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Editorial
Bottom line: Winchester traffic must slow down
The problem is speed--the speed of the traffic on Winchester Boulevard. It's that very question that's been so hotly debated as the parents of students at Daves Avenue School have lobbied the Los Gatos Town Council for some control at that dangerous Winchester intersection.
The issue will come up for discussion at the May 6 council meeting, and it promises to be emotional as all involved present their concerns.
There appears to be a serious need for some compromise here--by the Los Gatos council, the Monte Sereno City Council and the parents of Daves Avenue children who live near the intersection.
All concerned agree that traffic controls are needed at the intersection, and the Monte Sereno council members accepted a plan proposed by Los Gatos Town Engineer Kevin Rohani at their meeting last Tuesday, April 16. But the acceptance came with the caveat that more changes would have to follow to add to the safety of pedestrians--especially the children--crossing at the site.
Residents are asking that one of the two northbound lanes on Winchester be closed at least to Vineland, and that a 22-foot median be constructed in the roadway. Monte Sereno council members agreed, and will present that plan to the Los Gatos council in what they have called "Phase 2."
Los Gatos contends, at least according to Rohani, that eliminating a lane on Winchester would create serious problems with traffic flow.
The solution to the problem is likely somewhere in the middle, as long as all concerned are willing to compromise.
There's no question that traffic on Winchester near Daves needs to slow down--in both directions.
But things are most dangerous on the northbound side. The crossing guard is invisible to drivers in the outside lanes as she crosses children. We saw her disappear behind an SUV that stopped for such a crossing last Friday. Trouble is, that SUV was not in the fast lane ... it was stopped in the left-turn lane, and that lane would not disappear under the current "Phase 2" proposal.
Still, it would be safer if traffic were funneled into one lane through that section of the Winchester corridor. We witnessed fewer than 50 cars traveling northbound during one five-minute stretch, but many--including a Los Gatos-Monte Sereno police car--were exceeding the posted limit. The traffic would likely slow down, but the flow would clearly not be impacted should Los Gatos choose to close a lane for a couple of hundred yards--maybe from Blossom Hill to just past Daves.
So maybe the compromise is this: Los Gatos eliminates a lane, but not all the way to Vineland; Monte Sereno and the residents agree to the proposed 10-foot median; and the stoplight goes in as planned, possibly with the inclusion of flashing warning lights in advance of the intersection, similar to those in front of Blossom Hill School.
It could be a compromise everyone could live with.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
