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What Can Be Done about the Highway 1 and 9 Interchange?
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Driving Impaired: The Costs & Consequences
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What Can Be Done about the Highway 1 and 9 Interchange?
Two Water Main Breaks Strand Shoppers and Workers in Harvey West Park
By Linda Fridy
Two major incidents at the intersection of Highway 1 and Highway 9 in Santa Cruz have brought discussions about how to improve that roadway to the forefront of transportation discussions.
Talks about improving the vital access point resurfaced after a pedestrian was hit at the intersection earlier this fall and a Nov. 18 water main break, both of which caused hours of backup.
Another break in the water line on Nov. 20 didn't close the intersection but did slow traffic.
The intersection's proximity to the Highway 1/17 interchange means that problems have a domino effect throughout the area.
The concerns are nothing new — that intersection has been eyed for improvement by the city, the county's regional transportation commission and Caltrans for years.
However, officials say that the problem is not easy to solve. Caltrans estimated that for 2008, an average of 4,600 cars passed through the intersection on Highway 1 each hour.
It is the major road connecting the west side of Santa Cruz to the rest of the county and the primary exit for the Harvey West area. Highway 9 is the only road in and out of that section of the city.
"People recognize it's an overcrowded intersection," said Neal Coonerty, chair of the County Board of Supervisors who represents much of Santa Cruz City. "I've always thought that it's not getting a high enough priority."
Improvements to the intersection are included in the county's regional transportation plan, noted the RTC's Karena Pushnik. Those improvements include turn lanes, bike lanes and a park-and-ride lot. The estimated cost was $7.6 million in 2005.
Long-Term Solutions?
Santa Cruz City officials met Nov. 23 to discuss what to do the next time an accident or emergency blocks traffic at the intersection, said City Manager Dick Wilson.
The backup resulting from the water main break left people stranded in the Harvey West area for hours.
"We weren't prepared for what it turned out to be," said Wilson, so the length of the backup lasted much longer than expected.
Repairs are not complete, he added, and must be done during the day because of the temperatures required. The city is looking for low-impact times and wants to provide plenty of notice when it will be working on the pipes.
Short-term discussions include whether to create a priority list for access in and out, such as allowing childcare and school transportation, Wilson said. Another option is a pedestrian exit, although how that would be managed is uncertain.
Long-term, Santa Cruz City would like to see even more done in the area.
As part of its work on the Highway 1/9 intersection improvements, the city is pushing for a new, wider San Lorenzo River Highway 1 bridge. Staff is working on a draft preliminary survey report for a seven-lane replacement.
However, the structural nature of the challenge makes any long-term solutions tricky, noted the city's Wilson.
"There aren't any good answers. You do one thing and it has an adverse effect on something else – one thing causes a backup on 17, another on Highway 1," he said.
The multi-jurisdiction element of the intersection causes additional challenges, but could also provide multiple funding sources for a long-term solution, said the county's Coonerty.
"I'd like to see us take a harder look at it," he said.
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