Editor’s note: This is the second of a series of articles on the draft 2040 General Plan. The first article can be found here.
As Hollister continues to grow, the need to facilitate better traffic circulation increases as well, and Hollister’s draft 2040 General Plan, a local government’s blueprint for growth, describes what may be needed in terms of services, facilities, and capital improvements to support all the future needs of the city’s modes of transportation.
The plan considers, in turn, multimodal transportation, circulation system improvements, pedestrian and bicycle facilities, and movement of goods, and takes into account the airport, 88 miles of major streets and highways, and 9 miles of bicycle facilities as well as all residential streets and local roadways. It also considers the city’s transit systems, such as taxi services, ridesharing programs, and trucking services.
The goal of the plan is to review these various types of roadways to find ways of improving public safety, integrating all modes of travel, and maintaining and improving the natural environment in the city.
Existing roadways in San Benito County are classified as
- Highways: One freeway (US 101) and four state highways in San Benito County (SRs 25, 129, 146, and 156).
- Arterials: Roads such as South St. that serve as connectors to the major urban areas.
- Collectors: Two to four lanes wide that may accommodate up to 20,000 vehicles per day, such as Union Rd. east of SR 25.
- Local Streets: Lower travel speed streets in business or neighborhood areas that are conducive to travel other than by car.
Planning would center around the concept of “complete streets,” which are designed to “facilitate safe, comfortable, and efficient travel for all users regardless of age or ability,” and roadways would be improved as needed to allow easier access to people who are walking, bicycling, or taking public transit, with the end goal of reducing greenhouse gases.
As such, the city would explore ways of cutting single-occupant vehicle usage by improving mass transportation options, such as developing park-and-ride facilities, participating in discussions on future rail service, and promoting increased use of public transportation.
The plan also suggests studying ways of improving public transportation along the Hwy 25 corridor, such as expanding the shoulders of the roads to allow buses to bypass traffic, creating a lane exclusively for buses, and building a new rail station to connect to the existing rail service to Gilroy.
Several roadways in Hollister are indicated as needing improvement to their Levels of Service, a measurement based on the average delay in traffic flow. The plan attempts to balance a reasonable reduction of congestion without subjecting residential neighborhoods to excessive traffic flow. The areas considered for improvement under the General Plan over the next 20 years are:
- Sunnyslope Road: Widen from two to three or four lanes from El Toro Dr. to Fairview Road.
- Union Road: Widen from two to three or four lanes within city jurisdiction.
- SR 25 (Airline Hwy): Widen from two to four lanes south of Sunset Drive.
- Fairview Road: Widen from two to four lanes between SR 25 to McCloskey Road.
- Westside Boulevard: Extend from Nash Road to San Benito Street as a two-lane road.
- Westside Road: Extend from Buena Vista Road to Westside Boulevard as a two-lane road.
- Memorial Drive: Extend from Meridian Street to future Flynn Road.
- Pacific Way: Extend from San Felipe to Memorial Drive.
- Flynn Road: Extend from San Felipe Road to Memorial Drive.
- Meridian Street: Extend from Clearview Drive to Fairview Road.
- Beresini Lane: Extend from Buena Vista Road to Westside Road as a two-lane road.
Areas such as Central Avenue, Sally Street, Ladd Lane, and Buena Vista Street are targeted for improvements that would provide greater safety to pedestrians, targeting roadways that currently lack sidewalks or could benefit from high-visibility crosswalks and traffic calming measures.
Plans for improving bicycle safety are also considered, including extending the existing path on McCray Street further north along the railroad tracks, adding bike trails along the San Benito River, and building more efficient bike lanes along San Felipe Road, Buena Vista Road, Santa Ana Road, Fairview Road, Hillcrest Road, Nash Road, Tres Pinos Road, Union Road, and SR 25/Airline Hwy.
The plan also calls for both pedestrian and bicycle master plans to improve the available road and path networks and to publicize existing pedestrian and bicycle routes. The city is also encouraged to create a “Safe Routes to School” program to calm traffic and make safety improvements to the routes students use to walk or ride to school.
Restrictions on the movement of goods, particularly relevant with the advent of large shipping operations like Amazon, adding to the traffic already existing from transportation vehicles using the local highways, are also considered.
The plan would require that development projects ensure the safety of the rail corridor and that enforceable truck routes be developed with the cooperation of the Council of San Benito Governments, the regional transportation agency. Large trucks would also be discouraged from traveling through or parking in residential areas.
The report notes that San Benito County has been one of the fastest growing populations in California over the last three decades and that this growth has led to a need for such a plan to accommodate a transportation system for all users.
According to the General Plan website, comments on the draft plans should be submitted by Aug. 7 so the City Council can consider community input when providing direction on the draft plans. The City Council has a scheduled meeting on that date.
The website adds that following the review of the draft plans, there will be a formal adoption process in the fall and comments will also be accepted at that time.
Community members can provide input to the city during some of the planned events, including the scheduled May 18 virtual workshop or by email to generalplan@hollister.ca.gov.
On May 17 the city released a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the draft general plan. A public meeting is scheduled for June 22 at 6 p.m. to accept verbal comments for the draft EIR. The city will accept written comments on the document until 5 p.m. June 30. Comments can be sent to generalplan@hollister.ca.gov.
We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. It is expensive to produce local news and community support is what keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service, nonprofit news.