The City of Morgan Hill continues to seek input from residents and business owners on a potential “complete streets” project for the city’s downtown that is scheduled for discussion at the May 19 city council meeting.
Earlier this week, city staff began circulating an online survey asking the community what their priorities are for downtown Morgan Hill, and what they think about previous efforts by the city to revamp the street layout for safety, noise and comfort improvements.
The survey will be open until May 16.
“A lane reduction has been identified as one of the best ways to slow traffic, improve safety and create more space for the community and businesses,” says a May 11 email from city staff that included a link to the survey. “The City Council will review this approach (May 19) along with any other staff recommendations and direct staff on how to proceed with downtown improvements.”
City staff initially sent out the survey on May 10, but revised it the next day after hearing complaints about some of the wording contained in the questions.
“This is a part of our business recovery efforts and comes at the request of both the downtown businesses that are struggling and the community that is asking for more gathering space and safety improvements,” the May 11 email adds. “This survey is one of several data points that we will use to provide recommendations to the City Council.”
The survey is one of many methods the city has used in recent weeks to gauge support and solicit input for “traffic calming” and complete streets projects in downtown Morgan Hill. Residents and other stakeholders can submit comments to the city by email at [email protected], or attend the May 19 online city council meeting.
Information on how to log onto the May 19 meeting will be available on the city’s website at morganhill.ca.gov.
The city and MOHI Social restaurant, owned by Frank Leal, also hosted an April 23 panel on complete streets and how other cities in the region have fared in recent years with lane reductions or other traffic calming projects. There was also an online town hall meeting May 6, conducted by the city, for residents to tune in to ask questions and offer input.
In 2015, the city conducted a six-month trial of a lane reduction on Monterey Road through the downtown. The experiment was met with strong opinions on both sides of the debate. City staff and a consultant collected traffic data during the trial, and found that more bicyclists were attracted downtown and there was a reduction in collisions. Vehicle traffic times ticked up slightly during the trial, according to the data.
In the years since, the city has also installed a number of other street improvements downtown, including a traffic light at Fourth Street and Monterey Road, and pedestrian-operated lighting in the ground at crosswalks.
