It is impossible to stop progress, but it is possible to plan
wisely for that progress and avert negative impacts.
Traffic study calls for some changes
It is impossible to stop progress, but it is possible to plan wisely for that progress and avert negative impacts. A new traffic model developed by the city’s contractor found justification to expand roads that are in the city’s general plan, and in most cases have been in that plan for decades.
Ideas include a two-lane extension of Santa Teresa Boulevard, expanding Tennant Avenue from two to four lanes by 2015 and expanding Cochrane Road to six lanes by 2030. The study also looks at narrowing Monterey Road between Main and Dunne avenues and shifting the future location of the Walnut Grove Drive northern extension.
A one-lane Monterey Road through downtown makes sense
These are all valid ideas and need to be seriously considered. The city needs to look to the future and not get caught flat-footed. Residents decried the extension of Butterfield Boulevard, and that thoroughfare now allows motorists to more quickly travel north and south, avoiding downtown.
The eventual connection of Santa Teresa Boulevard from its southern end at Watsonville Road, to its northern end at Tilton Avenue, will provide another north/south route through South County. That would enable traffic engineers to narrow Monterey Road to one lane through downtown.
That’s the general idea. Get those who want to get north and south through the city without having to traverse downtown speed bumps, and allow those frequenting downtown business to slowly cruise through downtown looking for a parking space.
Not planning for the future would be irresponsible
Sorry, residents near the proposed Santa Teresa route, but that extension has been in the works for decades. The traffic study shows what we need to do to smoothly move traffic through the region.
As much as we’d like, we can’t stop progress. Heck, those who grew up here in the 1960s and ’70s tried mightily to stop progress, without success. Those who moved here from Silicon Valley in the 1980s and ’90s tried the same. They successfully enacted a growth control ordinance, but that does nothing for the outlying regions. We may be able to further slow progress, but it is our duty to plan for it, and part of the planning includes keeping traffic moving smoothly.
We need to plan for the future. It would be irresponsible to do otherwise.
