Council OKs ramp meter for S. Santa Cruz Avenue

By Nathan R. Huff

Faced with a transportation consultant report showing that 84 percent of cars traveling on N. Santa Cruz Avenue during peak hours are cut-through Highway 17 commuters, the Town Council voted unanimously Feb. 7 to install a ramp meter on the southbound Highway 17 entrance at S. Santa Cruz Avenue.

The presentation by TJKM Transportation Consultants included a detailed analysis of Los Gatos' downtown traffic woes, focusing primarily on N. Santa Cruz Avenue, University Avenue, Los Gatos Boulevard, and Highway 9. The town also accepted TJKM's recommendation to better coordinate the Highway 9 traffic signals at N. Santa Cruz Avenue and University Avenue.

TJKM's report, complete with a glitzy computer simulation of current and projected traffic flows, showed that 560 out of 670 vehicles traveling on N. Santa Cruz Avenue could have gotten on Highway 17 sooner. However, the report also showed that commuters weren't stupid, saving anywhere from one to more than three minutes by taking surface streets rather than getting on Highway 17 at Lark Avenue.

The ramp meter project, as well as the reprogramming of Highway 9 traffic signals, will be done in conjunction with Caltrans, and no specific time frame has been set. Once installed, the meter will control traffic entering southbound Highway 17 from S. Santa Cruz Avenue, delaying commuters as much as five minutes.

Traffic Consultants predict that, after an initial familiarization period, traffic through town will be reduced by as much as 65 percent. The meter will be adjustable, allowing more cars to move through if the onramp backup begins to approach Broadway or Main Street.

The possibility of closing the onramp was also discussed, but quickly rejected because of the chaos it would create throughout commercial and residential downtown streets. Additional stop signs at Broadway and Bachman were also presented as possible traffic reducing measures, but were rejected in favor of the ramp meter.

Other Downtown Actions

The council also gave direction to town staff for the ongoing downtown beautification efforts. Scott Alman, interim Parks and Public Works director, presented the town with a variety of options for the Bachman Avenue and Grays Lane/N. Santa Cruz Avenue intersections, as well as plans to expand the Town Plaza and narrow S. Santa Cruz Avenue.

The town is attempting to realign the Bachman and N. Santa Cruz Avenue intersection to improve traffic flow and shorten the pedestrian crosswalks. The council overwhelmingly rejected the idea of pedestrian islands, known as "pork chops," favoring instead corner "bulbs," which extend the sidewalk further into the street.

However, council members asked that staff return with plans incorporating more landscaping detail and analysis on the effects the bulbs would have on turning angles.

The council unanimously agreed to turn Grays Lane into a one-way street, widening the sidewalk to meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements and creating several parallel parking spots.

The town also approved the landscaper's design for the Town Plaza expansion, again rejecting the idea of pork chops. The plaza's actual border will only move a few feet into S. Santa Cruz Avenue, but, according to Town Manager David Knapp, will make the width of N. Santa Cruz and S. Santa Cruz Avenue more uniform.

Parks Commission Chairwoman April Maiten expressed concern that the commission was not given the opportunity to review the plaza plan. Alman said the plan was only a preliminary framework for the park, and that all improvements within the plaza would be subject to Parks Commission review. However, staff pledged to incorporate Parks Commission input into all future plans.

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