On the table: one lane each way in the Downtown
Cars and trucks speeding through downtown is a worry that the City Council will face at a traffic calming workshop Wednesday night. One solution could mean reducing traffic to one lane each way on Monterey Road from Dunne to Main avenues.
The 5pm workshop will also take a look at parking, the visual barrier the mounded center divider presents and ways to make pedestrians safer. All potential solutions spring from the Downtown Plan adopted in concept by the council in 2003 and were bolstered by a report by consultant David J. Powers & Associates.
The intent is to draw more shoppers and visitors to the downtown.
In order to better understand the implications of one-lane traffic and the delays it will inevitably cause at Main and Dunne avenue stoplights, city staffers will ask the council for direction and for opinion from police and fire departments and the school district. The public will also be able to speak.
A traffic impact analysis prepared for the city found that one-lane traffic would work at least through 2010 but, by 2025 would cause backups of up to 67.4 seconds at Fifth Street during peak hours – an unacceptable time.
Traffic calming measures work toward making motorists aware they are entering a special district, by using large signs and banners, special landscaping, textured pavement, median tree lighting and emphasizing pedestrian crosswalks.
Also expected to be discussed is extending Butterfield Boulevard to Madrone Parkway to the north, a move that would make the north-south arterial an option for motorists who do not want to drive through the downtown.
A survey of parking spaces taken at 1:30pm on a Wednesday – after the lunch crush – showed fewer than 50 percent taken in both on-street and off-street parking.
Council has reserved $100,000 in Redevelopment Agency money to fund any improvements and $25,000 for improvement design.
City Council Traffic Workshop, Wednesday, Oct. 13, 5pm, City Hall Chambers, 17555 Peak Ave. Details: www.morganhill.ca.gov or 779-7271. No regular 7pm council meeting Wednesday.
Carol Holzgrafe covers City Hall for The Times. She can be reached by e-mail at ch********@mo*************.com or phoning (408) 779-4106 Ext. 201.
