Hollister
– The San Benito County Council of Governments formed a
subcommittee Thursday that will be charged with gauging public
opinion about the controversial plan to widen Highway 156 between
Hollister and San Juan Bautista.
Hollister – The San Benito County Council of Governments formed a subcommittee Thursday that will be charged with gauging public opinion about the controversial plan to widen Highway 156 between Hollister and San Juan Bautista.
The committee, comprising Hollister City Councilman Brad Pike and county Supervisor Pat Loe, will have the task of meeting with citizens, primarily from the San Juan area, and determining what the public wants COG to do regarding the Highway 156 project.
“I hope the subcommittee will come to the conclusion that all three alternatives Caltrans is studying will be ineffective,” said county Supervisor Anthony Botelho, who represents San Juan Bautista. “Ultimately, there are better alternatives out there.”
Loe, who has said she supports the widening project, hopes the committee will be able determine why so many people in the Mission City oppose the project. With such an understanding, she said, the community will be able to work together on a solution.
“If the people of San Juan don’t feel that they’re being heard, then we need to find out what some of the root problems are,” Loe said. “We won’t be able to solve anything by just saying no.”
Since Caltrans announced its intent to widen Highway 156 into a four-lane road last year, many San Juan residents have voiced fears that pollution and additional traffic such a project might invite would forever mar the area’s value as a prime agricultural region and quaint tourist destination. The San Juan city council passed a resolution last year opposing the project.
“What Caltrans is proposing would almost be Draconian, in the literal sense of the word, in its impact on the City of San Juan Bautista,” said City Manager Jan McClintock. Among her concerns are the effects such a project would have on the region’s flooding problems, water wells, the number of different crops local farmers will be able to produce in any given year and compounding a noise problem that is already a sore spot with San Juan residents, as well as the effect such a project could have on the city’s plans to promote itself as a destination for the arts and cultural tourism over the next few years.
“We want to find an alternative that leaves the smallest footprint on the region,” said Botelho. “It’s in the best economic interests of the area if we don’t destroy what we have.”
According to Caltrans District 5 spokeswoman Susana Cruz, Caltrans is examining these and other issues, and hopes to work with COG and San Juan residents to find a solution.
“Safety is our top priority, and right now the delays and flooding are big safety problems,” she said. “So we just have to juggle the pros and cons of our options with COG and the residents.”
If residents are able to convince the subcommittee that widening the highway absolutely will not work, and COG in turn determines that to be the case, the project could be potentially “nullified,” said Cruz.
“So far however, we’ve been working very well with COG,” she added.
The most popular alternative among opponents of the Highway 156 project seems to be the “3-in-1” proposal, a new four or six-lane highway altogether that would connect the Don Pacheco Y intersection to Highway 101 near the San Benito/Santa Clara County Line. The project isn’t cheap – it could potentially cost more than $1 billion – but many residents consider it a permanent solution to the county’s traffic congestion problem as opposed to what they feel is a “Band-Aid” approach with the Highway 156 proposal.
“I hope we can table this (156) project and get together with our neighbors (in other counties) and see if we can’t find a better idea,” said San Juan City Councilman George Dias, the Mission City’s COG representative. “I know it’s a crazy idea, but I think together we could get this new highway built really fast. … If we don’t come up with a new plan before the end of the year, it might be too late. This county’s history.”
Regardless of what option COG and Caltrans decide to go with, construction probably will not begin any earlier than 2009.
“I don’t know if widening the highway is the way to go, but something has got to change soon,” said Hollister City Councilwoman Pauline Valdivia, who is an alternate on the subcommittee. “Or the congestion will just get worse for everyone.”
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or
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