The City of Morgan Hill is recruiting local residents and business representatives to form a working group to collect public input on the city’s Downtown Monterey Road Traffic Calming project.
The working group will host a series of community meetings on different aspects of the Monterey Road lane reduction project, according to city staff. Public feedback gathered at the meetings will be used by the group to inform project design recommendations for the Morgan Hill City Council.
City staff expect to present such recommendations to the council on Nov. 3.
The council first approved the Downtown Monterey Road Traffic Calming and Beautification project on May 19, and directed staff to design a lane reduction project “that improves accessibility, increases safety and creates additional space for community members and businesses,” says an informational email blast from the City of Morgan Hill.
Anyone who is interested in participating in the working group can email Hi************@mo********.gov by Sept. 21.
The upcoming community meetings will take place online at the following times:
– Sept. 24, 9-11am: Review findings of downtown block-by-block conditions; review results from survey and feedback from businesses regarding parking, parklets and loading zones
– Oct. 1, 9-11am: Review parklet and beautification design options
– Oct. 8, 9-11am: Review traffic engineer design for lane reduction and traffic congestion management.
Details about how to participate in the online meetings will be available on the city’s website: morganhill.ca.gov.
The following additional public meetings on the Monterey Road project are coming up, according to city staff:
– Cafecito con Edith virtual meeting (English and Spanish), 6:30pm Sept. 23
– Downtown residents meeting, 5:30pm Sept. 30, at the Community and Cultural Center outdoor lawn. Residents within a half-mile radius will be notified of the meeting, though the session is open to the community at large.
– Zoom Community Meeting, 5:30pm Oct. 7
– Cafecito con Edith (English and Spanish), at the Morgan Hill Farmers Market, 9am to 12pm Oct. 9
– Open House at the downtown popup park, Oct. 22.
City officials are moving forward with the project design despite a petition drive by a group of Morgan Hill residents to place a lane reduction measure on an upcoming election ballot. If it makes it to the ballot and wins a majority vote, the measure, proposed by Sally Casas, would require a future public vote in order to implement a lane reduction on Monterey Road through the downtown.
Casas and the group known as “Voters Choice for Monterey Road” are currently collecting signatures for the petition for a ballot measure.
