Construction of traffic safety wall at a yet-to-be-built middle school was the subject of discussion at the Jan. 22 Hollister School District (HSD) Board of Trustees meeting.
The two-story, 36-classroom school, which has an estimated cost of $41.5 million, is expected to be built on the Northeast corner of Fairview and Sunnyslope roads next to the main entrance of Santana Ranch. It is expected to have space for 750 to 900 students from kindergarten through eighth grade with an expected opening date of 2021.
At the meeting, trustee Jan Grist brought up concerns over the possibility of a car veering off the road and onto school grounds. She proposed constructing a wall to ensure this would not happen.
John Teliha, HSD’s director of facilities, said he did not think a wall was warranted and believed there is adequate space between the road and the school grounds.
“The design team did not recommend a certain barrier or a vehicle deterrent wall when they were designing the site,” Teliha said. “They felt there was adequate space from the public right of way, which would be the back of the sidewalk on Fairview back through the storm basin and then the eight-foot fence.”
Interim Superintendent William Barr said that all aspects need to be considered—safety, cost, aesthetics and residents. He asked Teliha to research the matter further, including reaching out the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office regarding road safety, and to present his findings at the next meeting. He said the board’s first concern “is going to be safety.”
“We might want to get a little more information from professionals in terms of how they judge the safety of that intersection,” Barr said. “Is the culvert likely to be jumped, is the fence enough of a physical barrier?”
Santana Ranch resident Brenda Maggiora expressed concerns about the appearance of a wall.
“It is not consistent with the aesthetics of Sananta Ranch,” she told the board.
The next board meeting is set for Feb. 12.
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