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Monte Sereno returns to traffic light concept
By Gloria I. Wang
After five months and almost $50,000 spent on multiple traffic analyses, the Monte Sereno City Council landed back at square one: Members decided that a stoplight at the intersection of Winchester Boulevard and Daves Avenue, along with some traffic-calming measures, would increase pedestrian safety most effectively.
A stoplight was what CCS Engineering, jointly funded by Monte Sereno and Los Gatos, had recommended in September, after public concern for the safety of Daves Avenue students prompted the study. The city of Monte Sereno and citizens of both municipalities had decided, however, that they were dissatisfied with the recommendation. The city spent its own money and commissioned additional studies of the intersection, considering and then dropping other options, such as a roundabout, by process of elimination.
The latest decision differed slightly from the proposal of five months ago. Instead of having an intersection that includes both Daves Avenue and Farley Road West, the intersection consists of lights at Winchester and Daves and makes Farley right-turn in and out only.
The consultant, Richard Hopper, said a light at Farley would cause low visibility of pedestrians using the crosswalk. "The best intersection is a small intersection, where everybody can see everybody else," Hopper said at the Feb. 5 Monte Sereno City Council meeting.
Hopper also recommended implementing raised medians, road restriping, landscaping and eliminating one of the northbound lanes on Winchester. "There's really no justification, in terms of traffic volume, to having two lanes northbound," Hopper said, adding that he had observed most of the traffic heading south.
Los Gatos Town Engineer Kevin Rohani said, however, that eliminating one lane would be unlikely. Doing so would be outside the scope of the study of Winchester and Daves, as well as being a policy issue for the town of Los Gatos, Rohani said. Also, Hopper's recommendation was to construct a 22-foot-wide median, which, according to Rohani, was extremely wide. Rohani told council members that the median width would be determined at the conceptual design stage.
Hopper pointed out that the presence of a stoplight would obviously generate more vehicle backup, and drivers would most likely cut through Daves Avenue to get on to Los Gatos-Saratoga Road to avoid waiting at the light on Winchester. Hopper said getting rid of the right-turn lane from Winchester to Daves would alleviate the cut-through traffic.
Council members praised Hopper's work, saying he had been thorough, and thanked him for his presence at the meeting as well as his easy-to-read report.
"He is the first consultant," Monte Sereno resident Mark Brodsky said, "to see two basic points that have been missed." Brodsky said those two points were that other measures in addition to a light were needed, and that the northbound lane was unnecessary.
Brodsky offered some practical tips for the council, such as planting redwood trees on a 22-foot median and using cones temporarily to slow traffic.
"I'm very pleased and proud to see the democratic process does work," Monte Sereno resident Doug McNeil said. "We can all walk away proud that we made some good decisions here." McNeil suggested that Los Gatos use funds from recently approved developments nearby--including Bill Errico's Farley Road storage facility and Sobrato's mixed-use campus on Winchester--for traffic mitigation measures.
As a result, Monte Sereno Mayor Jack Lucas wrote a letter with Hopper's recommendations to the Los Gatos Town Council. The letter included Hopper's suggestion for Los Gatos to examine the entire Winchester corridor, not just the Winchester-Daves intersection and immediate areas.
Rohani said Lucas' letter would be presented to the town council at its next meeting; he anticipated that council members would then give him the go-ahead for a conceptual design. Conceptual design would take three to four weeks, Rohani said, and by the week of March 18, town staff could present the design with cost estimates to both councils. Los Gatos would then hire a consultant for final design--which would take a month and a half, Rohani said--and a contractor for construction.
Monte Sereno City Council members stressed that they wanted to see all the construction completed before Daves Avenue opened in August for the 2002-2003 school year.
Rohani confirmed that he would try to "fast-track" the issue through the town council and perhaps include incentives for the contractor to complete the work before August.
Brian Loventhal, Monte Sereno city manager, said all of the improvements would probably cost up to $500,000. The light itself would be about $150,000, Loventhal said, and the additional costs would be for traffic-calming measures, including Farley Road improvements.
The city would pay for half of the final cost, but council members were reluctant to give Los Gatos a price cap for the amount they were willing to spend.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
