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Willow Glen's new traffic signal should improve biking trail
Stoplight to also help auto traffic safety on busy Curci Avenue
By Kate Carter
Pedestrians and bicyclists along the Los Gatos Creek Trail now have an easier way to travel through Willow Glen using a new traffic signal on Meridian Avenue.
The stoplight was activated Sept. 6 at Curci Avenue, just north of where the trail ends on the west side of the thoroughfare. Plans for the project began 14 months ago, said Ron Northouse, senior traffic engineer with San Jose's Department of Transportation, and it was funded through the city's 2000-'01 budget.
City officials had considered, and trail users had supported, the new signal since the bicycle trail was completed about two years ago, Northouse said. The trail along the creek ends at Meridian Avenue, said Michael LaRocca, acting parks manager with the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services. A bike lane from there continues south down Meridian Avenue to Willow Street, where trail users can cross the street and travel in the bike lane to Lincoln Avenue, he said, which is where the trail will continue along the creek in the future.
Northouse said the new light will allow trail users to cross the street at a light without having to go south to Willow Street or north to Fruitdale Avenue. He said it will also help ease vehicular traffic for commuters traveling to and from their residential communities off Curci Avenue, by giving them an opportunity to make turns with a traffic light.
Northouse added that the new signal won't affect the already-congested traffic on Meridian Avenue, as it is timed to coincide with the street's other signals.
LaRocca said the city is working on the design and property acquisition of the next phase of the creek trail from Lincoln to Auzerais avenues.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
