Traffic jams and the expansion of the Morgan Hill Unified School
District by 13 campuses are key issues for roughly 20 Morgan Hill,
Gilroy, San Martin, Santa Clara County and other officials who
convened May 30 to discuss San Jose’s proposed Coyote Valley
suburb.
Morgan Hill – Traffic jams and the expansion of the Morgan Hill Unified School District by 13 campuses are key issues for roughly 20 Morgan Hill, Gilroy, San Martin, Santa Clara County and other officials who convened May 30 to discuss San Jose’s proposed Coyote Valley suburb.
“We already have 8,000 cars a day coming over Pacheco Pass” from the Central Valley, said Supervisor Don Gage, who attended the meeting at the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center. “When you look out to 2030, going from Gilroy to San Jose is going to take two hours. It’s going to be a big mess.”
The draft Coyote Valley environmental impact report shows traffic jams on city streets as far south as Gilroy and along U.S. 101. But the 541-page document doesn’t say when, how or who would mitigate the problems.
“There’s going to be a need for a regional traffic solution in South County and it’s not a trivial solution,” said Mike Waller, principal associate for San Jose-based Hexagon Transportation Consultants, a company providing technical assistance with the Coyote Valley proposal. “There is no question roads in Morgan Hill and Gilroy are going to be impacted by Coyote Valley.”
Intersections along Monterey Road at Old Monterey Road, San Martin Avenue and Masten Avenue would be jammed with “unacceptable levels of service.”
Additionally, several non-signalized South County intersections would require traffic lights resulting from Coyote Valley development, including intersections along Hale Avenue at Wright and Main avenues.
Sections of U.S. 101 would also be clogged during peak commute hours, according the Coyote Valley Draft Environmental Impact Report, including segments between Tennant and Dunne avenues.
Morgan Hill Unified School District board members also raised concerns about 13 elementary, middle and high-school campuses included in the Coyote Valley land-use plan. The schools would be part of the district.
Lately, local school officials have tussled with the Coyote Valley Task Force members on whether two separate Coyote Valley high schools or one combined site for two campuses would be preferable.
Ultimately, the school district has the power to decide where and how to build future campuses as needed, regardless of land-use provisions drafted by San Jose planners or ideas floated by the 20-person advisory task force, according to San Jose principal planner Darryl Boyd.
While Coyote Valley plans are far-reaching and uncertain at this point, having yet to be approved by the San Jose City Council, officials are frustrated funding and timing for Coyote Valley impacts in South County have not been addressed by San Jose planners.
“We’re still having a hard time getting our arms around the (draft environmental report) when all the impacts will occur, how they’re going to be mitigated and who’s going to mitigate them,” said Morgan Hill project planner David Bischoff. “The EIR doesn’t say who’s going to pay for what.”
