Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Editorial

Proposed parking lot location could present traffic, safety hazards

Finding a downtown parking space in Los Gatos, especially on weekends, has been difficult for too long. The town wants to ease parking problems by putting a new parking lot on the Santa Cruz Avenue property where the Peerless Bus Depot now stands. The new lot would allow for 32 to 38 parking spaces, 11 of them on the street.

But while a thriving business district makes this the right time to secure more public parking downtown, this property does not seem to be the right place.

The location--at the far end of downtown, adjacent to the Highway 17 onramp--promises to add more traffic to the fast-moving strip of roadway where motorists exit Highway 17. The planned curbside parking spaces would invite drivers to engage in the risky maneuver of making U-turns and parallel parking in this highway-to-town transitional zone.

Kicking the bus depot off town property also threatens the existence of what is now a viable public transit hub.

Los Gatos land costs too much for Greyhound to justify its relocation. Greyhound currently offers a nonstop ride between Los Gatos and downtown San Jose in 20 minutes, a vast improvement over the county bus system's hour-long ride. It travels between Los Gatos and Santa Cruz in less than 40 minutes.

Other bus routes depart to Sunnyvale, San Francisco and the San Jose International Airport. About 20 percent of Greyhound riders are business commuters, according to Ron Schivo, owner and operator of the depot.

Closing the depot would only force bus riders into autos, putting more cars on the crowded Los Gatos streets.

While resistance to public transit is embedded in our autocentric culture, alternative forms of transportation should be encouraged. At the very least, they should be preserved for people who rely on them now.

It's hard to figure why the town of Los Gatos would choose this site when better locations downtown exist.

The two-deck structure that the town's building and engineering services department proposed for Lot 2 could provide more parking spaces at the same cost per space as the current plan, about $10,000 per space.

The spaces would be in the center of downtown, located between North Santa Cruz and University avenues, between Bachman Avenue and Royce Street, where people want to park, rather than hidden at the far end of North Santa Cruz Avenue.

The Town Council should set aside the parking lot proposal when it comes up at their Aug. 18 meeting and pursue other proposed parking lot sites. A parking lot should solve problems, not create them.

[ Back to Contents Page | Los Gatos Weekly-Times Home Page | Archives ]