Chamber: ‘complete streets’ experiment reduces sales

Based on an apparent drop in sales and foot traffic at downtown businesses since the city’s “complete streets” trial on Monterey Road started, the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce is urging the city to keep the street in its original two-lane configuration.
The Chamber, working with the Morgan Hill Downtown Association and city staff, received sales feedback from 44 downtown businesses during the traffic calming, road narrowing experiment that started Feb. 18, according to Chamber Executive Director John Horner.
“Based upon detailed feedback from (these) downtown businesses, we oppose making the changes permanent and support returning to two traffic lanes in each direction through the downtown as soon as possible,” Horner said in a July 22 email to the Times.
The data show that more than a third (36 percent) of these businesses reported “much less” total sales and customer foot traffic during the trial, which ended July 12, Horner reported. Another 18 percent reported “slightly less” foot traffic and 11 percent reported a similar change in sales during the experiment. Thirty-six percent and 41 percent of polled businesses reported “no change” in foot traffic and sales, respectively.
Nine percent of the participating businesses reported “slightly more” or “much more” foot traffic, while 12 percent reported a similar rise in sales, Horner said.
City staff and consultant Alta Planning & Design will present a report on the complete streets experiment to the city council Aug. 5. This report will include a number of data measurements taken during the one-lane trial, which included a buffered bicycle lane and only one vehicle lane in each direction on Monterey Road through the downtown. These measurements include vehicle volumes and average speeds, travel times, bicycle and pedestrian volumes, noise levels and parking metrics.
The council voted unanimously to implement the traffic calming experiment earlier this year in order to determine if such a travel configuration through the downtown would result in a safer and more inviting neighborhood for visitors, pedestrians, bicyclists and families.
The council will likely vote on a permanent configuration for Monterey Road in the fall.
Until then, the Monterey Road “streetscape” construction project will keep vehicle traffic down to a single lane in each direction. This project consists of underground irrigation and electrical upgrades and other infrastructure improvements.
On Lincoln Avenue in downtown Willow Glen, where the city of San Jose tried out a similar road configuration experiment, businesses almost unanimously reported plummeting sales. That prompted the city to end the trial and revert back to the original two-lane configuration.