It’s Friday and Red Phone has been waiting patiently for calls
to come in from San Benito residents.
It’s Friday and Red Phone has been waiting patiently for calls to come in from San Benito residents. Do you have a question, comment or concern? Get it off your chest, call the Red Phone at 635-9219 or email
re******@fr***********.com
. This week Red Phone answered a call from a local resident who felt Hollister has become a little too rural for his liking, and another caller frustrated waiting for a stoplight in the wee hours of the morning. Don’t stew over problems in San Benito County call the Red Phone and put the Crimson Crusader to work for you.
Cock-a-doodle-don’t
Red Phone had caller dial-up to complain about noisy roosters in his Hollister neighborhood.
“I would like to know has the city ordinance changed for having roosters in the city limits like on the 700 block of Canal Alley because it sounds like we’re at Old McDonald’s Farm here – everyday in the morning, noon and at night,” he said. “It sounds like there are more roosters out here than people. Can someone please let me know has the ordinance changed that now allows roosters in residential areas of the city? I would like to know this because it is getting very annoying. All we’ve got to do now is have pigs and cows and donkeys and giraffes and everything else here. So please let me know if the ordinance has changed and who the contact person is I can let know about it so something can be done about this. I would appreciate it.”
And Red Phone appreciates your call. Here’s the scoop:
No, roosters are not allowed in city limits though chickens are. Residents can have up to six hens at their home in Hollister, but no roosters or else they risk a fine of approximately $90. Concerned, or annoyed residents, can call the Hollister Animal Control at 636-4320 with the address and officers will either confiscate the birds, ask the residents to remove them or ticket the offenders.
“A lot of people just call in anonymously and we respond to the complaint,” a spokesperson at the animal control office said.
What a turn-off
Another caller expressed their dismay over waiting for a turn signal on a deserted street in Hollister to change when they arrive home early in the morning.
“I get into town about 1:30 in the morning and I find myself waiting for a red left turn arrow to turn green when there’s nobody on the road,” she said. “I’m wondering why the traffic lights can’t be adjusted to orange blinking lights or red blinking lights through the intersection as they do in many other communities and even in San Francisco on busy streets after midnight. It seems like a waste of time waiting to turn the corner when there’s nobody there.”
Now, Red Phone would never encourage someone to run a red light in the early morning hours if no one was around to see it. City of Hollister Associate Civil Engineer David Rubcic said more than likely the traffic signal is on a time-regulated cycle and the caller has to wait for the cycle to run its course before changing. Some signals in Hollister are “actuated” during the late and early hours of the day meaning the presence of a car triggers the cycle, but the city does not like to put lights on blink. It’s confusing to drivers and causes them to be “apathetic” while driving, he said. Invoking change on the lights is also difficult, he said, because depending on which street the caller is talking about dictates who controls them. If it is on San Benito Street, then the lights are controlled by CalTrans.
Other streets in Hollister are controlled by the city. And, the problem could simply be a malfunctioning light. Regardless, citizens annoyed with traffic signals in Hollister can call the city engineering department at 636-4340 and they’ll direct you to the appropriate place to file your complaint.
