Forum speakers object to 156 widening in favor of a new
highway
Local people continued to react last week to a Caltrans open
forum held Tuesday where representatives discussed the state of
highways in the area and offered overviews of what Caltrans has in
the works.
Ted Thoeny was one of the San Juan residents who attended the
forum and he felt like Caltrans left out a lot of facts. Thoeny’s
home lies only feet from congested Highway 156.
Forum speakers object to 156 widening in favor of a new highway
Local people continued to react last week to a Caltrans open forum held Tuesday where representatives discussed the state of highways in the area and offered overviews of what Caltrans has in the works.
Ted Thoeny was one of the San Juan residents who attended the forum and he felt like Caltrans left out a lot of facts. Thoeny’s home lies only feet from congested Highway 156.
“I felt like things like roadway access were overlooked completely. I felt like they were glossing over flooding problems too,” Thoeny said.
Caltrans Dist. 5 Deputy Director Rich Krumholz recapped transportation projects in the county, discussed how projects become reality and talked about an ongoing study that will address the needs and concerns of tourists, trucking, and commuters alike.
Some residents made it clear they object to plans to widen Hwy. 156. Instead, they advocated a new highway, a plan long endorsed by local agricultural interests.
The “three-in-one” plan calls for a high-speed highway that would pull traffic from Highways 152, 25 and 156. All three roadways are once rural two-lane roads that frequently clog with traffic flowing to and from the burgeoning Bay Area. The new roadway would likely be routed nearest Highway 25.
“There is a continuing trend of population growth and traffic growth,” Krumholz said. “Planning transportation is hard. It’s complex. There’s a lot of issues.”
Krumholz discussed a number of issues surrounding local transportation, but the public discussion portion of the forum was most revealing.
Many of the comments were directed at the widening of Hwy 156 to four lanes through San Juan.
A large portion of the San Juan residents at the meeting said they fear that turning the stretch of 156 that runs from San Juan to the outskirts of Hollister into four lanes would ultimately lead to the destruction of the little town by bringing traffic through the community. Further, the roadway would compromise the agricultural value of verdant San Juan valley.
One of the staunchest proponents was San Juan resident and activist Rebecca McGovern.
“The title of this forum is ‘Caltrans: Where are we going?’ Where are we going, we’re going straight to hell and we’ll get there through Caltrans,” McGovern said. “They have plans and we’re not gonna change it. They’re destroying one of the world’s most precious resources-food. That’s what grows here and it doesn’t grow on pavement. They’re destroying farms.”
McGovern was not alone in her feelings. Several others, including Supervisor Anthony Botelho expressed similar sentiments. Botelho is a farmer with holdings in San Juan Valley. He along with other residents seemed to feel that the ideal solution to the problem is junking the 156 widening and building the three-in-one superhighway.
However, local school bus drivers at San Juan School were actually in favor of expansion of the existing roadway when contacted after the forum. A wider 156 is just fine with the bus crew, especially if it means they’ll do something about the tire-eating potholes. “Currently we don’t have any stops along the 156, but we have to drive it to get to the north. When you drive down it, the traffic is right there next to you, there aren’t any barriers separating you from the oncoming traffic. A wider freeway would be terrific,” San Juan School District Transportation Manager Tambra Thayer said.
The majority of speakers all seemed to favor the three-in-one alternative. “Transportation is the most important thing that can happen. Transportation is the lifeblood of the county. Don’t bother with the 156, the 152 or the 25, we need a new road,” said Joe Zanger.
The three-in-one concept was included in Santa Clara County’s Southern Gateway Study released last year. The study focused on six three-in-one scenarios which explored a variety of possibilities including alternatives calling for the widening of highways 156, 152 and 25. Botelho was open to whichever variation would work.
“The highways have been overlooked for a long time. People are getting hurt and there are continuing problems with congestion. We need to focus on getting traffic from the Pacheco Y to the 101,” he said.
At least one in attendance took another route. Scott Fuller, executive director of San Juan Oaks, said he was concerned because of the highway’s location. He said that San Juan Oaks supported improvements to the 156, but that he was hoping that the route doesn’t have to be a superhighway. “I think that we can find a middle ground without a superhighway. I’d like to see San Juan Valley’s rural character maintained.”
Krumholz also revealed during the workshop that Caltrans is conducting an ongoing study which will analyze the Southern Gateway’s three-in-one scenarios while also analyzing the widening of Hwy. 152 to six lanes and creating a trucks-only route.
He said that Caltrans’ study will examine a few of the things that the earlier study didn’t look at.
Still, the impression one was left with after the forum was that the county needs a clearer vision for what it wants to see in terms of roads. “We desperately need this type of forum to discuss all these issues. As a county we need to present a clearer message of what we expect and how to resolve county traffic issues. Currently Caltrans probably doesn’t get a clear message,” Supervisor Reb Monaco said.
