“Dear Red Phone, Just north of Leavesley on Murray Avenue, I’m wondering when is the city ever going to put a stop sign in between the residential area? We get a lot of traffic from the west side early in the morning, and let me tell you they’re speeding like they’re on the freeway. I know they’re trying to avoid all the lights on Monterey and Leavesley, so they just use Murray as their shortest cut I guess. I think they forget this is a residential area. The city promises to do this and that, or they’ll look into it, but nothing has been done about it. Promises, promises but nothing gets done. Maybe we could get some policemen to patrol this area between 7 and 8:30 in the morning. That’s when we get a lot of traffic through here. Thanks Red Phone.”
Dear Traffic Terri, Red Phone caught up with Don Dey, the city’s transportation engineer. He said the city has a project in the works right now to install new roadway striping and bike lanes on Murray Avenue north of Leavesley Road. The construction project should start in October 2012. Dey said the schedule for striping Murray Ave has not been established by the contractor at this point, but the new striping should calm the traffic through this area.
A few years ago, installation of stops signs were investigated for this section of Murray Avenue and Dey said it was determined it wasn’t justified by traffic volumes.
The conditions on this street section have not changed significantly so stop signs are still not justified. Looks like no stop signs will be installed anytime soon reader. Hopefully the city’s plans help temper the traffic.
“Dear Red Phone, When they finish the Butterfield Boulevard extension, are they going to resurface the road on Watsonville Road, from Monterey to Santa Teresa? It’s really in bad shape. And I’ve been hearing rumors that Watsonville Road might be widened. I certainly hope not. We get plenty of traffic as it is now. Thanks!”
Dear Worried over Watsonville, The city is aware of the need to resurface Watsonville Road, however, it will not happen immediately following the completion of the Butterfield Blvd. extension project. Recently, the city’s streets crews patched some of the distressed areas along Watsonville Road.
Pavement repair work is becoming a significant challenge due to the dwindling resources available for such activity. Unfortunately, the backlog of pavement maintenance needs is continually growing due to the lack of a sustained funding source. The city will ensure that the roads are safe and in that regard the resurfacing of Watsonville Road will be weighed against other priorities in the near future. There are no plans to widen Watsonville Road except near the intersection of Monterey Road as part of the Butterfield extension project.
