GILROY
– When temperatures at the Gilroy Garlic Festival hover in the
low-80s, things couldn’t be better for attendance figures or worse
for traffic issues.
By Lori Stuenkel
GILROY – When temperatures at the Gilroy Garlic Festival hover in the low-80s, things couldn’t be better for attendance figures or worse for traffic issues.
“If it’s the perfect day, that’s when the problem is: If it’s the perfect day, people can have a difficult time getting out and getting in,” said Stan Devlin, Gilroy police officer and chair of the festival association’s traffic committee.
Actually, he said, getting out shouldn’t be as challenging a task to tens of thousands of visitors as getting into the festival Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Gilroy police, who partner with the California Highway Patrol to manage traffic in and around Gilroy each festival weekend, are already posting signs directing cars to parking lots and will set up electronic signs to direct freeway drivers coming from north and south of town to an appropriate exit.
From a vantage point in the hills above Gilroy that allow him to see north along Santa Teresa Boulevard and U.S. 101 and south along the highway and Monterey Street, CHP Sgt. Dave Hill will manage the flow of traffic. When things back up near the Masten Avenue exit north of Gilroy, the electronic signs will direct drivers to the Monterey exit until things lighten up, Devlin said.
Still, with 10,000 cars expected Friday and 17,000 expected Saturday – Sunday will fall somewhere between – drivers can anticipate back-ups.
“I’ve seen cars on 101 as far back as San Martin Avenue, driving 2 miles per hour,” Devlin said.
Between 15 and 18 CHP officers, along with Gilroy police, will direct traffic at impacted intersections, like Masten and Monterey, Masten and Santa Teresa and Luchessa and Monterey.
“Our routes and paths are basically the same every year,” Devlin said. “I have it down to how many cones I need.”
Meanwhile, Bob Gutierrez, the parking chair who works closely with the traffic committee, says traffic inside the 100 acres of festival parking should be more streamlined this year.
More exits will be available, to prevent bottlenecks of cars leaving the festival. Parking volunteers will work with the Gilroy Police Department to open various exits as needed.
“We’ve sort of rearranged the parking lots to hopefully give more people easier access to the buses, instead of having to walk a little farther,” Gutierrez said. “We’ve extended our bus routes so they won’t have to walk too far out to get a ride.”
Not much changes from year to year that would impact traffic and parking issues, Devlin said. Parking near the ranch side of Christmas Hill Park, along Santa Teresa Boulevard, is slightly more impacted after the construction of Ascencion Solorsano Middle School on Grenache Way. The school will be closed off to vehicles.
Within a couple years, however, it could be a different story as houses in the Glen Loma Ranch development spring up on prime parking acreage.
“It does change a little as things develop around town,” Devlin said.
But by then, he’ll be relieved of his duties as traffic chair. This is his second year as chair – which he inherited after two years as co-chair – and another officer will take over next year.
Parking, which is free, will be open from 7 a.m. until the festival closes at 7 p.m. each day this weekend.
