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Not too late for change
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The following letter is in response to John McKay’s letter posted to morganhilltimes.com Thursday Feb. 19. (McKay’s column also ran in the Feb. 20 print edition of the Times.)
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Last week I decided to become actively involved in the Monterey Road Complete Street six-month pilot project. As a life-long citizen whose family has eight generations of Morgan Hill natives, and a current resident of downtown, I felt compelled to become vocally involved in a decision to move forward with a plan that most people that I know are opposed to, and had filled out a survey expressing their disapproval.
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As I drove through town at noon on the first day of the lane removal (Feb. 18) and saw for the first time the full scope of what had been done, it became apparent that it was time to do something. I started a petition onchange.org with one paragraph:
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“The Monterey Road Complete Street Six Month Pilot, from day one, is a mess. Morgan Hill does not have enough north-to-south routes to support our growing town, and severing half of the main artery will likely hurt our downtown. A whole car lane given up to bicycle traffic is just plain stupidity; put it back NOW!”
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There have been nearly seven hundred signatures in five days, which I would say is social media beginning to live up to its potential, and it is likely just a beginning. This weekend of ridiculous and possibly illegal signage illustrated in safety orange what a travesty of planning this project is from its conception.
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I would suggest that Mr. McKay pay close attention to this latent response. I know that I, myself, have nothing to lose by speaking up for myself and with others against the loss of such a crucial artery in our geographically constrained downtown. He is a public official, and saying that “the forums in social media have lost their credibility due to the mostly negative content” is dangerously close to marginalizing the legitimate concerns of the citizens he is supposed to be working for—and therein damaging his own credibility as a public servant.
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Mr. McKay is correct, the Morgan Hill City Council took bold steps; and while I applaud them for the attempts at forward thinking, I also would caution them to boldly step back if that is what the public wants from them.
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Mr. McKay also stated that the best time to get involved is decision time. This is a six-month trial, and there are nearly a full six months until decision time, and we are now involved. In the following weeks I will be seeking out help with this issue from neighbors and business owners downtown who are also opposed to the lane reduction.
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Soon we will be distributing hard copy petition forms so that anyone can sign them, with the goal that within six months we will have our lane back. I’m sorry if you feel we are late to the show, but that’s what rewind is for.
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Sean Adams, Morgan Hill
Congrats on public art
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Congratulations to the Morgan Hill City Council for voting to move forward with the downtown parking structure and the inclusion of its artful display of the local poppy jasper mineral and whimsical rendition of our famous tarantulas. I think this will be a great addition to our downtown central zone and provide a lovely gathering place for local citizens and visitors alike. What could be more boring than a plain old façade on the face of a parking building? The artistic rendering of a lighted tarantula will be sure to bring all kinds of comments, observations, critiques, smiles and banter. Awesome! Good Job City Council!!
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Robert Benich, Morgan Hill
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Keep an open mind
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I just read the Guest View titled “Downtown Nonsense” in today’s paper (Feb. 20 edition of the Times).
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Wow….so much anger and bitterness in that letter and it lacks any constructive criticism. Why would you print something like that? This is a great little town and that letter is extremely negative and only serves to be divisive. Let’s give the traffic rerouting experiment a try and see what happens.
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Like my Dad always said, “An open mind is nothing to be ashamed of.”
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Regards,
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David R. Frazer, Morgan Hill
