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Los Gatos needs a traffic-calming program
By Lucia Dolan
Many cities in the Bay Area have a traffic calming program, among them, Mountain View, Los Altos, Sunnyvale and Palo Alto. Although Los Gatos is beginning a program, it has yet to be funded. A traffic- calming program sets aside money from a city's budget so that when neighbors on a street complain about a persistent speeding problem, money is available to fund a speed study, to verify the complaint and to provide a solution--some solutions are additional policing, stop or caution signs, speed bumps, re-marking roads and chokers.
In Mountain View the process takes approximately six months from beginning--submission of a petition by a residents--to end--installation of a traffic-calming device. In Los Gatos money for a study or solution must be found in the general budget. In other words a residential street's problem gets put up to compete with all other city expenses, including the police budget and library funding, and it often loses. And the process is slow.
Cars are such an integral part of our daily lives that it is easy to forget that motor vehicle accidents are still the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 1 to 34. I believe the residents of Los Gatos would benefit by a traffic-calming program.
Here's an example of what happens when a community has no traffic-calming program: In Los Gatos when the residents of Johnson Avenue complained about speeding, submitting a petition with 73 signatures to the town, the council held a meeting. A speed study was approved. The top 15 percent of drivers were shown to be driving over 32 mph during off-peak hours (4 p.m.).
Three years later when Johnson Avenue residents contacted the Los Gatos traffic department and asked about the status of a traffic-calming plan for their street, they were told to submit another petition and apply again, for a Town Council meeting.
Los Gatos' new [unfunded] traffic-calming program has been working with Bella Vista Avenue, a narrow residential road that ends at the back of Los Gatos High School. It has a posted speed limit of 20 mph, a blind corner and a big speeding problem. Bella Vista generates the most complaints about speeding of any street in Los Gatos. Many residents wanted access to the high school closed.
The town met with the residents, discussed various options and installed a new speed sign, an additional stop sign and new road markings. No study has been done to determine if these changes are reducing speed or if the resident are satisfied with the results.
Do traffic calming devices work or do they just make matters worse? The most notorious traffic calming device is the stop sign. Residents don't like the added noise, engines stopping, starting, stopping. Loma Alta has three stop signs. On low-traffic intersections, such as the cul-de-sac on upper Loma Alta, the sign is routinely ignored or met with a California rolling stop.
Studies have shown that stop signs at low traffic intersections cause more accidents. Local police departments do not have the time nor the resources to enforce them. However, on busy intersections, such as Loma Alta and Main Street, stop signs are very effective. It would be a nightmare without them.
Speed bumps have been shown to pull down the average speed on a residential road roughly 6 mph. Their main disadvantage is that they slow down emergency response vehicles, such as fire engines.
On residential roads, especially those with many small children, they are a great benefit. In Mountain View, five residential streets have speed bumps; residents have not asked for their removal. Berkeley has more than 160. Only one has been removed to install a driveway.
In addition, a portable speed bump exists. It costs $500 to $700 more than a permanent bump, but can be temporarily put into neighborhoods and removed with minimal expense and used again.
Chokers and pinchers are curb extensions that push out the sidewalk and narrow the road, as on N. Santa Cruz Avenue. These fixtures, and islands in the middle of busy roads (also known as pedestrian refuges) add to pedestrian safety, but reduce traffic speed minimally according to studies.
Some communities don't want to add permanent fixtures and have instead beefed up traffic enforcement. This is the route Los Altos has taken, adding two police officers dedicated to traffic control. Los Gatos has one dedicated traffic officer.
Our police department has requested two more be hired. Los Gatos once had four traffic officers, but three were eliminated in 1991 due to the earthquake and a recession.
In New York City when they increased ticketing for speeding (13 percent) and running red lights (43 percent), pedestrian fatalities decreased 32 percent and cyclists fatalities decreased 28 percent.
Los Altos has also tried neighborhood education with its "Be an Angel, Drive 25" campaign. Professionally made signs were placed on streets near a grade school with speeding problems, in addition to residential mailings. The community feedback was very positive to the program. Unfortunately, studies showed no decrease in speeding. Neighborhood watch programs, where neighbor's report on each other speeding, lead to neighborhood hostilities.
There were 67 people killed on urban roads in Santa Clara County in 1997. Most fatal accidents occur not on a dark and rainy night but between 6 and 9 p.m. on a clear day with a sober driver.
One person has been killed and 204 injured in traffic accidents in Los Gatos during the past two years.
White traffic trailers are occasionally posted on the street in Los Gatos. While their presence slows traffic by making drivers aware of how fast they're driving, their effect is temporary rather than permanent, like the slow downs on the freeway when a police car is in sight.
Reviving the forgotten modes of transportation--walking, biking (it wasn't always just a sport), and mass transit can be part of a traffic- calming program. People won't use alternative transportation, however, if they are not safe.
Recently Kennedy Road was repaved. Its bicycle lane, which doubles as a walkway, was ignored. It is a crumbling mess that forces bicyclists to swerve in and out of traffic to stay upright. Likewise, a bus-stop bench teetering on the edge of a major road, such as the stop at Chirco Drive and Los Gatos Boulevard, is not welcoming. The Capital Improvement Plan for Los Gatos 1998 to 2003 includes funding for one sidewalk repair (Los Gatos Boulevard between Blossom Hill and Lark) and nothing for bike lanes or bus stops.
Los Gatos' appeal is its neighborly, small town ambiance. A funded traffic-calming program would add to the city's safety and appeal. How can we get one? Contact Town Council members through the town manager's office 354-6832.
Lucia Dolan is a Los Gatos resident who has been researching traffic-calming programs.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
