I object to the construction of Highway 25 bypass for several
reasons.
Dear Editor,
I object to the construction of Highway 25 bypass for several reasons.
1. It will not relieve or reduce cross-town traffic because:
a) It is not an alternate route which supplements the existing north to south cross-town route which is currently McCray Street. McCray Street will be closed North of Sunnyslope-Tres Pinos Road forcing all traffic on McCray to turn left on Park Street extension (a planned street added with the Highway 25 bypass) and then right onto the Highway 25 bypass, to get to Sunnyslope-Tres Pinos Roads. Therefore, all traffic on McCray will be routed onto 25 and no net reduction will occur. Instead, two turns are added to what is now a straight boulevard forcing traffic to basically follow two sides of a triangle to get to their destination instead of a straight line.
b) The possible right of way through town for Highway 25 bypass is only 140 feet wide. The possible right of way for McCray Street is much wider, at least from Hillcrest-South Streets to Sunnyslope-Tres Pinos corner. Therefore the new street, Highway 25 Bypass, can only be a maximum of four lanes wide except at the corner where it meets Sunnylope-Tres Pinos Roads. At present, McCray Street can be widened to six lanes from Hillcrest-South Street to Sunnyslope-Tres Pinos and McCray is already four lanes through most of its length. McCray Street, with some improvements, can have more traffic lanes and a capacity to carry more traffic than the proposed Highway 25 bypass.
c) The Highway 25 bypass will be located east of the present shopping district where the clock tower shops, the cinema, the Urgent Care Health Clinic, and Albertsons grocery are located. It will be at least a half mile east of the shopping area, so it isn’t providing convenient access to this area.
d) McCray Street provides direct access between the two existing shopping areas in Hollister. Highway 25 will not be direct.
e) McCray is easily accessed from downtown, while the bypass, being farther east, is not.
2 The bypass will be expensive but improving the existing McCray Street should be relatively inexpensive while providing the same or superior traffic flow. The money saved can be spent on more important projects, such as extending Meridian Boulevard to Fairview, which will relieve the congestion on Santa Ana and may possibly reduce commuter traffic on McCloskey Road.
3. There s no guarantee that CalTrans will hand over control of San Benito Street to the city and accept the Bypass in its place. According to Redevelopment Agency Director Bill Avera, and Public Works Director Steve Wittry “It could be some time before CalTrans hands over control,” and “It’s a long process… CalTrans doesn’t have a lot of money to put into it,” meaning to improve San Benito Street before giving it to the city. As the city will not accept the road until it is improved, this may be very slow or never.
As making San Benito Street a city street rather than a highway has been a goal that partly inspired the Highway 25 Bypass, this should be considered: it may not happen.
According to the Free Lance, the cost of the bypass is estimated at $24 million while the total of fees collected for it are $21 million. The shortfall is therefore $3 million. How will this be paid in a city and county in financial straits? And if the cost is higher than the projected $24 million, how will that be paid?
Therefore, at the cost of at least $24 million, a new road which is narrower and therefore has less carrying capacity, will be built while the existing McCray Street arterial will be dead-ended near Tres Pinos-Sunnyslope corner. It will no longer serve as an arterial between the main shopping centers in Hollister and McCray Street traffic will be forced onto the new bypass.
I believe this involves spending $24 million in order to achieve a reduces flow of traffic, with more congestion and less convenience to the public.
Charlotte O’Bannon Hollister
