Two young boys—a 13-year-old and a 6-year-old—were sent to the hospital July 4 with “critical injuries” after they were struck by a vehicle while using the Fourth Street crosswalk in downtown Morgan Hill, according to police.
Temporary speed bumps intended to slow downtown traffic were not yet reinstalled at the time of the accident. The Monterey Road main drag had just been resurfaced and restriped prior to the annual Fourth of July parade. A traffic signal at the intersection of the July 4 accident, approved by the council in late 2015, won’t be installed until next spring.
This marks the second traffic accident involving pedestrians downtown since the city council opted for these safety improvements and decided not to make a temporary single-lane road diet into a permanent configuration on Monterey Road.
About 9:10 p.m. July 4, Morgan Hill police responded to a report of an injury collision at Monterey Road and Fourth Street. While responding to the call, officers learned a white Jeep traveling northbound on Monterey Road hit two juveniles crossing the roadway, police said.
Upon arrival, officers identified the involved parties and assisted the injured pedestrians. According to MHPD Sgt. Carson Thomas, both juveniles were crossing eastbound on Monterey Road, in the crosswalk. The 13-year-old was riding a bicycle and the 6-year-old was riding a scooter. Neither was wearing a helmet.
One of the juveniles was trapped under the vehicle when police arrived, and had to be extricated by Fire/EMS personnel, according to police. MHPD Sgt. Bill Norman said at the scene that both children suffered “critical injuries.” They were transported to Valley Medical Center.
The female adult driver of the Jeep, who was not hurt in the accident, remained on the scene and cooperated with authorities, police said.
At the time of the collision, there were no signs the driver was driving under the influence of alcohol, police said.
On July 6, Thomas said both children were still at the hospital. The 13-year-old remained in critical condition, and the younger pedestrian was “stable.” Authorities declined to disclose details about their injuries. The accident remains under investigation.
‘Traffic calming’ a priority
City Hall has been in the process since last year of implementing “traffic calming” safety improvements along downtown streets, in an effort to slow vehicles and make pedestrians and bicyclists more visible to motorists.
The council last summer improved a list of safety measures to be implemented throughout the downtown, chief among them a traffic signal at Monterey Road and Fourth Street—the scene of the July 4 accident. The council shot down the idea of flashing lights at the crosswalks, which have been suggested repeatedly by several residents who felt the signage was not enough to alert motorists of the crossing.
That traffic signal is on schedule to be installed by the end of March 2017, according to Morgan Hill Communications Manager Maureen Tobin.
The first accident downtown this year occurred March 12, when a gray Ford hit two female adult pedestrians in the crosswalk at Third Street and Monterey Road. One of the pedestrians was transported to an area hospital with minor injuries, and was released later that evening, according to police. One of the pedestrians was cited on suspicion of public drunkenness.
Since the city ended an experiment to reduce Monterey Road to a one-lane “road diet” last summer due to public opposition, the other efforts to slow down vehicles have been enacted. These include re-striping and resurfacing of downtown streets, narrowing the lanes on Monterey Road, installing crosswalk signs for motorists and more lighting in downtown street trees.
“Traffic calming…is priority number one for the council,” City Councilman Rich Constantine said July 6. “Although we have had two unfortunate accidents (in 2016), our downtown is very safe. We’re just trying to do what we can to make it even safer.”
Discussion continues
According to police, the March 12 collision was the first accident downtown this year, and there were a total of six collisions in the neighborhood in 2015.
City staff and council members indicated at the April 6 council meeting that they are leaning away from installing flashing beacons at crosswalks (a suggestion raised numerous times by some residents) because it doesn’t fit the preferred downtown atmosphere they are trying to create with the ongoing revitalization of the area.
“Our first concerns should be on praying for the fast recovery of the children injured,” said Kathy Sullivan, a Morgan Hill resident and advocate for downtown businesses. “There may be other factors which made this an unavoidable accident. We just don’t know.”
One-lane Monterey proved effective?
The council has indicated that they would revisit the one-lane Monterey Road experiment as a permanent reconfiguration if the Hale Avenue/Santa Teresa Boulevard is ever completed, providing a seamless bypass for through-traffic on the western side of downtown. This might become a reality if voters approve an upcoming half-cent sales tax measure for road improvements throughout Santa Clara County in the November election, Constantine noted. The Hale/Santa Teresa extension is listed as one of the top projects on the proposed tax’s funding plan, presented by the Valley Transportation Agency.
If it gains two-thirds voter approval, the tax is projected to raise $6 billion for road construction and maintenance countywide, about $135 million of which would be earmarked for Hale/Santa Teresa.
Without a west-side bypass, commuter traffic passing through the downtown would become too snarled in a one-lane Monterey Road layout, Constantine said.
“I believe (the road diet) did achieve some of the stated goals of slowing traffic downtown,” Sullivan added. “It also had some added benefits of making Monterey more dining, biking and family friendly.”
The evening of July 5, city crews re-installed temporary “speed humps” on Monterey Road just before Fourth Street, in both northbound and southbound directions. However, this was not a reaction to the July 4 accident, Tobin said.
The humps were removed from the same location so the city could resurface and restripe the road in mid-June, and were scheduled to be reinstalled after that project was complete.
Anyone who witnessed the July 4 collision can call MHPD Cpl. Scott Silva at (408) 779-2101 or the anonymous tip line at (408) 947-7867.
