Members of the transportation panel shuffled over highway
proposal
The widening of Highway 156 between San Juan Bautista and Union
Road could be a foregone conclusion.
While members of the Council of Governments (the transportation
board comprised of county supervisors and members of the San Juan
and Hollister city councils) are shifting gears in preparation for
battle over the issue, state transportation officials say the
road’s widening
– along with that of Highway 25 – are its biggest priorities for
the region. They won’t say if they will back down in the face of
opposition from COG.
Members of the transportation panel shuffled over highway proposal
The widening of Highway 156 between San Juan Bautista and Union Road could be a foregone conclusion.
While members of the Council of Governments (the transportation board comprised of county supervisors and members of the San Juan and Hollister city councils) are shifting gears in preparation for battle over the issue, state transportation officials say the road’s widening – along with that of Highway 25 – are its biggest priorities for the region. They won’t say if they will back down in the face of opposition from COG.
“They (COG) should be looking at all the information before they make a decision,” said Richard Rosales, Caltrans spokesman for the San Benito-Monterey-Santa Clara region called District 5. “We’re working real hard with San Juan Bautista, Hollister and San Benito County to keep everyone informed.”
COG members Anthony Botelho and George Dias had to step down from making any decisions regarding the widening because of conflicts of interest: both own property in areas that could be affected by the widening. Botelho replaced himself with COG alternate Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz and Dias’ stand-in is San Juan Councilman Art Medina. Both alternates made it clear at a recent meeting they vehemently oppose the widening.
Many residents of San Juan and all the city leaders feel that the proposal to turn the stretch of road that traverses the fertile San Juan Valley into a 4-lane raised highway, will be the death knell of their small-town, history-loving way of life. They also lament the loss of what they consider the world’s most fertile farmland.
“The quality of life doesn’t enter into Caltrans’ calculations,” said resident Susan Brody. “It’s the same as proposing putting I-5 through the middle of that beautiful (San Juan) Valley. We’re the last bastion of what is essentially California.”
But political leaders and bureaucrats who have been studying the region’s transportation issues most of their careers say San Juan and its representatives aren’t being realistic. Caltrans rates the service level of that stretch of 156 as E or F – F being the worst grade possible. Coupled with California’s booming population growth, especially in the Bay Area and the Central Valley, the agency says all highways in the region need to be widened or improved.
Caltrans officials see San Benito as the nexus, the transportation hub connecting the growing commuter cities of Central California to the Bay Area. It is also the corridor that delivers Central Valley produce to the coast. California recently reached the 37 million population mark – sooner than expected – and futurists at the state Department of Finance believe California will be home to 50 million people by 2020, in just 14 years.
That means, say planners, Highway 156 needs to be four lanes instead of two. Rosales said the $35 million project is part of a regional transportation plan, a model created by the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments, or AMBAG. The improvements are financed with state and federal funds.
“If this weren’t a good project we would stop work on it, but right now with what we know, 25 and 156 are good projects to be working on to relieve congestion and future congestion,” Rosales said.
It is not decided yet whether it will become an expressway with turnoffs at Lucy Brown Lane and Mission Vineyard roads or a widened highway with access to all driveways and dirt roads. Rosales said the draft Environmental Impact Report for the project won’t be ready for public review until March 2007. Construction won’t start until 2010. Caltrans said it has strived to keep the taking of farmland to a minimum, paving only 99 acres out of the 10,000 acres in the valley. But many residents don’t believe the numbers, and those who do believe it’s still too much acreage to be taken for a highway.
“It’s still too much,” said resident and town activist Rebecca McGovern.
“I think [the widening] is necessary,” said Don Gage, Santa Clara County Supervisor. “You can’t bury your head in the sand, you need to plan. They figure the population (in California) is going to double by 2040, so where the hell are all these people going to live?”
San Juan residents couldn’t disagree more. They are fed up particularly with the truck traffic that roars through the southwest side of town at all hours of the day and night, and want transportation authorities to outright ban the semis from the roadway.
Residents McGovern and Cara Vonk note that diesel exhaust from the passing truck traffic is detrimental to children attending San Juan School, located on the corner of Highway 156 and The Alameda. Many locals complain about the shriek of jake brakes as the trucks swoop down the hill to the highway stoplight.
San Juan Bautistans would rather see Highways 25 and 152 widened through the Bolsa – or better yet, they say, build the East-West route supplanting all three highways.
The enigmatic East-West route was formerly known as the 3-in-1 Highway and heavily pushed several years ago by the Farm Bureau, then-Planning Commissioner Anthony Botelho and Hollister resident Greg Swett. Rosales said Caltrans studied the idea in the late 1990s, but at the time there still wasn’t enough traffic to justify such a massive project. It is still only a concept, and the state has never come up with even a drawing of the idea. When asked about the possibility of East-West becoming a reality, Rosales said it would be a billion-dollar project that wouldn’t see daylight for another 14 years – if the funding were provided, he added.
The East-West route would start at the 152/156 intersection (the Pacheco Y), come down past where developers DMB want to build their 6,900-home project in the Bolsa, wrap around the Flint Hills and head out toward Betabel Road off Highway 101.
“Every napkin drawing I’ve seen shows it at the bottom of the Flint Hills,” Rosales said. “It can’t go through because there’s a lot technical problems in that area with landslides. But it’s a concept worth talking about.”
For now, however, COG Chair Pat Loe says it would be best to study all the facts of 156, along with other projects, before making the decision to either support or shun the 156 widening. She formed a sub-committee at the COG meeting last week to listen to the concerns of the public. The committee is made up of COG member Brad Pike and herself. De La Cruz and Medina were anxious to take a vote against the widening, but were unable to because it wasn’t on the agenda.
“Everyone is making assumptions,” Loe said. “Until we get the actual EIR from Caltrans, it’s premature to take any kind of vote. The problem is, those speaking out against it don’t seem to want to understand the process. They just want to say ‘stop it.'”
A special COG meeting with Caltrans representatives will be held Monday, June 26 at 9 a.m. in the Hollister City Council chambers on Fifth Street. The subject will be Highway 156, and all those interested are encouraged to attend.
