Following a public apology by a county employee during an emotionally charged meeting with residents earlier this month, the county decided to halt previously approved plans for Farley while its staff meets with residents throughout the Blossom Manor neighborhood to formulate a more-inclusive plan that brings traffic-calming measures to all the streets.

County employees have suggested that discussions this time around—which Farley residents fear would delay the project another five years—won't take nearly as long.

"I think it's pretty clear that we want to do something for the whole Manor," said County Supervisor Donald Gage.

Residents on Farley began seeking traffic relief when a 3-year-old boy was nearly hit by a speeding car five years ago.

"He was two feet from death. If I was not standing there and had not grabbed the back of his shirt, he would have been crushed," said Jere Hench, the boy's father. The Suburban came down his street at 30 mph—five miles above the speed limit—Hench said.

A traffic study that the county conducted in 1998 revealed that 33 percent of drivers going down Farley traveled above the speed limit. Two years later, that number increased to 56 percent. This translates to about 2,041 cars throughout the week that traveled above 25 mph.

According to Marc Jensen of Los Gatos Peds, a group that advocates for safer streets, 45 percent of pedestrians hit by vehicles traveling at 30 mph die and another 45 percent are seriously injured.

While the more than 100 residents who attended the neighborhood meeting did not challenge the claims that speeding occurs on that street, many took issue with the idea that the county had planned on implementing traffic-calming measures only on Farley.

"A single-street solution is not the way to go," said Tim Villanueva of Apple Blossom Lane, who said he collected 142 signatures throughout the Manor from people who want the county to redraft plans that take into account inputs from residents on all the streets.

Those living on Camellia Terrace and Apple Blossom and Cherry Blossom lanes are worried that by implementing traffic-calming measures only on Farley, commuters would drive through their streets instead, thus moving the problem elsewhere.

Michael Murdter, director of the county's roads and airports department, apologized to residents at the meeting.

"We just blew it. When I looked at the plans for Farley Road, I completely underestimated the impact," he said. The county does not have a formal process for neighborhoods that apply for traffic-calming measures, county employees said.

Despite opposing the plans that were set for Farley, Villanueva applauds those living on that street for successfully getting the county's attention in the first place.

"I do not hold blame at all with [Farley residents]. My issue is that the county divided this neighborhood," he said.

After much discussion between the county and Farley residents, the plan that was scheduled to be implemented in July before it was halted included installing 2-by-15 cobblestone medians on Farley where it crosses Camellia Terrace and Cherry Blossom and also six bulbouts, which are extensions of curbs that jut out to make streets more narrow. The bulbouts would look "more like a flower bed" with vegetation growing no more than 3 feet high, said Thien Pham, assistant civil engineer on the project.

The cost of implementing the traffic-calming measures on Farley was estimated at $70,000, said Edwin Chan, policy aide to Supervisor Gage. County employees say they have $150,000 that could potentially be allocated for traffic calming.

Villanueva worries that narrowing Farley—a street that already lacks sidewalks—would force pedestrians to walk closer to the middle of the road.

According to Jensen, pedestrians are about 2 ¹/2 times more likely to be hit on streets without sidewalks. He also said that studies have shown that drivers tend to drive more slowly on narrower streets.

Besides the narrowing of Farley, other residents were concerned about the aesthetic impact of altering the street.

Resident Mark Duffy said he had learned from traffic engineer Masoud Akbarzadeh—who could not be reached for comment—that the county was proposing to paint yellow stripes around the medians, install 7-foot signs directing drivers around the medians and install delineators, which are plastic reflectors set 2 to 3 feet off the ground.

"This is classic government ugly," Duffy said.

According to Pham, in his latest discussions with Akbarzadeh, the county was considering lowering the signs to 3 or 4 feet.

Hench maintains the street will look tasteful and said residents would not have approved the designs otherwise.

"We live on Farley Road. Why would we want something that looks like crap?" he said, adding that residents of that street were planning to collectively pay for a gardener to maintain any flowers planted.

Hench emphasized that the purpose of working with the county is to slow cars and said he hopes residents in the neighborhood can put aside differences to focus on bringing traffic-calming measures to all the streets.

"All we're trying to do is save kids' lives," he said.