Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Boulevard plans return, this time with pictures

By Clarence Cromwell

Town planners envision Los Gatos Boulevard as a pedestrian-friendly parkway, with landscaped public spaces at major intersections. They also see rows of shops close to the street--like the shops downtown--that will invite shoppers to stroll along. Now they just need to convince area residents, business owners and the Town Council.

Los Gatans get yet another chance to look at the Boulevard Plan at 7:30 p.m. June 18. A special meeting of the Planning Commission will convene in the Town Council Chambers, 110 E. Main St.

This time, Planning Department officials are armed with pictures.

No significant changes have been made to the Boulevard Plan, said Los Gatos Planner Kristine Syskowski. But the job of ordering illustrations and making a few minor revisions has taken more than a year, because the committee undertaking the project meets infrequently.

The Boulevard Plan includes:

* public improvements such as repainted lanes that will improve traffic flow, conversion of some on-street parking to landscaping and pedestrian areas, new bike lanes on both sides of the street and street and sidewalk improvements

* parklike public spaces, called "nodes," at major intersections

* land-use guidelines for important parcels along the boulevard

* plans for proposed "gateways," where the town would create landmarks at main entryways to spark civic pride and a sense of identity for the town

The plan didn't fare well at its last public meeting. Boulevard-area neighbors and car dealerships protested the plans to pedestrianize the car-oriented strip.

Some residents suggested the nodes might become an attraction for homeless people. Others were against the plan because they associated it with the dominating dome at Blossom Hill Road and Los Gatos Boulevard completed just before last year's public meeting.

Car dealers opposed the plan because they perceived it as a threat to their business. Car dealer Jim McHugh said at the time that customers don't walk to a dealership to buy a new car.

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