Our first Red Phone call of the week came from a local man
frustrated by the timing of the traffic light at the intersection
of San Benito Street and Third Street. Our caller felt the light
gave preference to those motorists crossing San Benito Street on
Third instead of the motorists driving on the city’s main
thoroughfare.
Our first Red Phone call of the week came from a local man frustrated by the timing of the traffic light at the intersection of San Benito Street and Third Street. Our caller felt the light gave preference to those motorists crossing San Benito Street on Third instead of the motorists driving on the city’s main thoroughfare.
The Crimson Crusader called Caltrans Public Information Officer Donna Carter to see what could be done about the light. Carter said the light was probably designed to change when a car was waiting on Third to cross or turn onto San Benito. She said it was unlikely that the traffic light was malfunctioning and even more unlikely that the timing of the light would be changed.
That being said, Carter said she would do some research and find out why the light was designed with a timing scheme that our caller finds frustrating. Nonetheless, Carter told the Crimson Crusader she would notify appropriate Caltrans staff of our caller’s complaint about the traffic signal’s timing. The Crimson Crusader will check up on this issue next week.
Red Phone on Hold – Third Street RR Crossing
The rough railroad crossing at Third Street in Hollister remains on the Crimson Crusader’s “On Hold” list again this week. Our hero called Union Pacific’s regional public affairs director, Mark Davis, in an attempt to find out what the railroad company was doing about this problem. Davis’s voicemail message on Tuesday said he would be out of the office until March 1.
The public affairs director previously told the Crimson Crusader that he had notified railroad staff of the rough crossing, but as recently as last Friday told our hero that he had no new information. However, he has promised to get back to the Crimson Crusader as soon as he knows if and when the crossing will be repaired. The Crimson Crusader will check in again with Davis on March 1. This issue was first brought to our hero’s attention – and to the railroad’s – on Jan. 17. Union Pacific has kept the Crimson Crusader on hold, as it were, for 34 days.
Red Phone On Hold –
Old KFC Sign
The Kentucky Fried Chicken sign still hangs over a vacant lot on San Benito Street this week – nearly four years after the KFC restaurant at that location burned to the ground. A new KFC has since has opened on McCray Street. Yet Colonel Sanders continues to stare down on San Benito Street from his perch on the sign above the vacant lot – much like the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg looking down on the valley of ashes in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel “The Great Gatsby.”
On Jan. 31, Hollister Development Services Director Bill Avera told the Crimson Crusader that the city was working with the property owners to rid our fair city of the sign and clear the lot it sits on. At that time, Avera said the “sign will come down soon.” Twenty-one days later, the sign still stands.
So, the Crimson Crusader called Hollister Code Enforcement Officer Mike Chambless on Tuesday and lodged a formal complaint about the sign. Chambless drafted a formal letter to the property owner Tuesday ordering the sign to be removed by March 20. If the KFC sign is not removed by that time, the property owner could face fines of up to $1,000 a day. Until March 20, dear readers, this matter remains on hold, 21 days and counting.
