With the upcoming installation of new pedestrian-operated flashing lights at two busy intersections, all downtown crosswalks on Monterey Road will soon be protected with bright signals as City Hall aims to continue to reduce accidents while attracting visitors to the neighborhood.
Earlier this month, the Morgan Hill City Council approved the installation of “pedestrian-activated in-roadway warning lights” in the crosswalks at the intersections of First and Fifth streets at Monterey Road. The council approved a contract with Golden Bay Construction, at a cost of $123,309, to install the button-operated light system in the ground at the four crosswalks (two at each intersection).
The new systems to be installed at First and Fifth streets are the same as those installed in 2017 at Third Street and Monterey Road. Pedestrians preparing to cross Monterey can push a button that activates a series of bright, flashing lights in the roadway that continue to pulse long enough for the walker to reach the other side. The purpose of the beacon system is to alert motorists that one or more pedestrians are crossing the street.
Currently, the First and Fifth street crosswalks give pedestrians the option to carry bright orange flags as they cross the street. All other major intersections on Monterey Road in downtown Morgan Hill offer more protective measures, including traffic lights at Dunne Avenue, Fourth Street and Main Avenue.
Mayor Rich Constantine said the approval of the new lighting systems where Monterey Road crosses First and Fifth streets are part of the city’s ongoing plan to achieve “Vision Zero,” a wide-ranging public safety plan to ensure that no traffic incidents in Morgan Hill result in injuries or death.
“This is another way for us to make our city safer, knowing that with all the new restaurants and a new hotel going in, our downtown is getting more populated with visitors,” Constantine said. “Anything we can do to make it safer, we will do, and that is why we are putting those crosswalk lights in.”
Pedestrian safety has been an increasing concern in the city’s downtown as the city has attracted new commercial and residential projects in a years-long effort to revitalize the corridor.
Morgan Hill Police have responded to numerous accidents involving pedestrians at downtown crosswalks in recent years. These include a July 4, 2016 accident in which two children were struck by a vehicle in the Fourth Street crosswalk on Monterey Road, resulting in severe injuries.
The city contracted with Golden Bay Construction in 2015 to install “high-visibility crosswalks and rapid flashing beacon systems” for pedestrians at the intersections of West Main Avenue and Del Monte Avenue, West Dunne Avenue and Del Monte Avenue, and Monterey Road and Central Avenue, according to a city staff report.
Once the contractor begins the installation of the new pedestrian-operated systems at the First Street and Fifth Street crosswalks—likely at the beginning of 2020—they will have 30 days to complete the work, according to the contract approved by the council at the Dec. 4 meeting.
