Our first Red Phone caller of the week asked the Crimson
Crusader to find out the operating hours for the John Smith Road
Landfill on John Smith Road in Hollister.
Our first Red Phone caller of the week asked the Crimson Crusader to find out the operating hours for the John Smith Road Landfill on John Smith Road in Hollister.
The facility is open 8am to 4pm during the week and 9am to 3pm on Saturday and Sunday. Hazardous waste disposal is the third Saturday of every month from 9am to noon.
Our caller prefaced this question by stating that the Crimson Crusader is “da man.” Maybe, dear caller, or maybe not. But like everyone else, the Crimson Crusader must be sure to get to the landfill before noon on the third Saturday of the month in order to dispose of any hazardous waste.
Irksome Lack of
Downtown Parking
Our next Red Phone matter came from a local woman and first-time caller who reported that parking in downtown Hollister was “impossible.” Our caller said she recently went to Target because she couldn’t find a spot downtown. Although most parking spots downtown have 2-hour limits, the parking limit hasn’t been enforced for several years.
In order to find some spots for our caller, the Crimson Crusader dialed up Hollister City Manager Clint Quilter, who suggested parking at the Briggs Building. There is almost always parking at the Briggs Building on the corner of San Benito Street and Fourth Street in Hollister. Parking is available at any one of the 143 spots there from 7am to 10pm Monday through Thursday and from 7am to 1:30am Friday and Saturday. And there is even an elevator in the parking structure for those not fond of stairs. The Briggs Building parking lot is closed on Sundays.
Handicap Ramps Coming Soon to Downtown?
Our next Red Phone caller was a Hollister man who wanted to know when the city planned on installing handicap ramps on all of the sidewalks downtown. This wasn’t an easy question to answer.
Our hero first called over to City Engineer Steve Wittry. He said he doesn’t know when all of the sidewalks will have ramps. For the past several years, Wittry said, the city has been installing the ramps any time it tears up a road along San Benito Street to do other roadwork.
Since San Benito Street is owned by Caltrans, the Crimson Crusader also called that state agency’s public information officer, Donna Carter, to see if Caltrans was planning to install the handicap ramps. Carter said Caltrans was not planning to install ramps “at this time.” However, it should be noted here that once the Highway 25 bypass is completed in 2008, the city will have jurisdiction over Highway 25 and will be in a position to install the ramps.
Red Phone on Hold
There are no updates on the growing list of Red Phone on Hold items this week. Check back Saturday for an update on the Crimson Crusader’s wager with San Benito County Supervisor and Council of Governments board member Anthony Botelho regarding the start of construction on the Highway 25 bypass.
