Morgan Hill to test lane changes through downtown corridor

Some changes coming to downtown Morgan Hill. On February 18, a stretch of Monterey Road will undergo a temporary change.

“Speed on Monterey Road has been an ongoing issue,” Maureen Tobin, a community and engagement specialist with Morgan Hill said.

That’s one of the reasons the city is undergoing a six-month pilot program to switch up the flow of traffic. The right lane on each side of Monterey Street would be closed from Main Street to East Dunne. In it’s place, crews would create a buffer zone and bike lane.

The idea isn’t to just get some of the traffic out and onto side streets like Butterfield Blvd, but to invite more pedestrians and bicyclists in.

“It’s a traffic calming measure which should make downtown more enjoyable place for our of residents and visitors to come,” Tobin explained, “More enjoyable for our pedestrians, our bicycles not as much traffic noise going by as your dining in our downtown.”

However some businesses feel, if you take away the access to cars, you take away the customers.

“With all the small owners here,” Mary Connolly, manager with GVA Caf said, “We are all ma and pa owners, we are all afraid it’s gonna hurt our business.”

During a recent three day closure, GVA Caf says customer traffic hit a bump, going down by half.

By closing the right travel lane, the city is hoping to open more lanes of communication. A city survey has been sent to neighbors, asking them what they think is important and what the city should be looking at during the pilot project.

Peggy Lloyde Talbot already knows how she feels about the matter.

“I think they should leave it open because the businesses will evaporate if there is no one to go to them,” Lloyde Talbot said.

But the city is asking neighbors to be patient.

“It’s a test and we need to look at it like that,” Tobin said. “And it’s a change. Any time you implement a change that affects many, it’s going to be difficult at first but I encourage our community and those who commute through Morgan Hill to be patient. It takes time to change behavior.”

The city will offer two more surveys in the coming months. One at the midway point of the pilot program, the other at the end.