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Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
The broken street gate located on Pacifica Drive off of Torre Avenue has local neighbors anxious for its repair. The gate closes off through traffic to the neighborhood between the hours of 6:30 to 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
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Fate of gate remains undecided
Barrier, which was damaged during police action, may cost $20,000 to repair
By GEORGE MOORE
Sheriff's deputies responding to an all points bulletin spotted their suspect driving eastbound on Pacifica Drive on the morning of March 21, but they were on the wrong side of the fence. The deputies attempted to drive around a commuter gate, but it was damaged and has not worked since.
The prior evening, Robert Norton threatened to harm his ex-wife and child. The sheriff's office was notified and issued the all points bulletin for his arrest. When deputies spotted Norton driving in the area where his child goes to school, they didn't take any chances.
"There wasn't any question in my mind that the sheriff's deputies did the right thing," said Dave Knapp, city manager of Cupertino. "There was a real live threat, a real concern that this guy was going to do his ex-wife and child harm."
Sheriff's deputies pulled over the recreational vehicle Norton was driving a block east of Farralone Drive, but he refused to exit the vehicle. Moments later Norton took his own life with a single gunshot wound to his chest. Deputies at the scene thought they heard a popping sound but decided to act cautiously. The Sheriff's Emergency Response Team arrived and helped evacuate the immediate area. They waited for about five hours before breaking the rear window of the vehicle so they could peer inside with a robotic camera.
The broken gate has residents in the neighborhood speculating about whether the city is going to fix or replace the gate and how long it will take if it doesn't.
The gate is located on Pacifica Drive, just east of Torre Road, and closes the road to traffic in both directions. It was implemented in 1986, but the automatic gate was not installed until 1990, said Carol Shepherd at the public works department. The street is closed during commuting hours--from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
"It certainly has served some neighbors very well, because there used to be a lot of cut-through traffic there," Knapp said.
Richard Ron has lived on Farallone Drive off Pacifica for the past 18 years.
"Absolutely it was bad [before there was a gate]," Ron said. "There were commuters every morning driving down my street, coming from the south, from Bollinger and Blaney, to save time."
Ron said the commuters were cutting through the neighborhood to get to De Anza Boulevard, even though Bollinger Road will get you there. Pacifica becomes McClellan Road once it crosses De Anza Boulevard, a road frequently used by De Anza College students, as well as parents dropping off their kids at schools in that area. The only two streets that go directly from De Anza Boulevard to the area of the college are McClellan and Stevens Creek Boulevard.
"The volume of traffic since the mid-eighties hasn't decreased," Ron said. "There's no question about that. The city should tell the residents if they plan on not replacing it. If they are absolutely going to repair it and it's just a question of time, that's fine."
The question now is how much it is going to cost and if the city has room in its budget. A number floating around city hall is roughly $20,000, because it's a custom gate. "Another possible factor is the legal issue of closing a street in the case of an emergency.
"The advantage is it eliminates cut-through traffic in the neighborhood, but the downside is it impedes public safety vehicles," Knapp said.
Not to mention the chaos it might cause if an entire neighborhood in the area had to evacuate quickly in an emergency situation. Ron said that when the gate was originally installed, a plan was implemented so emergency vehicles could get through. But Knapp pointed out that in an emergency situation, a sheriff might not have the time to exit their vehicle and use a key to open it.
As far as the cost and the budget, Knapp said there are no particular funds available at this point. Public works are getting estimates for the cost of repairing or replacing the gate.
"If it's a few thousan,d we can find that, but if it's a much larger number, we may have to struggle with it for a bit," Knapp said.
Knapp said he has gotten mixed messages from area residents regarding its replacement. On the day of the standoff, Knapp was in the area and several residents said, "You're not going to fix that gate, are you?" And others said, "I heard that you're not going to fix that gate--you are going to fix it, aren't you?"
"It can be an inconvenience for some area residents, depending on where you live," Knapp said.
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Cupertino, California Since 1947
