Downtown promoters excited about bypass move
While some Hollister residents have been anxiously awaiting
movement on the Hwy. 25 bypass project
– which has been talked up for years – some are less than happy
since construction began earlier this year.
Downtown promoters excited about bypass move
While some Hollister residents have been anxiously awaiting movement on the Hwy. 25 bypass project – which has been talked up for years – some are less than happy since construction began earlier this year.
“I certainly didn’t pay upwards of $500,000 for my home so that I could live next to a freeway,” said Davis Jackson, a resident of Capitola Drive. “It’s ridiculous. I could have done that in San Jose.”
Jackson has had to deal with noise, dust and general commotion since earlier this spring, he said.
“And when everything is said and done, I’ll have a nice 14-foot tall wall glaring at me as a cruel reminder,” Jackson said.
Maria Ramos, a resident of Black Forest Drive, has also been bothered by all of the dust.
“The dust has been bad, but that’s the least of our problems,” Ramos said. “At least they didn’t take any of my property for the road.”
John Ramirez, a retired construction worker who also lives on Black Forest Drive, said progress couldn’t be fought.
“Some of my neighbors are seriously pissed,” Ramirez said. “They don’t understand that they don’t have a choice. Me, I guess I’ve just given up – what can you do?”
Despite complaints by neighbors near the construction site, many promoters of downtown Hollister are excited about the possibilities that will come with routing thorought traffic off San Benito Street.
The move offers the the possibility for more pedestrians spending more money and more time with less hassle and less likelihood to drive through without stopping.
Local architect and chairman of the Hollister Planning Commission David Huboi is excited.
“The bypass is a key component to the downtown revitalization,” Huboi said. “Right now San Benito Street is too unfriendly toward pedestrians. I’d like to see them embrace more of a New Orleans or European concept – with more outdoor cafes and transitional spaces.”
One of the ways Huboi thought this could be accomplished was through upgrading the downtown alleys and transitioning them to courtyards – more like what they have in the French Quarter, Huboi said.
“What we ought to be doing is enticing people to spend some time downtown,” Huboi said. “I think with the bypass and with Leatherback closing [owners of the downtown fixture announced they will be closing their operation this week], there is a lot of potential for the downtown area.”
Huboi isn’t the only one who is excited about the potential downtown holds. City Manager Clint Quilter believes the bypass will definitely have a positive impact on downtown Hollister.
“What this does is make it possible to lay out the streets in a variety of ways,” Quilter said. “And it make things more pedestrian friendly. It makes it much easier for us to do things like close off the downtown for farmers markets and make the area more attractive to pedestrian traffic. Downtown Campbell is an example of a city that has done something similar.”
Jerry Muenzer, a downtown merchant and chairman of the Hollister Downtown Association’s economic restructuring committee isn’t worried about getting traffic out of downtown because currently all of the cars that are driving along San Benito Street aren’t stopping.
“The idea is to make the downtown area more of a destination,” Muenzer said. “We want people to stop and stay a while.”
As for what he’d like to see the downtown look like, Muenzer said the Hollister Downtown Association is currently working on a new strategic plan, that will look at what the community wants the downtown to look like. And the response from the public so far has been very favorable.
Brenda Weatherly, executive director for the Hollister Downtown Association knows the public will tell them what they want to see in Hollister’s downtown, but she has some thoughts of her own.
“I’d like to see San Benito Street cut back to two lanes,” Weatherly said. “With street parking and bulbing corners and a lot more planting. I’d like to see downtown businesses with blade signage, so it’s easy for pedestrians to identify businesses. I’d like to see more outside dining opportunities and gift and clothing stores. I think it could create a nice package. We need to make it desirable for people to come and spend time and money in Hollister.”
With the bypass moving traffic elsewhere, the street traffic will slow down, Weatherly said. It’s been proven in other downtowns where this has been done that when traffic is calmer people stop thinking about traffic and start thinking about things like trees and shops and sidewalks, Weatherly said.
“Another thing I’d love to see is some hotels downtown,” Weatherly said. “That way people could eat and shop and stay. I think we’d all like a downtown we’re proud of. With the strategy in place and the planning process we’re hoping to get everyone involved and bought in with what they want the downtown to look like.”
