Residents polled in recent weeks have provided a mix of
responses to what kind of downtown street atmosphere they want to
see on Monterey Road, and the biggest point of contention thus far
is whether a new street should consist of four lanes or two.
Residents polled in recent weeks have provided a mix of responses to what kind of downtown street atmosphere they want to see on Monterey Road, and the biggest point of contention thus far is whether a new street should consist of four lanes or two.
So far, the city hasn’t committed to any specifications or details for a “streetscape” revitalization project for Monterey Road, nor even announced that such a project is necessary. Earlier this year, the city council acting as the Redevelopment Agency board of directors hired urban planning consultant Callander Associates to send out feelers to the business and residential community, to determine what kind of street they would prefer downtown.
Based on written and online survey responses from about 160 residents of Morgan Hill, Callander Associates presented seven options for a new street design at a public workshop Thursday.
Two of the options would allow four lanes to remain for motor traffic – as the street is configured now – and four options would narrow the street down to two lanes. A seventh option could be four or two lanes, with no median.
Setting the choices apart are combinations of attributes considered most important to a pedestrian-friendly, transit-oriented downtown that can attract visitors – wider sidewalks to accommodate outdoor cafe-style seating; a wide, narrow or lack of a median strip; existing dimensions for sidewalks and median; and parallel versus angled parking on the side of the street.
Despite the small number of people responding to the surveys, city staff and the consultant were pleased with the attendance of about 80 residents at Thursday’s meeting. They also noted that attendance at similar public meetings held on downtown redevelopment has steadily increased since earlier this summer, when the city began negotiating with Barry Swenson Builder to develop two key properties on Monterey Road – a project that remains separate from the streetscape.
“I think Callander is doing a marvelous job of taking the community process seriously and working through the options with interested members of he public,” said assistant to the city manager, David Heindel, whose office oversees the BSB project but not the downtown streetscape. “I was encouraged, and happy to see some absolutely new faces there.”
The streetscape outreach project is managed by the city’s business and housing assistance services office. The RDA paid Callander $245,000 to conduct the outreach study and compile the different options to present to the public – which is expected to be complete by March 2011.
Based on more than 100 pages of results from the online and written surveys, and comments submitted at previous outreach attempts, most residents who responded said the top three concepts they think of in association with a “great (downtown) street” are spacious sidewalks with outdoor cafe seating; pedestrian friendliness; and a pretty landscape or streetscape.
Furthermore, the three biggest gripes about the existing atmosphere on Monterey Road are the apparent lack of pedestrian safety; lack of things to do; and the speed of motor traffic.
The survey asked responders to compare other downtowns in the Bay Area to that of Morgan Hill. Listed were downtown Santa Cruz, Livermore, Los Gatos, Palo Alto, San Luis Obispo and Campbell. Most of these downtowns consist of a two-lane thoroughfare through the center of the shopping district, Brian Fletcher of Callander Associates noted Thursday.
The existing right-of-way on Monterey Road is 110 feet, which is wider than that of most small-town urban streets in the area, Fletcher said. The sidewalks are currently 12 feet wide, and the different options could extend them up to 23 feet to allow more public outdoor amenities including not only cafe seating, but also public benches, landscaping and public art.
Sometime after March, the city council will ultimately decide if the downtown artery needs a makeover, and if so what specifications it should include. No budget has been approved or considered for the project.
The RDA’s capital improvement program budget for the next five years includes $10.4 million for downtown street revitalization, noted BAHS director Garrett Toy. That cost would include all improvements the council approves for not only Monterey Road, but also the side streets downtown, including lighting and landscaping at the median near Dunne and Main avenues, pavement, curb, gutter and sidewalk repair, water and sewer upgrades, and undergrounding of overhead utilities.
That budget does not include the completed Third Street Promenade project, which celebrated a grand opening in April and cost about $3.6 million in RDA and grant funding.
