Town 'respectfully declines' Saratoga's overpass request

By Nathan R. Huff

The Los Gatos Town Council spent an entire two minutes on Sept. 5, discussing Saratoga's request to open Winchester Boulevard as a full overpass at Highway 85. Looking as if they were trying to conceal laughter, council members "respectfully declined" the neighboring city's suggestion.

Saratoga's request had come from interim city manager Bill Norton, who suggested that some of the traffic congestion at the Highway 85/Saratoga Avenue interchange was a result of northbound Los Gatos motorists who couldn't exit on Winchester, and instead exited at Saratoga and backtracked into Los Gatos.

The Highway 85/Winchester Boulevard interchange is a "half-interchange," which only allows traffic to enter Highway 85 northbound and exit southbound. The half-interchange design was part of the very contentious negotiations between various West Valley cities, Caltrans and the state department of transportation.

The history appeared to still be fresh in council members' minds. Following town staff's recommendation, the council gave Saratoga a quick "thanks, but no thanks."

"With all due respect to our cohorts in Saratoga," Councilman Joe Pirzynski said, "I have great difficulty believing we're causing traffic impacts at Saratoga Avenue and Highway 85." Pirzynski, the only council member to even speak on the subject, said he sympathized with Saratoga's traffic problems, but he wasn't going to shift that burden onto Los Gatos.

"I appreciate the traffic that exists at Saratoga and Highway 85; it is horrendous," he said. "But it's not our fault."

Los Gatos and Saratoga were the most rebellious of the West Valley cities during the Highway 85 planning process in the mid-80s. Funding for the highway was approved by voters in 1984, but the much-needed commuter byway wasn't finished until 10 years later. Los Gatos and Saratoga were the only municipalities to refuse to approve an eight-lane design, drawing the line at six lanes.

The two cities went even further, stating they did not want Highway 85 to cross either of their borders, a symbolic gesture in blatant violation of an agreement from the 1950s that established the highway corridor.

When it became apparent to Los Gatos that 85 was coming whether the town wanted it to or not, haggling over interchanges began. The town wanted a full interchange at Los Gatos Boulevard since it would serve as a gateway to the town's commercial district. San Jose balked at the idea after the Cambrian community complained about potential traffic impacts. In the end, Los Gatos and San Jose agreed on a full interchange at Los Gatos Boulevard on the condition that a half-interchange be built on Winchester Boulevard to better distribute traffic.

In Saratoga, the issue was even more contentious. Between 1988 and 1996, the Highway 85 issue was formally discussed 72 times at city council meetings. The city originally wanted no interchanges within its borders, an unacceptable proposal to other municipalities.

In 1988, a divided Saratoga voted on whether the city's one interchange should be at Saratoga Avenue, Quito Road, or Prospect Road. Saratoga Avenue was selected by 55 percent of the voters. According to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, more Saratogans voted on the Highway 85 issue than in the presidential election that year.

Since then Saratoga, and Los Gatos to a lesser extent, have spent thousands of dollars on traffic-calming studies and noise mitigation. A 1996 study in Saratoga showed less traffic on most arterials than before the introduction of Highway 85, but traffic has noticeably increased over the past four years. According to a recent study, traffic at Saratoga and Fruitvale avenues is "at capacity."

Saratoga's recently adopted circulation element of the General Plan includes language for planning for future Highway 85 interchanges at Quito and/or Prospect Roads.

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