Impact on prime ag land, safety among issues raised at Hwy. 156
public forum
Audience members, most from the San Juan Bautista area,
expressed a multitude of concerns about the project. At the heart
of their concerns was the use of prime farmland for the project;
safety for residents who would be turning on and off the
expressway; and the ability of farm workers to get equipment to and
from each side of the roadway.
Impact on prime ag land, safety among issues raised at Hwy. 156 public forum
Audience members, most from the San Juan Bautista area, expressed a multitude of concerns about the project. At the heart of their concerns was the use of prime farmland for the project; safety for residents who would be turning on and off the expressway; and the ability of farm workers to get equipment to and from each side of the roadway.
One person brought up the unguarded left-hand turns along Hwy. 101 at the Red Barn that Caltrans recently eliminated due to safety concerns.
“In comparison, the volume of traffic on [Hwy.] 101 is much higher,” Caltrans’ Richard Rosales said.
The opportunities to cross the roadway will be limited to Mission Vineyard, Bixby and Union roads, Rosales said. Motorists will be able to cross into the median and there will be dedicated acceleration lanes. Some audience members murmured about the trouble with merging into freeway-speed traffic.
“This gentleman is just doing his job,” Botelho said. “Really, the district director would have been a lot more fun to have here.”
At the end of the presentation, Botelho commented on the project once again before opening the floor up to public comment.
“I don’t believe it is too late to change it,” Botelho said of the roadway design. “This information would have been very appropriate when doing the environmental [review]. It would have been nice to see visuals of other options before COG pursued this. The battle is going to be up to folks as far as getting behind the cause.”
During the public comment period, a couple dozen residents spoke, most from San Juan and most against the project. Several made reference to a group of locals who have filed a lawsuit against Caltrans to stop the project.
Several others mentioned an alternative route that would connect Hwy. 25 to Hwy. 152 as an east-west route.
“The notion is that the EIR has been approved by Caltrans, but not in a court of law,” one man said. “As far as we see, the purpose is to move traffic, commuters and trucks. It makes much more sense on Hwy. 25.”
Rich and Joe Morris, who have been outspoken against the project since Caltrans first selected the route through San Juan Valley, both spoke at the meeting.
“It is the responsibility of responsible people to save themselves from destruction,” Rich Morris said. “It is not too late. A northerly road has got to be the better way. We have one of the oldest functional cities and the best ag land.”
