city. If you didn’t catch the question above, there will be a meeting from 7 to 9pm tonight in the Luigi Aprea Meeting Room. The mayor encourages everyone to attend to better understand where and why money is spent.
“We also have added to the 50 Percent Program to our budget. Which gives the ability to anyone who owns a sidewalk in front of their place, an opportunity to have the city pay for 50 percent of the repair,” Pinheiro said. And the buck doesn’t stop there caller, a Sidewalk Task force made up of Gilroy citizens has hit the streets investigating where sidewalks are in need of repair and the information is currently on its way back to the council for review.
“There is no question that every councilman that sits on this council understands the situation with the sidewalks, but we also need citizens to take some responsibility too, that is why we have created these programs,” Pinheiro said.
