• The Red Phone sounds off Saturday in The Times. We invite you
to call us 24/7 to ask questions, report a complaint, give us a
tip, offer an amusing tale of the short variety or just want people
to know about something to do with Morgan Hill and the surrounding
territory. We’ll check it out an
d have the answer in an upcoming column.
• The Red Phone sounds off Saturday in The Times.
We invite you to call us 24/7 to ask questions, report a complaint, give us a tip, offer an amusing tale of the short variety or just want people to know about something to do with Morgan Hill and the surrounding territory. We’ll check it out and have the answer in an upcoming column.
Leave us a message on the Red Phone at 779-4106, x206 or check out www.morganhilltimes.com and click on the Red Phone icon. We won’t print your name or share it with others. However, we do need your name and phone number for verification purposes.
Downtown speeding:
“You take your life into your hands crossing Monterey Road almost any time of the day or night.’
It’s a matter of manpower and priorities, answers Police Department Lt. Joe Sampson. It can also be expensive (a ticket for speeding or failure to yield the right of way to a pedestrian for instance), ruin your day and might well make you late for wherever you were in such a hurry to get to.
Police do patrol the downtown on an irregular basis while on traffic duty. And, they’re looking to hand out traffic tickets when needed.
A motorcycle cop is on the department’s wish list but is not in the cards at this time with the city looking to trim the budget rather than add expenses. No longer do cities get a share of fines levied in traffic court.
Back in the time (the 1950s) when Monterey Road through the downtown doubled as U.S. 101, Morgan Hill was notorious for being a speed trap. The town received write-ups in newspapers and magazines as a place where not to put the pedal to the metal.
When stacked up against a burglary in progress, clearing an accident scene or any number of other calls for police, traffic enforcement just does not have a high priority.
The current staffing level at MHPD is the same as in 1992, and look how much the city has grown since then.
Still, keep your eye on the rearview mirror.
Parking Woes:
“People that live across the street and down the block, they rent rooms out if 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. According to the law, it’s first-come, first-served for street parking – even in front of you home. 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.
