Sidewalks in shambles:
”
I’m in an electric wheelchair and I go down the street and the
sidewalks are all torn up. They’re in terrible shape and I have to
ride in the street. Three times in the last month I’ve almost been
hit by a car because I have to ride in the street. I think this is
terrible for Gilroy. They spend $27 million on a new police station
and the don’t fix the sidewalks.
”
sidewalks in shambles: “I’m in an electric wheelchair and I go down the street and the sidewalks are all torn up. They’re in terrible shape and I have to ride in the street. Three times in the last month I’ve almost been hit by a car because I have to ride in the street. I think this is terrible for Gilroy. They spend $27 million on a new police station and the don’t fix the sidewalks.”
You didn’t mention a specific street, caller, but your best bet would be to contact the city of Gilroy’s engineering department at 846-0450 and let them know what specific areas you notice are problem areas. These are the fine folks who take care of problems or concerns regarding new construction and development, requests for stop signs and any traffic concerns, sidewalk replacement questions, the 50/50 Sidewalk Program, annual water quality report, encroachment permits (sidewalks, driveways, parkway strips) and grading/dust control.
Parking woes: “People that live across the street and down the block, they rent rooms out of their homes and those people have friends come over. Those people park their cars in front of people’s homes for days, and you can’t park your car there. They leave them there for days. And half the time they park them more than 18 inches away from the gutter, but you can’t say anything. What are people supposed to do?”
The Red Phone wonders why you “can’t say anything.” The best thing to do is be neighborly and talk to your neighbors or the landlord of the renters. You might face problems if you do anything without discussing the issue first and trying to resolve it. However, if a vehicle is left for a long period of time or is blocking your personal parking area and you live in an apartment complex, talk to your landlord. Otherwise, call a tow company.
Turn lane plans: “Speaking of left turn lanes, when will the left turn lane at 10th and Princevalle ever be started up?”
The Red Phone contacted Don Dey with the City of Gilroy and found out, unfortunately, there are no current plans for a left turn signal at 10th and Princevalle. But there is good news, so read on:
“We are trying to seek funds for the installation of (a left turn signal). So once we do acquire the funding, we would be looking at installing one,” Dey said. “We are applying to various regional and state grants for that but have not been successful at this time. So we don’t have any immediate plans, but hope to get money in the future from some grants so that we can put one in.”
Keep your fingers crossed that those grants come through, caller.
It’s just embarrassing!: “I wanted to know when Gilroy is going to update their recycling through South Valley Disposal, like San Jose and even San Benito County, where they don’t need the square bins. They actually get a toter and they throw all the recycling in the toter instead of separating. I think it would be a great idea. It’s embarrassing that San Benito County has something like that before we do, being that we’re in the Santa Clara County.”
The Red Phone doesn’t quite find it embarrassing, perhaps a little more inconvenient than embarrassing, but contacted South Valley Disposal nonetheless.
Phil Couchee, general manager of South Valley Disposal and Recycling, Inc., said there are no current plans to make the switch from the square bins to the “toter.”
“At this point the city does not have any immediate plans to go to a single stream co-mingled recycling,” Couchee said. “They have looked at it in the past and will probably look at it again in the future, but at this point it’s not something that the city is prepared to do.”
So, good caller, it looks like your embarrassment will continue, at least for a while. But remember, you’re not alone. The entire city of Gilroy is trucking out the square bins along with you.
