Town considers on-ramp closure during hellish traffic tie-ups

By Jeff Kearns

Town officials, looking for a solution to the occasional gridlock that ties up downtown Los Gatos when southbound Highway 17 is jammed or blocked, may consider closing the S. Santa Cruz Avenue on-ramp.

After receiving a report on the issue from Police Chief Larry Todd at their Aug. 2 meeting, councilmembers asked the town traffic engineer to take a formal look at the issue and report back to the council. When that report comes back to the council, probably sometime in October, the matter will be opened to a public hearing before the council makes any decisions.

The council requested that staff take a look at closing the on-ramp in the event of a major backup on Highway 17 and developing a system to alert Los Gatos/Monte Sereno Police dispatchers to any impending traffic disasters.

A car fire at The Cats that started a small brush fire partially closed the freeway at the beginning of the afternoon rush hour on July 6 and clogged downtown streets with frustrated commuters.

Now, some councilmembers are wondering if there's a way to keep southbound commuters from trying to take a shortcut through the town. The police chief says it's not likely to work, but emphasizes it's ultimately the council's decision. Todd's report said the town's options essentially boil down to three choices: temporarily close the on-ramp, close it permanently, or do nothing.

Councilmembers were split on whether to keep looking into the closure issue or just drop it, but voted 3-2 to keep the issue alive for at least one more look.

"We can't just say there's nothing we can do," said Councilman Joe Pirzynski, who originally requested the report.

Linda Lubeck and Steve Blanton agreed.

"Even if it's only 12 times a year, if this council is responsible for coming up with a circulation system that's supposed to work and we're cognizant of the fact that maybe up to 12 times a year we have absolute gridlock so that even emergency vehicles can't get through, therefore we're potentially placing our citizens in danger," Lubeck said. "It seems to me we ought to at least explore the idea."

Mayor Jan Hutchins and Randy Attaway said they don't want town staff to spend more time on the issue.

According to Todd's report, temporarily closing the on-ramp would create more headaches for the town than it would solve and wouldn't necessarily do much to alleviate traffic anyway.

First, the town would need to put together a comprehensive notification for motorists on freeways and other arterials into town. Once the police department makes a decision to close the on-ramp, the town would need to activate as many as nine signs. Right now, there's only one sign (installed by Caltrans), on southbound Highway 85 before Winchester Boulevard.

Todd says the temporarily closed on-ramp would need to be staffed by an on-duty officer, and on-duty personnel would have to change the advisory signs. On top of that, Todd says, the town could also install a low-watt radio station to get the word out to motorists. A small station with a three- to five-mile broadcast radius would cost about $10,000 and could play a recorded message warning drivers to stay away from downtown. But even if flashing signs alerted motorists to the broadcast, motorists could still ignore the signs.

Todd recommended against temporary closures because motorists might try cutting through the town anyway and, if the ramp were closed, the closure would create an even worse headache in town by recirculating traffic through already clogged streets and taking police officers off the street.

Permanently closing the ramp, however, would increase congestion on other downtown streets--and would almost certainly cause a major outcry from some downtown businesses, homeowners, commuters and mountain residents who regularly use the on-ramp.

According to the report, massive traffic jams on Highway 17 only become bad enough to spill over into downtown Los Gatos about a dozen times a year, and when that happens, the traffic clears without police intervention, only lasts a few hours and doesn't seem to increase crime or traffic accidents.

The S. Santa Cruz Avenue off-ramp from northbound Highway 17 would remain open under any of the proposals.

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