Drivers would be able to go to and from the outlets to new
centers
Gilroy – A bridge project that will give outlet shoppers direct access to shopping centers off Highway 152 is set to move forward, now that a task force has proposed ways to safeguard a local neighborhood against possible traffic increases.
The city’s plan for a direct eastern link between the areas – one that involves extending Camino Arroyo Boulevard south of Sixth Street and creating a bridge over Llagas Creek – has worried some Sixth Street residents ever since the plan was unveiled late last year.
The Sixth Street overpass is now used by local shoppers as a southerly entrance to the outlets and by farmers and ranchers heading into town from the east. Shoppers traveling to the Pacheco Pass or Gilroy Crossing shopping centers typically use Highway 101 to move between the commercial hubs.
Residents around Sixth Street fear a direct connection between the shopping areas will generate traffic that would otherwise bypass their neighborhood.
“I was really concerned about what the traffic was going to be like on Sixth Street,” said Jack Luoma, a task force member who lives at Sixth and Chestnut streets. “It’s not a four-way stop now. … It’s one of the most accident-prone intersections as it is.”
The task force, working with City Traffic Engineer Don Dey and other experts, has developed ways to improve safety for both pedestrians and motorists trying to access or cross Sixth Street. They have recommended pedestrian crosswalks, speed limit signs, and four-way stop signs to slow cars along the local artery. Plans also call for extending sidewalks farther into the street at intersections, similar to portions of Monterey Street in downtown Gilroy.
Dey said the curb extensions prevent cars from parking at the corner of intersections and afford greater visibility to drivers coming off side-streets. The additions are planned for most intersections along Sixth Street between Railroad Street, to the west, and Rogers Lane, to the east near the overpass.
Mayor Al Pinheiro welcomed the recommendations but declined to comment on the specifics until he had a chance to review them. He is among the leading supporters of efforts to form a direct connection between the city’s eastern shopping hubs. Pinheiro said his only wish is that the project, scheduled for completion in December 2007, could have been in place for the opening of the new Wal-Mart Supercenter. The 225,000-square-foot superstore, which will add groceries to its list of discount offerings, is expected to open at the end of the month.
“I’m 100 percent behind the idea,” Pinheiro said of the bridge project. “I think it’s a great connection for the two areas. It all makes sense. I wish I could have put that bridge in yesterday, before Wal-Mart opened up.”
The public will have a chance to comment on the Sixth Street traffic recommendations at a Sept. 29 meeting.
