What’s going on on Sixth Street?
“What nightmare are they creating on East Sixth Street where they are relining the streets with all kinds of curbs? Is that a sneak attack for one-way traffic down Sixth Street when the new bridge on Arroyo Circle opens up to get to Costco and those wonderful outlets we have? Or does the city have extra money to spend on beautification and not fixing city sidewalks so people are not falling down and breaking their hips. I’d like to know what’s it’s going to be or what is happening. I think the taxpayer has the right to know.”
Red Phone:
Indeed the taxpayer does, good caller. We contacted city traffic engineer Don Dey, who brought Red Phone up to speed on the construction at that intersection. He explained that the roadwork that is being performed is part of the Camino Arroyo bridge project. “When we did the analysis of the impact to the surrounding community (by the bridge construction), the residents were concerned about safety along that street with increased traffic,” Dey said.
When vehicles leave the Gilroy Crossing shopping center north over the bridge, some will continue north along Camino Arroyo and traffic heading into central Gilroy will use the Sixth Street overpass over U.S. 101.
“The more we got into discussions, residents were particularly concerned about pedestrians and vehicles crossing Sixth Street,” he said. “To mitigate that traffic, the plan developed by the neighborhood was to narrow the intersection so it was a shorter walking distance to cross for pedestrians. We took out parking places and extended the curbs, so we didn’t change the travel lanes. It made crossing Sixth (Street) shorter and easier for pedestrians, and provides better sight visibility for vehicles moving through that intersection. The cost of the project is from (the pool of) developer impact fees.”
The city held a number of neighborhood meetings and sent out flyers so the upgrades met the needs of residents of that neighborhood. One last thing, good caller, Dey mentioned that the city has no intention of making Sixth Street one way; it will remain a two-way street.
What does alleged predator look like?
“I’ve read again about another alleged sexual predator being caught in South County – Daniel Duran. Why not place a picture of this low-life in the paper so we can warn our kids or police our streets? – together we can!”
Red Phone:
Red Phone feels empathy for you, good caller, but keep in mind that under our system of law we are innocent until proven guilty (as a point of disclosure, Red Phone added “alleged” to this good caller’s question). Obviously the police are keeping tabs on this fellow, but it never hurts to be mindful of what’s going on around us and our children, which is one reason the Dispatch runs “Gilroy’s Most Wanted” every Friday and has provided readers with directions on how to navigate the Megan’s Law Web site: www.meganslaw.ca.gov.
The Dispatch has run Daniel Duran’s mug shot in past stories, and will continue to be as informative as possible with matters of public safety.
