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Attachment 3Traffic 1/16/2017 Mayor Marico Sayoc Vice Mayor Rob Rennie Dear Mr. Rennie These are our concerns: Having been residents and homeowners in Almond Gove for 40 years we have never been hostages in our home until this past summer and most recently during the rains. It has been either beach traffic or those returning home going south from work. We can't leave and if we do we can't get back leaving us hostages in our home. We are getting speeding traffic, road rage, garbage, and streets used as bathrooms. The apps that reroutes people have become a nightmare for both the residents and the drivers. Most people seem to take the redirection as higher wisdom when often it gets them stuck in a loop and taking longer to get home. I had a client this evening who said if had stayed with the route he would have been home in 5 hours. By trusting himself to take another route he was home in an hour and a half. The recent impact of traffic in our neighborhood, due to the storms, prevented our daughter from getting home. She had to park her car in town last week and walk home because it was taking her so long to get home. She was forced to stay with friends the second night due to the reoccurrence of the heavy traffic The issues were only alleviated when Massol at Hwy 9 was closed as was Tait and the entrance to Hwy 17 on ramp was closed at the post office. Respectfully submitted, Gary, Sue and Sarah Plep 39 Bayview Ave., Los Gatos 408 891-9737 From: Leesa Gidaro Sent: Monday, January 16, 2017 10:41 PM To: Marico Sayoc Cc: Laurel Prevetti; Matt Morley Subject: Re: Feedback on Cut Thru Traffic Hello Marico, Thanks so much for your service to our town (!!) and for requesting additional information. I own a home on Tait, and we all know the impact to that street. When I purchased that home I had planned on moving there, but with the traffic as it is today I cannot imagine traveling the extra mile during summer months. Because I am concerned about property values in the Almond Grove, I plan to sell that house this Spring before the beach traffic begins. I live in a home I own on Creffield Heights, which corners San Benito. When the downtown ramp is closed traffic increases for our area significantly - cars turn up San Mateo when they can't make it through the light at Blossom Hill and North Santa Cruz, then speed down San Benito heading for Highway 9, only to find it chained off to thru traffic, angering drivers who realize Waze and Google maps haven't noted the dead end. Otherwise, they block the intersection at Blossom Hill and North Santa Cruz. It would be really nice to have camera's installed to ticket and fine drivers who run that light and/or block the intersection!! And (if possible) a "No Outlet" sign. If I leave my home on a weekend I know that I won't be able to get back home until after 3:30pm, unless I am willing to spend 30 minutes traveling 2.5 miles from Highway 85/Winchester to 100 Creffield Heights. I hope this additional information helps... thank you again for all that you're doing to attempt to mitigate this situation. Sincerely, Leesa Gidaro On Jan 16, 2017, at 8:03 PM, Leesa Gidaro <leesa.gidaro@gmail.com> wrote: Los Gatos Town Council Members Beach Traffic has paralyzed our town for the past two summers, but I would love to give feedback on measures implemented thus far: - Closing off the downtown Highway 17 ramp only pushes traffic to the the entrance at Highway 9. While it might be better for those in the Almond Grove district, it has only created more traffic for those along the Winchester/North Santa Cruz corridor between Lark and Highway 9. Since I own homes on both sides of Highway 9, I care about this issue and how it affects our entire town, not just Almond Grove. - Adding cones to block off downtown streets (i.e., Massol) is helpful, however the traffic doesn't begin until 9:30am. Residents want to get our errands done early so we can get back home! Please don't put cones up at 8am! That might be a convenient time for town workers, but it is a huge inconvenience to residents who are already inconvenienced and just trying to get things done early before our town is bombarded with traffic. Thank you for listening! Leesa Gidaro On Jan 16, 2017, at 7:10 PM, Mario Queiroz < wrote: Dear Mayor Sayoc and Council Members: My family and I own and live in our home at 128 Tait Avenue in the Almond Grove neighborhood of Los Gatos. Before addressing the cut -through traffic project, I would like to commend the City of Los Gatos on the excellent job it did in cleaning up the city after the major storms of last week. Thank you for the excellent work!!! Now to the main subject of this email: We saw that the topic of cut -through or beach traffic is on the agenda for tomorrow evening's (January 17) council meeting, and I would like to voice my opinion. I vehemently support closing the on -ramp to Highway 17 Southbound for certain hours on summer weekends. I provided this input to the Town in an email on September 4, 2015, with the subject "Closure of S Santa Cruz Ave exit to Hwy 17 5." As a Google employee, with my knowledge of Waze and the technology of other traffic apps, I am convinced that the only effective way to maintain traffic in the residential neighborhoods of downtown Los Gatos at reasonable levels on days of heavy HW-17-S traffic is to close the S Santa Cruz Ave exit to HW- 17. When this was done on specific weekends this past summer, there was absolutely no unusual traffic backed up on Tait Ave and other residential downtown streets. On the weekends that the closure was not implemented, the traffic was at a standstill in front of our house and adjacent streets. Not only does this pose a dangerous situation if there is an emergency and we need an ambulance or police at our residence, but it also makes it very difficult for us to get to our house on those days. The traffic is just horrendous all over the downtown area. Our family has commitments on the weekends which require us to leave town by car, and we dread leaving the house if we know that we must face the excessive beach traffic trying to return to my residence. We should not have the burden and stress of not being able to leave our house on the weekend. Even just to go to Safeway by car is a nuisance. It also makes driving hazardous because people become impatient, drive on the wrong side of the road and make other maneuvers that pose a hazard to pedestrians and other drivers. I believe there was an incident on Tait Ave on a day of beach traffic this past summer of a vehicle hitting a pedestrian due to the conditions described in this paragraph. On a tangentially related subject, to minimize traffic through the Almond Grove and other downtown residential streets, I request that the Town not eliminate or shorten the dedicated right hand turn lane from westbound Highway 9 to southbound N. Santa Cruz Ave when you consider the proposed new construction on that corner. Please don't do anything that will encourage drivers to use the residential streets versus N. Santa Cruz Ave. Such a change would compound the problem of growing traffic through our residential neighborhoods, especially considering the construction that will be taking place to renew the concrete streets and sidewalks in our neighborhood. Thank you very much for your consideration. Sincere regards, Mario Queiroz 408-464-9204 On Jan 16, 2017, at 6:46 PM, Martha Queiroz wrote: Dear Mayor Sayoc and Council Members, My family and I reside and own our home at 128 Tait Ave. I see that the topic of cut through or beach traffic is on the agenda for tomorrow evening's council meeting and I'd like to voice my opinion. I support closing the on -ramp to Highway 17 Southbound for certain hours over the summer weekends. When this was done on specific weekends this past summer, there was absolutely no traffic backed up on Tait Ave and other Almond Grove streets. On the weekends that it was not done, the traffic was at a standstill in front of our house and adjacent streets. Not only does this pose a dangerous situation if there is an emergency and we need an ambulance or police at our residence, but it also makes it very very difficult for us to return to our house on those days. The traffic is just horrendous all over the downtown area. My daughter has sports and other commitments on the weekends, and I dread leaving the house if I know that I must face beach traffic trying to return to my residence. Even just to go to Safeway by car is a nuisance. It also makes driving hazardous because people become impatient, drive on the wrong side of the road and make other maneuvers that pose a hazard to pedestrians and other drivers. Secondly, on another but related subject, to minimize traffic through the Almond Grove neighborhood, I request that you do not eliminate or shorten the dedicated right hand turn lane from westbound Highway 9 to southbound N. Santa Cruz Ave when you consider the proposed new construction on that corner. Please don't do anything that will encourage drivers to use the residential streets versus N. Santa Cruz Ave. It will be a mess, especially considering the construction that will be taking place to renew the concrete streets and sidewalks in our neighborhood. Many thanks in advance for your consideration. Regards, Martha Queiroz On Jan 16, 2017, at 4:35 PM, dane howard <wrote: Mayor of Los Gatos & Town Council Members, I live at 307 W. Main street (cross street Tait) downtown. We have lived downtown since 2008. We initially loved the appeal of living so close to downtown and access to restaurants and the 'charm' of the town. Unfortunately that charm is evaporating with the amount of cut -through traffic in our town. Recent developments in traffic -assist mobile applications (Waze & Google Maps) allow drivers to find alternate routes to the 17 South. This has wreaked havoc on our neighborhoods and this traffic does not offer any benefits to surrounding businesses, since this is all pass -through traffic. As you are probably quite aware, this traffic peaks in the evenings and on weekends, especially during the summer. On Jan 11th, 2017 (I will refer to it as an Apocalyptic Evening - where traffic was grid -locked for nearly 8 hours --> I posted about it on my social network here: https://www.facebook.com/dane.howard/posts/10154055739525684). (essentially, all 3 of our cars had to be abandoned as my children and my wife and I had to ALL walk home) Question: What will we (as a community) do about this? I have a suggestion: I am writing to suggest that we *permanently* close the 17 South on -ramp, located (near) the intersection of Santa Cruz Ave. and Wood Road. (map location) - You have experimented with this solution during the summer months, but this plan was not consistent, therefore people STILL try and access the 17 south. I am concerned for several reasons: Safety & Response times: With streets SO grid -locked, it provides unsafe response times for our police and fire departments. For example, on the evening of Jan 11th, 2017 I witnessed a horrible automobile accident at the corner of Santa Cruz Ave and Highway 9 during the Grid- lock. (I was walking home because I had to abandon my vehicle so I could get home) -- The police were unable to respond in ANY adequate time frame. To my knowledge, this was not a life threatening accident, but the grid -lock would have jeopardized any injury in this regard. Driver Anger and frustration - We've experienced a lot of 'out-of-towners' driving fast and in opposite lanes when they are frustrated because of the grid -lock. Immobility of downtown residence - I speak for myself and testify to ALL of my surrounding neighbors that they are literally TRAPPED in their homes when our streets are grid -locked. Even if we are able to exit our driveways, we can leave our neighborhoods, but can NOT return to our homes because of the traffic. This causes normal errands to be cancelled and plans to be re- arranged. I hope this issue will be addressed soon. dane howard 307 W. Main Street Los Gatos, CA On Jan 16, 2017, at 4:03 PM, Cathy Weiner < wrote: As a resident of Massol Avenue, I am asking you to continue the closure of the HWY 17 ramp on Santa Cruz Ave, but please do NOT close Massol Avenue off to traffic. This solution has not been tried, and I find that closing off my neighborhood is a hardship on my family's ability to get back into the neighborhood and prohibits us from having guests to our homes. As the public learns that HWY 17 onramp is closed, there will not be a need to close off my neighborhood, and I don't want to feel as though I'm a prisoner, afraid to leave for fear of how I'm going to get back home. I also find it disheartening that others, not living on my street, ask you to close it. It would also allow people, wanting to come to Los Gatos for shopping and lunch, to come into downtown through this back -way (which they have always done) and help the local merchants with more people coming into the downtown area. Thank you Cathy Weiner Massol Avenue On Jan 16, 2017, at 3:44 PM, valerie hopkins < wrote: Dear Council members, We are unable to attend the meeting tomorrow evening but I did want to have my "three minutes". Last Thursday my personal gridlock event: 2-1/2 hrs. from Whole Foods to 136 Tait- also traffic was blocked on Tait until 9:45 when we finally went to bed. I know you have heard it all and wish that was the end of it. We do too. The upsetting thing was that I never saw a policeman trying to control traffic. The people who live on Massol and Tait are very concerned about Memorial Day weekend and summer weekend traffic. I cannot think of another solution other than blocking those intersections at Highway 9 like last year- that was the best deterrent. My fear is that they would start to use our alleyways which are private driveways. Last year we did have a bit of traffic on Tait even though the cones were in place. I walked down to see what was happening and saw several cars cutting through the Shell station on Tait. At one point, someone moved the cones and traffic was trickling through- not a good thing and of course I replaced the cones. So I think we need more substantial items to block the two streets from 9:30am-4:OOpm during the aforementioned times. I wish I had some magical suggestion but I am sure the problem is not going to get better. Kind regards, Valerie Hopkins On Jan 16, 2017, at 10:18 AM wrote: Dear Town Council Members, We are writing to ask your help with respect to traffic in Los Gatos and specifically with respect to the summer beach traffic. We think what has worked is closing the on -ramp to Highway 17 southbound for certain hours over summer weekends. Even though traffic cones were placed at Highway 9 to prevent cars from coming into Los Gatos, transiting cars generally ignored the cones and drove over them leading to clogged streets throughout the neighborhood. We have seen cars speed down the wrong lane of Tait Ave to get to Main St. while there are a line of cars already waiting on Tait Ave. Because of the traffic, on a couple of occasions we could not make an appointment and had to stay home. There was one occasion where I could not get to our house in a reasonable time and had to park the car about 1 mile away from our house and walk home. We would really appreciate your consideration of closing the on -ramp to Highway 17 during certain hours of the summer weekends. Thank you, Earl & Patricia Charles On Jan 16, 2017, at 9:33 AM, Lisa Mammel <wrote: Dear Mayor, Vice Mayor and Town Council Members — I am writing in light of item number 11 "Cut Through Traffic Project 813-0229" on this Tuesday evening's Town Council Agenda, to request that the Town Council implement the closure of the southbound Highway 17 ramp as an ongoing weekend solution over the period of Memorial Day through Labor Day. am a 20 year resident of Tait Avenue. Over the past two summers my family has experienced traffic on our street and in our neighborhood as never experienced before. The traffic caused by drivers apparently seeking a short-cut to Highway 17 South has, at times, made us "prisoners" of our own home, and has led to unsafe conditions in the neighborhood. Trying to get out of our driveway has often entailed a real negotiation with unyielding, frustrated drivers. The traffic on Tait has, at times, even precluded us from returning home with our car; we have had to abandon it blocks away and have had to walk back to our home. Indeed, when my elderly mother was visiting last summer, I was compelled to park the car with my mother at a parking lot, walk home to fetch a wheelchair, and then go back to assist her with the wheelchair to get to our driveway and home. Even then, hot, frustrated, traffic -trapped motorists were not readily inclined to give even a few feet to let us through. Unfortunately, sitting in a car with little progress on one's journey can make people misbehave... as evidenced by trash and food thrown out of car windows onto yards on our street. This is not a simple issue of the quality of life or the legal right to enjoy one's property. It pertains importantly to safety. Last summer, apparently a child pedestrian was hit on Tait by a traffic -snarled motorist. (I saw an LGPD officer attend to the accident; I did not see his police car. I wonder if he was able to get to the scene with a vehicle.) I sincerely worry about the safety of all of those in the area in the event of an emergency. Firetrucks, ambulances, emergency responders would not be able to access motorists, pedestrians, residents or properties on the jammed bumper -to -bumper streets. What would happen if there were a fire on one of the clogged streets (all too common in LG's history)? The traffic has also been affecting commerce in our neighborhood. One neighbor could not hold open house viewings for the sale of his property during the summer weekends, as no one could (or would) fight the traffic to see the house. appreciate that the Town Council has tried a few "solutions" to see what might mitigate the cut through traffic issue. Thank you. I note that the Town tried setting up cones along Highway 9 so as to stem motorists from cutting through into the Almond Grove neighborhood. Although well-intentioned, the cone solution did not work. Motorists drove over them and did not heed signage — as evidenced by the two photographs attached to this missive. The bumper -to - bumper traffic on Tait, Massol and other local streets remained an issue. I appreciate that signs were set up to encourage motorists to access Highway 17 through the ramp off of Highway 9. Alone, I believe that they were certainly not an adequate solution. However, the closure of the ramp to Highway 17 South near the Toll House Hotel (with and without the signage) had a marked difference in the traffic through our neighborhood. On those weekends, we no longer had to abandon our cars and walk home... or calculate how long a simple errand would take (given the traffic to and from our home). If there had been a health emergency, a fire truck or ambulance could have easily negotiated the vastly reduced traffic in the Almond Grove neighborhood. I urge you to implement the closure of the southbound Highway 17 ramp as an ongoing weekend solution over the period of Memorial Day through Labor Day. The closure hours could be from 10 am until 3 pm... at the height of the traffic, and opened thereafter. I thank you for your good consideration, and your service on the Town Council. Sincerely, Lisa Mammel On Jan 16, 2017, at 9:33 AM, Lisa Mammel <wrote: On Jan 15, 2017, at 10:01 PM, Chris < wrote: To Town Council Members -- We live at 33 Tait Ave and have seen many Sat and Sun afternoons over the past summer filled with bumper -to -bumper would-be beach goers lining up in front of our driveway making everyone's life miserable. Trash and food has been thrown from the traffic line into our yard and reckless drivers have endangered pedestrians on the sidewalks to get a better place in the line back to the Hwy 17 south ramp. We are tired of the hassle of an hour wasted getting back to our home after a simple trip to the store on weekend afternoons. Therefore, I ask you to please vote for closure of the N. Santa Cruz Ave on -ramp to Highway 17 South during all summer weekend days, Memorial to Labor Days. That is the only sure way to prevent motorists from using Tait and Massol as a shortcuts that appear on their mobile phone apps when the ramp is open. Closure of Tait with cones at Hwy 9 has not been effective because our local police do not stay on our streets all afternoon to ticket and turn back the cone jumpers. We have been on the front line of this battle with long lines of beach traffic on Tait Ave for the past year and I hope you will treat our actual experiences as the most credible and valid facts supporting a solution to the problem we face -- that is, weekend closure of the ramp to Hwy 17 South as the only viable solution, despite the minor impacts it may have on a few downtown business owners. Thank you -- Chris Potter From: L Force Sent: Sunday, January 15, 2017 3:34 PM To: Town Manager; Marico Sayoc; Rob Rennie; BSpector; Steven Leonardis Subject: SB Hwy 17 on ramp at S Santa Cruz Avenue Re: Requesting Permanent Closure of the South Bound Hwy17 On Ramp at S. Santa Cruz Avenue. Dear Los Gatos Town Council, I have been a resident and homeowner on Tait Avenue since 1993. I truly appreciate the action the Town has taken between Memorial and Labor Day weekends to alleviate the traffic gridlock in the downtown and neighboring residential areas. I would have been supportive to continue these measures for future summers. That being said, I now request the Town consider permanent closure of the onramp due to last weeks horrible gridlock. Inclement weather (rain/mudslides/fallen trees on Hwy 17 between Los Gatos and Santa Cruz brought the Town to a standstill. Last week, DAY 1 GRIDLOCK lasted from 5:30pm to nearly midnight on Tait Ave moving towards W. Main Street. About SIX HOURS of idling cars, honking horns and road ragers. The following day, DAY 2 GRIDLOCK started at 2pm and was still bumper to bumper at 11pm, SEVEN HOURS of impatient, frustrated and tired and angry drivers. It took TWO HOURS to drive from the Hwy85/Saratoga off ramp (Fruitvale/Hwy 9/Massol) on January 11. The Town, residents and infrastructure cannot handle the detouring traffic. The people heading over the hill need to stay on the freeway for the benefit of all. There is no saving of time by idling on our residential streets and taking frustration out on the residents who live here. The following photos were taken on Wednesday, January 11, 2017 at approximately 4pm, 5:30p, and 11pm. Thank you for reading this email. From: Mimi and Eric Carlson Sent: Saturday, January 14, 2017 3:14 PM To: Council Subject: Setting Priorities Mayor Sayoc and members of the Town Council: Your message in the January issue of L.G. Living invited resident participation in setting priorities for the Jan. 31 meeting-- we thank you all for listening. Your existing list is a good one. We suggest adding traffic mitigation especially regarding Highway 17 backup issues, whether caused by disasters such as a mudslide, fallen tree, accident or by just plain congestion from summertime beach traffic. The gridlock we experienced last Wednesday, Jan.11 is unacceptable. The inconvenience of not being able to get downtown to a meeting pales with the lost revenue of our local restaurants and other businesses as well as the dangerous slowing of emergency personnel. A problem on #17 shouldn't shut down Los Gatos. We also urge you to prioritize avoiding traffic impact on Los Gatos Blvd. from any North 40 development, for example, by not allowing any residential development that would invite single family residences with school age children. Thank you, Mimi & Eric Carlson From: Christine Groom Sent: Friday, January 13, 2017 1:09 PM To: Council; Town Manager Cc: Christine Groom Subject: Tuesday, Jan 17, 2017, council meeting input Dear Town Council Members, I'm writing because I am unable to attend the upcoming Town Council meeting to be held on Tuesday, January 17th. I wish to provide my input, regarding the discussion agenda item pertaining to Summer Traffic Proposals, by way of this email in my absence. I am a long time resident of the unicorporated area of Los Gatos on Black Road off of Highway 17. I fully appreciate all attempts to dissuade cut through traffic through the town as it impairs the enjoyment of the town for its residents and visitors; however, as a resident, I do not appreciate the negative impact on me not being able the use the last onramp from Santa Cruz Ave. Not being able to use this onramp prevents me from going into town on all the weekends it is enforced. That is unfortunate for me, the shop owners, the farmer's market and restaurants I might have otherwise spent time and money in. I am requesting that you consider a resident pass/sticker or permit of some kind to allow those of us who live outside of the town proper to use the last onramp when it is closed for Summer. As proof of residence, perhaps providing a copy of my property tax bill may be used. Thank you for your time and consideration of my input. With Best Regards, Christine G.