Published in the February 18-March 3, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
Volunteers help put temporary stripes on Monterey Road in downtown Morgan Hill in October 2014 for a pilot study for the six-month ‘road diet’ experiment. File photo.
No doubt during the next couple of months, vehicle traffic flow will get a bit messy in Morgan Hill’s downtown core as the city reduces the number of lanes on Monterey Road from four to two during a six-month trial beginning Feb. 18. It’ll take time for local drivers to get into the habit of using other thoroughfares, such as Butterfield Boulevard, to get from one end of town to the other.
We encourage our community members to participate in this experiment in civil engineering which, if it proves successful in the long term, will help the city council decide whether or not to make the lane closure permanent.
While community opinion has been divided about the effects the Monterey Road Complete Streets test could have on local businesses and traffic, it’s important we give the plan a chance to succeed. The ultimate goal is to make our community’s downtown district the most walkable, bike-friendly, urban, family-oriented and transit-oriented neighborhood in Morgan Hill. We believe a majority of residents support that outcome.
The city and its consultants, Alta Planning and Design, have held numerous meetings with residents and business owners in the past year to gather input. Most who gave their opinion said the speed of traffic on Monterey Road makes the downtown less walkable and bikeable. In addition, although sidewalk dining at the numerous restaurants is a positive attribute of our downtown, the speed and noise of the many cars, trucks and motorcycles passing along Monterey Road makes the experience less enjoyable for diners. Putting Monterey Road in downtown on a “road diet” might make a difference in the long run to increase mercantile and restaurant business as more people come to enjoy the quieter and safer ambiance.
The first time most people hear about a road diet, their initial reaction likely is to wonder how removing lanes can improve their neighborhood and not cause traffic backups. It seems counter-intuitive to people without a civil engineering background. But surprisingly, taking away lanes can actually help make traffic flow smoother and quieter while improving safety for everyone, according to numerous studies.
Road diets are especially good for pedestrians. They reduce the opportunity for vehicles to race through downtown and make vehicle movements more predictable. When you have a road diet, typically you have one lane in each direction. The prudent driver sets the speed, not the pedal-to-the-medal driver. So the chance of crashes drops significantly.
Road diets also offer the real benefit of making it much easier to get across the street if you’re a pedestrian because you end up with less asphalt distance to cross. The downtown will not only be less noisy but air pollution will be reduced. The quality of downtown’s social life will go up as more people start walking and bicycling — and enjoying the more relaxing, slower pace. Many road diets shift space from car lanes to create bike lanes. Typically, more people are seen socializing. And generally, the value of properties rises.
The city is undertaking this step as part of the Downtown Specific Plan, which was adopted in 2009 with the vision for Morgan Hill’s downtown to be “a place where residents from all segments of the community can live, work, meet, shop, dine, participate in public celebrations and share in the richness of Morgan Hill’s community life.”
The primary design goals and objectives include:
• Creating an active downtown village through intensifying residential, retail, restaurant and entertainment uses withing an urban setting improved with unified landscaping and streetscape improvements.
• Making Monterey Road and Third Street more pedestrian friendly and improving other roads with better street lighting and streetscape improvements.
• Strengthening downtown’s identity and scale with a new design related to traditional character.
• Creating a visual and physical linkages to downtown with landscaping, bike paths and entry area features, linking downtown commercial uses to common parking areas available to the general public.
The Butterfield Boulevard extension from Watsonville Road to Cochrane Road is a vital artery that can and should alleviate much of the through traffic that would normally use Monterey Road. Regardless of how traffic flow changes in the downtown district, those of us who travel north and south through town need to alter our habits and use Butterfield. Let people who actually want to visit the downtown district use Monterey Road.
Let’s give this experiment in civil engineering a chance. As the Morgan Hill Downtown Association recommends in its Destination Downtown Morgan Hill slogan: “Drive to it … not through it.”
