14 Desk Item - Roberts Road Bridge Closing~pW N 0
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DATE:
TO:
FROM:
SUBJECT:
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MAY 2, 2005
MEETING DATE: 5/2/05
ITEM NO. / q
DESK ITEM
MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
DEBRA J. FIGONE, TOWN MANAGER
REVIEW UPDATED REPORT ON THE ROBERTS ROAD BRIDGE
CLOSING AND PROVIDE DIRECTION ON THE AVAILABLE OPTIONS
A. ADOPT RESOLUTION CLOSING ROBERTS ROAD BRIDGE TO
VEHICULAR TRAFFIC, OR
B. REPAIR AND REHABILITATE THE EXISTING STRUCTURE, OR
C. REPLACE THE EXISTING STRUCTURE
RECOMMENDATION:
Accept attached emails from Kathleen Lynn, Steve and Sharon Wilson, the Babalis Family, Kim
Gavin, Tom and Peggy Willey, Rodney and Kathy Smedt, and Jon and Julee Bode. These items were
received after the agenda packets were distributed.
Attachments:
Emails from Ohlone Court residents
PREPARED BY: 4irector HN E. CURTIS
of Parks and Public Works
Reviewed by: 5 Assistant Town Manager VTown Attorney Clerk Administrator
Finance Community Development
Revised: 5/2/05 1:22 pm
Reformatted: 5/30/02 N:\B&E\COUNCIL REPORTS\roberts.rd.bridge.update.5205.desk.wpd
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Millie Sperath - Roberts Rd. Bridge closure
From: "Kathleen Lynn" <kathee@gte.net>
To: <jcurtis@losgatosca.gov>, <manager@losgatosca.gov>
Date: 5/1/2005 7:47 AM
Subject: Roberts Rd. Bridge closure
To whom it may concern:
I am and have been an Ohlone Court resident for 8 1/2 years. I oppose the permanent closing of the
Roberts Road Bridge for the following reasons.
1. Already an obvious increase in cars parked on Ohlone by patrons of Vasona Lake, which will worsen in
the summer.
2. Skateboarders have been using the area as a hangout, skateboarding around the Bridge Closed signs
causing traffic hazards, and leaving trash. This may also worsen during the summer when school lets out.
3. The unsightly Bridge Closed signs diminish the appearance of our neighborhood, causing decreased
property values.
I am in favor of replacing the bridge and of the bridge being reopened to vehicles until the new bridge
construction begins.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Lynn
128 Ohlone Court
LG, CA 95032
408-354-5060
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Millie Sperath - Agree w/keeping bridge closed (w/certain assumptions)
From: <swilsonl979@comcast.net>
To: <jcurtis@losgatosca.gov>, <manager@losgatosca.gov>
Date: 4/30/2005 11:47 AM
Subject: Agree w/keeping bridge closed (w/certain assumptions)
To whom it may concern,
We live at the intersection of Roberts Road and Ohlone Ct. We wanted to make you aware that
not all residents of the neighborhood located on Ohlone Ct are in agreement as to what the final
outcome of the Roberts Road Bridge decision should be. The closure of the bridge thus far has
not been a hardship, we are more in favor of keeping it closed as long as certain conditions are
met such as
-keeping at a minimum all of the current "No Parking Areas" on both Roberts Road & on
Ohlone Ct
-Making sure that the closed off area continues to be free from vagrancy, loitering or any other
disruptive activities
-The closure structures are made to blend in more closely with the existing park-like
enviornment.
If the decision is made to rebuild the bridge we are very concerned about all of the issues
involved with demolition and reconstruction such as the impact on the habitat and living
enviornment for local residents and also wildlife during and after the project disruption of
the enviornment and severe noise and congestion during the project.
We are also concerned that a larger bridge would be built creating more traffic, speeding and
congestion than already existed with the old bridge.
We feel given the huge costs not only financial but on quality of life are not worth the 2 minutes
in commute time saved by having to drive the added block around.
Thank you,
Sincerely
Steve & Sharon Wilson (101 Ohlone Ct )
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Millie Sperath - RE: Bridge Closure
From: "tassia" <tbabalis@atmel.com>
To: <manager@losgatosca.gov>, <jcurtiis@losgatosca.gov>,
<jcurtis@losgatosca.gov>
Date: 5/1/2005 10:54 PM
Subject: RE: Bridge Closure
CC: <kimgavin@comcast.net>, "Tom Willey" <tom.willey@tw-partners.com>,
"Peter Littman" <eis@cruzio.com>, "The Smedts" <smedts@comcast.net>
We are very unhappy about the bridge closure. We have also read the report and plan on attending the
meeting on Monday night.
We would like to let you know that it IS a major inconvenience to us having that bridge closed. We only
have one way into and out of our community. We feel less connected to our downtown by not having
access across that bridge. Also, it has made a difference in where we shop and spend our money. For
example, we love the new Wallgreens better than Long's but now we find ourselves shopping more at
Long's out of convenience. It is that sense of driving forward getting somewhere rather than backtracking
to go somewhere.
On X-mas Eve, before the closure, I attemped to go to 7-eleven for a "last minute" item. I was waiting at
the light to make a left turn onto Blossom Hill Rd from Roberts Rd. The police man approached my car
and told me that I could only make a right hand turn due to the Festival of Lights. To go to 7-eleven that
night had the bridge been closed would have been a major ordeal. I would have had to go all the way up
to Blossom Hill Rd and Los Gatos Blvd make a U-turn (if it's allowed at that intersection) and then come
back down Blossom Hill Rd, passing 6 lights as oppose to only 3 lights.
When we bought our home in this neighborhood we had access from two different ways. When buying
our home, the immediate surroundings did play a part in making the decision to buy. The quaintness of
our neighborhood matched the charm of an old, one-lane bridge. Now we are forced to look at bright
orange, ugly signs that read road closed every time we enter and leave our neighborhood. We wonder
for the people who live near the sign how they feel looking at it everyday, What an eye soar!
Please consider re-opening the bridge while we have CalTrans rebuild the bridge to meet the necessary
requirements. We do not mind having a slightly wider bridge and having it striped for a one lane bridge.
Sincerely,
The Babalis Family
140 Ohlone Ct
(408) 354-1689
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'John Curtis - FW: Robert road Bridge
From:
<kimgavin@comcast.net>
To:
<jcurtis@losgatosca.gov>
Date:
5/1/2005 10:07 PM
Subject:
FW: Robert road Bridge
Forwarded Message:
From: kimgavin@comcast.net
To: jcurtis@losgatoca.gov
Cc: manager@losgatos.gov
Subject: Robert road Bridge
Date: Mon, 2 May 2005 05:01:35 +0000
This is a letter concerning the Roberts Road Bridge. I read the report . It was very interesting
reading. It was noted in the report that know one had complained of the bridge closure. One of
the reason for that was we were told to wait until the city had time to put out this report on the
bridge. That is why you have not heard from us. Also, I have had many people ask how long the
bridge will be closed. So they are thinking that this is temporary NOT permanent.. Most all the
neighbors on Ohlone Ct are still unhappy of this decision and WANT THE CITY TO REOPEN
THE BRIDGE again.
After reading the three options. I feel the 3rd option seems the best option for all involved.
WHY?
1. the city has to fix the bridge no matter what option is picked
2. they won't have to pay the large cost of repairing the bridge because Cal Tran has offered to
pay the bulk of the cost.
3. there will be less traffic on Blossom Hill Rd. and University Ave.
4. if the bridge is fixed we won't have to worry that we are going to loose our gas, electric, and
water if there is an earthquake or it falls
5. the values to our homes will not fall
I hope you will change your mind and open the bridge.
Regards,
Kim Gavin
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Millie Sperath - Roberts Road Bridge closure
From: Tom Willey <tom.willey@tw-partners.com>
To: <jcurtiis@losgatosca.gov>, <manager@losgatosca.gov>
Date: 5/1/2005 4:47 PM
Subject: Roberts Road Bridge closure
CC:. Jim & Kim Gavin < kimgavin@comcast. net>, Peter & Tassia Babalis <tbabalis@atmel.com>,
Sandy Jordan <blessx4@yahoo.com>
Dear Debra,
Thank you for the copy of the report concerning the Roberts Road Bridge
closure. For your information: In February, the Ohlone Court Home Owners
Association elected a new Board of Management. I have passed on your report
to them.
However as individual residents of Ohlone Court, my husband and I have some
thoughts and comments on the various options that your report discusses.
First of all, at the meeting where the council decided to close the bridge,
our understanding was that there would be an investigation on the Bridge
closure options and the results would be reported back. Our Homeowners
committee had decided to await those results. I am somewhat alarmed that
your reports misreads our patience as lack of interest in whether the Bridge
stays open or closed. I believe that a substantial majority of the Ohlone
Court residents are unhappy about the closure and want an option that will
re-open the bridge to vehicular traffic.
Originally the bridge closure was scheduled at the beginning of December.
However, because of the expected traffic congestion at the Ohlone/Blossom
Hill junction during to the "Festival Lights" in Vassona park, the closure
was delayed until January. I think that its fair to say that the residents
of Ohlone Court appreciated the gesture. It would also suggest that Los
Gatos Town Council also realize that the closing the bridge is and will
continue to be a substantial inconvenience to the Ohlone Court residents.
A few weeks ago, there was a Persian celebration at Vassona Park. To help
ease congestion and also to help the normal parking problem in Ohlone Court,
the entrance to our neighborhood was restricted at the Roberts/Blossom Hill
junction. Basically, the entrance lane into Roberts from Blossom Hill was
blocked off by cones leaving the exit lane to be shared by both entering and
exiting traffic. Whilst we appreciated the efforts made by the Parks
department to alleviate congestion, we saw much confusion between traffic
trying to go straight through Blossom hill and traffic trying to
simultaneously entering exiting our neighborhood via Roberts.
Overall, the closure of the Roberts Bridge has been a substantial
inconvenience to our neighborhood and during busy days at Vasonna park it
downright difficult to get in and out of our neighborhood. Also, because of
the akwardness of physically getting to downtown Los Gatos, residents are
tending to go elsewhere to shop, eat, etc. For these reasons, we would
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strongly urge the Los Gatos Town Council to restrict the options to those
that only include reopening the Roberts Road Bridge to Vehicular traffic.
From the report, it appears that you have one option to close the bridge and
two options available to reopen the Bridge: Option 2 - Repair of the Bridge
and Option 3 - Rebuilding with majority funding from CalTrans.
We would like to recommend that your pursue Option 3 and rebuild the bridge.
However, we would also like to request that until the Bridge construction
actually starts, the Bridge should be reopened to vehicular traffic. We
agree with the continuation of the maximum load restrictions but we would
also suggest that you should build a physical barrier to restrict the
allowable vehicle width at both ends of the bridge. That way Garbage and UPS
type trucks would find it impossible to cross the bridge.
Finally, We'd like to apologize for not attending Monday night's meeting as
we will be on vacation in Europe.
Best regards,
Peggy and Tom Willey
134 Ohlone Court
Los Gatos
(408) 354-0848
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Millie Sperath - Potential closure of Roberts Road Bridge
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From: "Rodney Smedt" <rsmedt@revera.com>
To: <parks@losgatosca.gov>, <manager@losgatosca.gov>
Date: 5/1/2005 11:23 PM
Subject: Potential closure of Roberts Road Bridge
CC: <smedts@comcast.net>
Date: 05-01-2005
To: Los Gatos Counsel Members
From: Rodney Smedt
139 Ohlone Ct. Los Gatos, Ca 95032
Subject: Decision on potential closure of Roberts Road Bridge
Dear Los Gatos Town Counsel Members,
I would like to express my concerns and dissatisfaction about the potential closure of the Roberts Road
Bridge.
My Wife and I purchased our home at 139 Ohlone Ct. over 8 years ago. One of the significant features
of our home and neighborhood has been the crossing of the Roberts Road Bridge as a gate to getting
into our neighborhood. It is a very well known landmark, most people seem to know "that little bridge
that crosses the creek by Vasona Park", I use that as a reference to giving people directions to my home,
I know it sounds "sappy" but I have looked forward to crossing that Bridge for many years as I come
home from work, it's sort of a crossing point between work and being home for me. I must say that
having the Bridge closed has been really upsetting for me for the past 4 months; its a frustration that I
get reminded by every time I go to work or drive toward down town. I addition my Wife feels somewhat
cut off from downtown and lastly, bridge closure has truly changed our convenience shopping habits.
I have read the report and understand the assessment and possible alternatives. I would like to let you
know that my opinion is that we should go the route of having the bridge replaced which will end up
being N90% funded by the State of California. The bridge will loose a bit of charm but it will remain a
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nice crossing over a beautiful creek. This solution will also eliminate the future dangers of material
falling onto LG Creek Trail pedestrians caused by bridge deteriorations.
I few other points to consider:
Doesn't the bridge carry Gas lines that could be broken if the Bridge concrete deteriorates greatly. What
would be done to ensure the integrity of the Gas Line if the Bridge is not repaired or replaced?
Isn't the Bridge going to be a hazard to pedestrians in the future also? The total weight of several
pedestrians crossing the bridge can easily out weight a Vehicle crossing the bridge. I personally have
had more than 20 people on that Bridge as we walked up to Campo Di Bocce. That total mass of my
group was close to that of our SUV. This would mean that you would have to limit the number of
Pedestrians allowed on the bridge in the future to keep it safe, this does not seem feasible to do.
Given this, it doesn't seem viable to simply close the Bridge to resolve the safety issues. It seems to me
that the best alternative to maintain the charm of the area in addition to maintaining vehicular and
pedestrian safety, keeping in mind the Town's budget is to replace the bridge with the support of the
State of California.
I look forward to seeing you at the meeting on May 2.
Regards,
Rodney & Kathy Smedt
139 Ohlone Ct
Los Gatos, Ca. 95032
Rodney Smedt
Vice President, Engineering
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Millie Sperath - Roberts Road Bridge
From: Jon Bode <jonbode@gmail.com>
To: <jcurtis@losgatosca.gov>, <manager@losgatosca.gov>
Date: 5/2/2005 1:02 PM
Subject: Roberts Road Bridge
CC: Julee Bode <juleebode@earthlin k. net>
As residents of the Roberts Road/Ohlone Court area, we wanted to weigh
in with our opinion on the bridge closing. We live on Roberts Road, on
the Vasona Park side of the bridge.
We remain in favor of keeping the bridge closed rather than spending
either town funds on repair or Caltrans funds on replacement.
Closure of the bridge does not appear to have led to any loitering
problems, increased use by skateboarders, dangerous use by children,
or any of the other adverse effects some had feared before it was
closed. Additionally, after an initial period of a week or two the
number of vehicles who mistakenly drive down the road and have to turn
around at the barriers has settled at a negligible amount. This type
of traffic has no adverse affect on the quality of the neighborhood at
this point.
It would be nice at some point if the barricades were changed to
something more aesthetically pleasing and consistent with the beauty
of the area. I think big orange signs make a great deal of sense
initially in getting peoples attention but hopefully over time that
level of caution is no longer needed. Additionally, it makes sense to
continue monitoring the area to insure it does not become a place of
increased loitering.
Although it was handy to be able to drive over the bridge and avoid
driving on Blossom Hill Road, the loss of that option doesn't create a
hardship for anyone. The traffic light at the Blossom Hill Road
responds quickly to Roberts Roads drivers. If we could snap our
fingers and open the bridge back up, I'd understand why that makes
sense. But with a bill of $1,000,000 or more, I fail to see the need
to change the current situation. Clearly there are greater needs for
money than that, regardless of whether the money comes from our city
budget or a different pool of tax dollars.
If the decision is made to replace it with a complete two lane bridge,
I urge you to consider efforts to control the speed on the road,
perhaps with speed bumps. Current and former drivers on Roberts Road
seem aware that there isn't a need to fear police radar, and speeds
can be excessive. With a wide modern bridge, it would give people a
chance to get a "running start".
Thanks for taking the time to consider our input.
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