1 Traffic study will determine how significant expansion will be
A traffic study that will update the city's road plan will have a major impact on how significant the proposed extension of Santa Teresa Boulevard will be. Those opposing the project should wait until results are out this fall.
Residents who live near the proposed expansion are complaining that the project will create graffiti-laden sound walls, divert business from downtown and take away a neighborhood park. While those fears may be real, the residents should welcome a careful analysis of the proposal's benefits to alleviate traffic congestion around town.
Do we need Santa Teresa Boulevard?
The key question is does our community need another north-south arterial roadway? We already have Butterfield Boulevard, which was extended to Tennant Avenue, and Monterey Road, which is a two-lane north-south arterial running through the city's main downtown section. Questions about having another significant four-lane thoroughfare are just as valid as those who favor the road. The city should work with the residents to address their concerns.
The $14 million extension project is expected to begin in late 2009 and will extend Hale Avenue south of Main Avenue, snaking through mostly empty field and across Dunne Avenue, then intersecting with DeWitt and Spring Avenues. The city already owns about 40 percent of the land that will be used for the road.
Been in plans and on maps for decades
Claims by residents who say they didn't know they would abut a heavily traveled road or that they were told by their real estate agents when they bought their homes that the road would never be built might be true. However, homeowners have a responsibility to investigate and ask questions. Responsible home buying should include a careful evaluation of what city projects are planned for the area in which one buys a home. Neighbors who live near the project should have known about it. The route has been on Morgan Hill's maps for years and in various city plans for decades.
Contact the Morgan Hill City Council to let them know your feelings on the issue. (408) 779-7271 or via its Web site: www.morganhill.ca.gov.
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