Gilroy
– The downtown’s side streets will get a facelift to match
improvements on Monterey Street if officials make good on plans to
set aside $1.5 million for the project over the next two years.
Mayor Al Pinheiro, a driving force behind efforts to inject new
life into the city’s dilapidated downtown, stressed the importance
of setting aside money to complete the project.
Gilroy – The downtown’s side streets will get a facelift to match improvements on Monterey Street if officials make good on plans to set aside $1.5 million for the project over the next two years.
Mayor Al Pinheiro, a driving force behind efforts to inject new life into the city’s dilapidated downtown, stressed the importance of setting aside money to complete the project. He has said that extending “streetscape” project features such as lighting to side streets is a crucial step in creating a safe and inviting approach to Gilroy’s historic business district.
“I think what we’re doing is important,” Pinheiro said, “because you’re looking at completing a vision for downtown when it comes to the aesthetic side of it.”
The city plans to begin work on side streets in January 2007, a few months after completing the final phase of the streetscape project along Monterey Street, between Fourth and Sixth streets. Upgrades in both areas will resemble those completed further south on the city’s historic main drag, between Eighth and Sixth streets.
“While that construction is going on, we’ll be designing and going out to bid on… side streets,” City Administrator Jay Baksa said. “Some outreach and homework will need to be done on this. We’ll want to make sure we don’t tear out some newer sidewalks.”
Portions of several of the side streets have already undergone recent improvements or are scheduled for upgrades as part of upcoming development projects.
On Lewis Street, for example, an apartment and retail complex under construction will eliminate the need for new sidewalks, while improvements to one side of Fifth Street, between Eigleberry and Monterey streets, could mean less work to bring the area up to snuff. Officials also may bundle sidewalk and road improvements on Seventh Street with the future arts center project, expected to open across from the Caltrain station in 2008.
In its entirety, the streetscape project will encompass Monterey Street, between Fourth and Eighth streets, as well as the side streets running off the main strip in both directions. To the west, upgrades will extend one block to Eigleberry Street, while the railroad tracks will serve as the boundary to the east.
Earlier in the year, City Transportation Engineer Don Dey presented council members with a “matrix” of side street improvements that ranged in price from $1.8 million to $2.95 million.
“The difference was in the full streetscape, we were looking at full reconstruction of the roadway bed, and in the low-cost one we were looking at more sidewalk improvements and a minimal amount of work on roadway itself,” Dey said.
In the meantime, the city will move forward with the final of phase along Monterey Street. The project will involve a nine-month road closure between Fourth and Sixth streets beginning in January 2006. Officials and local businesses agreed to a shutdown, as opposed to lane closures, to avoid long-term obstacles to parking and traffic.
Once complete, shoppers will no longer have to negotiate the median between Fourth and Sixth streets. The use of angled parking on both sides of the road is expected to double the amount of parking.
The final phase of the streetscape project along Monterey Street was made possible by a $2.5-million grant, awarded in December by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
Council members have not officially signed off on the money needed for the side streets, but have set aside $1 million in the 2006-07 budget and $500,000 in the following year’s budget.
“It’s a place holder,” said City Administrator Jay Baksa, adding that council members will discuss the specifics of the renovations and associated costs during the January 2006 council retreat.
Businesses owners look forward to the improvements, although they recognize that things will get worse before they get better. They appear to welcome the city’s plans to stagger construction between Monterey Street and the side streets, instead of doing both areas at once.
“I think that really is the only way they can do it,” said Steve Gearing, owner of Happy Dog Pizza Company on Fifth Street. “One thing you want to make sure of is that you have access to Monterey (Street). If you have the side streets ripped up you’re not going to be able to do that.”
