Saratoga News

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Public takes part in the process as highway 9 project planning begins

By Jason Sweeney

The Highway 9 Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Improvement Project is in the planning stages. The public will be able to participate in a planning meeting on Nov. 27 at 6:30 p.m. in the Monte Sereno City Council chambers.

"The meeting is going to be an overview of the project," said Los Gatos Assistant Town Manager Pamela Jacobs. "The purpose of the meeting is to provide an opportunity for the public to hear the status of the project and to provide input."

Highway 9 runs through Saratoga, Monte Sereno, Los Gatos and Santa Clara County land. The 4.4-mile stretch of highway that runs through the three municipalities has long been a source of complaints concerning speeding and the lack of marked bike lanes and contiguous pedestrian trails. A series of accidents on the highway, including three fatalities since 2002, prompted public support for safety improvements.

The fatalities led Monte Sereno residents Joanne Peth and Lana Malloy to co-found the Citizens For Highway 9 Safety to bring attention to the safety hazards and to work with local officials to find solutions. Peth and Malloy have been keeping track of accidents on the highway and have doggedly attended meetings in the three municipalities to voice their safety concerns.

A federal grant of $1,565,00 from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission Regional Bicycle Program was awarded in the summer of 2005 to fund safety improvements on Highway 9. The cities of Monte Sereno and Saratoga and the town of Los Gatos are providing an additional local match of $204,000.

Los Gatos is the lead agency for the project. At the time a cooperative agreement was adopted, the town of Los Gatos was the only one of the three municipalities to have an approved Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program. Federal grants require a DBE allocation.

In order to provide a forum for information sharing and a vehicle for public input, a Joint Council Committee was formed. Two council members from each of the three municipalities are on the committee. Councilwoman Ann Waltonsmith and Vice Mayor Aileen Kao represent Saratoga. Councilman Mike Wasserman and Councilwoman Barbara Spector represent Los Gatos. As of press time, representatives for Monte Sereno had not been determined.

"All six of us council members will be at the public meeting," Wasserman said. "I certainly want to thank Joanne Peth and Lana Malloy and the others responsible for helping to make these funds available to the three municipalities to help improve pedestrian and bicycle safety."

"This is our first of at least two public workshops," Monte Sereno City Manager Brian Loventhal said. "We are in the preliminary stages of looking at conceptual designs. Before any drawings are undertaken or designs conceptualized, we want to be sure that the public has the opportunity to express their ideas and concerns. Then we'll take those concerns and ideas to the consultant who will begin to develop some conceptual designs."

The Highway 9 Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Improvement Project is estimated to be completed in late 2008.