Traffic will slow down soon on Monterey Road between Dunne and
Main avenues
– or else.
Traffic will slow down soon on Monterey Road between Dunne and Main avenues – or else.
The City Council spent $85,000 of its $125,000 traffic taming budget Wednesday with another $40,000 reserved for well-designed poles to hold entry banners at both entrances to the downtown area.
City staff will study pole designs and municipal codes and First Amendment rights as they pertain to banners in public places and give council its opinion at a future meeting. The poles are favored by downtown merchants, who have long appealed to the council to find ways of reducing the danger to pedestrians cause by speeding traffic.
In the meantime, drivers should expect lane widths narrowed from 12-feet to 10.5-feet, two removable rubber speed cushions at Third Street, trees in the Fourth Street median and bright, white stripes in the First and Third street crosswalks.
On a trial basis, motorists will also see temporary barriers near the curb in front of the Community Center’s Monterey Road side, designed to cause a feeling that one is entering a special place, not appropriate for speeding.
Another $5,000 is now designated for increased traffic enforcement by police. Public Works Director Jim Ashcraft told council that most of the improvements should be in place within a month or two.
In other council business, Geno and Cindy Acevedo were given the extra time they asked for to secure construction loan for an El Toro Brewing Company restaurant and brewpub in the former police station at Monterey and West Main Avenue. The couple is buying the building from the city.
Councilman Greg Sellers summed up council opinion that, while they approved of the Acevedos’ plans for the building, things needed to move along more quickly.
“I thought it (the plan) was almost too good to be true and it is proving to be that,” Sellers said. “I won’t support any more extensions. If (the project) does come back, I’ll begin looking at other alternatives.”
Cindy Acevedo told council that they were holding their contractors to a four-month turn around time to meet council’s milestones.
“I’ve always dreamed of this and we are very close to achieving it,” Acevedo said.
Council also gave the nod to sending out requests for proposals from private companies wishing to form a public/private partnership with the city to operate an outdoor sports center on Condit Road. So far, The Coliseum of Morgan Hill and Big League Dreams of Southern California have showed an interest.
