Tour de France top 10 racer Floyd Landis won the 17-mile third
stage of the Tour of California in just under 36 minutes, but it
took local resident Lisa Niva more than an hour to walk four miles
to work after the county closed several crucial roads to
accommodate the inaugural event that skirted Morgan Hill late last
February.
Tour de France top 10 racer Floyd Landis won the 17-mile third stage of the Tour of California in just under 36 minutes, but it took local resident Lisa Niva more than an hour to walk four miles to work after the county closed several crucial roads to accommodate the inaugural event that skirted Morgan Hill late last February.
By most measures the first Tour of California was an overwhelming success, likely putting the Golden State on the pro-cycling map for decades to come.
But for some county residents like Niva, the race was an unwelcome and unwarranted intrusion on their lives that came with little to no warning.
On race day, numerous residents were locked out of the roads they needed to get to work or locked into their homes while the cyclists pedaled past them.
The county agreed to close the 17-mile loop from Bailey Avenue to Willow Springs and stretches of Uvas Road, Oak Glen Avenue, Hale Avenue and Santa Teresa Boulevard because the county needed to “heal some wounds” over a lawsuit against San Jose according to Supervisor Don Gage.
Trying to play nice with others is admirable in this case and the tour is certainly a worthwhile event, but the county never should have left the onus of notifying residents on San Jose’s shoulders – the bullish city to the north not known for being a good neighbor to South County.
The city only notified people who lived on the route and posted some signs along the race course; they never thought about all the people who rely on those thoroughfares in their daily lives.
People like Niva, who tried to drive to the ranch where she takes care of 30 horses, even did their part to play by the rules by showing up early, but still weren’t allowed access. Though the road closure signs said 10am to 3pm, she still wasn’t allowed to pass at 9am that morning.
Encouraging the tour to pass by our beautiful countryside makes sense. Using South County residents and the roads they rely on in their daily lives as bargaining chips with our large and egocentric neighbor to the North doesn’t.
