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City Beat
Traffic on Lincoln Ave. is topic for association meeting
Neighbors worry narrowing roadway could mean more congestion in area
By Kate Carter
TheWillow Glen Neighborhood Association wants to improve pedestrian safety, and slow traffic on Lincoln Avenue.
The group hosted three panelists for a discussion of traffic calming at its twice-yearly general meeting on May 9.
"I hope we're not talking about this again after someone is injured," outgoing association President J. Michael Gonzales told the audience of about 50 people. "It's a miracle it hasn't happened already."
Gonzales and board members Vern Ladd and Jim Gardner are on the association's subcommittee that drafted the proposed measures, including reducing Lincoln Avenue's four lanes to three--two northbound and one southbound.
At last month's board meeting, some board members, including incoming president John Gibbs, said they were concerned about the effect narrowing Lincoln would have on the traffic of nearby residential streets. The board agreed to discuss the suggestions with the general membership before endorsing and sharing them with other organizations, such as the Willow Glen Business and Professional Association.
Panelists Leslie Wambach, a neighborhood leader from San Mateo County who worked on a project similar to the one proposed for Lincoln Avenue; Jill Escher, president of the alternative transportation advocacy group Walk San Jose; and Henry Servin, department of transportation traffic engineer, told the audience what the process could entail.
Escher said her group works to increase San Jose's "walkability" and bike ridership. She said that, in Willow Glen, "you have room for improvement, for sure, but you rank pretty high" in terms of walkability.
Walkability, Escher said, required having places to walk to, good connections between destinations and safe, convenient and inviting streets, which Willow Glen has.
Where Willow Glen could improve, she said, would be by providing more and better bike lanes.
Escher said converting four-lane roads to three-lane roads is popular now, but Lincoln Avenue, with about 21,000 cars traveling it every day, may be "above the volumes that work for a conversion project."
Castro Street, Mountain View's downtown thoroughfare, was converted from four lanes to one in each direction between El Camino Real and Evelyn Avenue from 1989 to 1991, Mountain View principal civil engineer Bob Kagiyama said. The award-winning design has succeeded in revitalizing the downtown and promoting pedestrian movement, he said, and now carries about 14,000 cars daily.
Kagiyama said the plan was controversial with residents only a block away from Castro Street, as more cars would use their streets, but now the city only receives a few complaints from neighbors about traffic problems.
"Mountain View always had a downtown, but we're finding far more people attracted to downtown Mountain View," he said. "I haven't heard anybody say anything negative about the Castro Street changes."
Wambach, who helped gain county and city support for reducing a business district street from four lanes to three, explained her experience.
"It's a huge, huge commitment," she said. "That's something you should know going into this, but that shouldn't discourage anyone."
Wambach said the project's success would require a person with "a maniacal level of commitment." She said her group received grants to fund workshops to learn more about traffic calming. They also ran into trouble, she said, with owners of commercial properties along the street, who weren't supportive of their efforts.
Servin didn't directly discuss the Willow Glen proposals. Instead, he explained San Jose's new "emphasis on a holistic approach to solving transit needs," that includes provisions for alternative modes of transportation, such as walking, biking and public transit.
The city is following a new policy regarding traffic calming, Servin said, with the goal of reducing neighborhood vehicular speeds and volumes by involving all stakeholders to achieve consensus on changes, to be implemented in a timely fashion.
Servin cautioned the group, however, that, with increased education about, and enforcement of, traffic laws, "40 percent of people we give tickets to are going to be you." He said the city is encouraging a change in state law that would allow traffic enforcers to give people more verbal warnings, without citations.
Servin pointed to several new policies to make installing new crosswalks and stop signs an easier process. He said the city is in the process of including pedestrian-oriented areas in its General Plan and has completed pedestrian design standards for new construction. He also said the city has already begun installing new pedestrian safety crosswalk uplights and countdown signals.
Several neighbors at the meeting said any changes made to Lincoln Avenue should be made after ensuring drivers won't, instead, opt for residential streets parallel to the downtown. Willow Glen resident Karen Allison said she doesn't want traffic diverted to her adjacent street, and she also doesn't want to drive business away from Lincoln Avenue.
Steve Hanleigh, who owns the Vin Santo restaurant building on Lincoln Avenue, said any changes on Lincoln Avenue should include plans to add parking. He also said the neighborhood association should work with District 6 city Councilman Ken Yeager's office to find out what changes are possible and what the neighbors and business owners want.
"There's no plan to go ahead without your consensus," Servin assured everyone, "especially because there are plenty of other neighborhoods that want these services."
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
