No one wants disruptions to their day-to-day routine. Unfortunately, such interruptions are sometimes unavoidable when work is necessary to repair facilities that are showing the wear and tear of the years.
Los Gatos residents face two such disruptions in the months ahead—one at Lenihan Dam up at the Lexington Reservoir and the other in the middle of the downtown—and there are two public meetings scheduled over the next week to discuss each one.
Environmental concerns regarding the Lenihan Dam project will be discussed at a public meeting on Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. in the Los Gatos Neighborhood Center, and the Los Gatos Parks and Public Works Department will hold a neighborhood meeting on Sept. 14 at 6:30 p.m. in the Los Gatos Town Council Chambers to talk about the plans for the 2005 repaving project on N. Santa Cruz Avenue.
Both projects will dramatically impact Los Gatos residents and business owners. But both projects are also necessary and, in the long run, should garner the support of residents and merchants.
The street project will have the greatest impact on most townsfolk. The town will repave N. Santa Cruz Ave. from Highway 9 to Main Street, obviously causing some inconvenience for the businesses on the street.
The project was delayed so that merchants could get back on their feet following the economic slump of recent years and following the sidewalk improvement downtown, but the work must be completed by next year since it is funded by Redevelopment Agency bond money.
To that end, the town is recommending one of two proposals—one that would take six to eight weeks and require the closure of only small sections of the avenue at a time, and one that would take only three or four weeks but would mean the complete closure of the road for at least two weeks.
Most merchants believe—and the Los Gatos Weekly-Times agrees—that the shorter period is the best alternative so that businesses and their customers will not be inconvenienced as long.
The work is scheduled for next summer. The town council will select a plan at its Oct. 4 meeting.
Before that, residents can voice their concerns at the Sept. 9 meeting regarding the Lenihan Dam project. An outlet pipe, installed in 1952, must be replaced, and water from the reservoir would have to be released for the 18-month project.
The reduction in the volume of water in the reservoir will force the Los Gatos Rowing Club and any other recreational boaters to look elsewhere for a suitable body of water. More importantly, though, would be the negative impact on the rainbow trout and other wildlife in the area, and the Santa Clara Valley Water District must be sensitive to wildlife concerns during the course of the project.
But the bottom line is that the pipe replacement, like the downtown repaving, is a necessary disruption that we all must endure.
