Los Gatos roadwork critical to student safety

A key Los Gatos school intersection in need of safety features is getting long-awaited renovations this fall.

Los Gatos has begun building sidewalks and buffered bike lanes along a 0.3-mile stretch of Shannon Road between Cherry Blossom Lane and Los Gatos Boulevard. Portions of the stretch are missing sidewalks and protected bike lanes even though it’s traversed daily by hundreds of students from surrounding schools — including Louise Van Meter and Blossom Hill elementary schools, Raymond J. Fisher Middle School, Hillbrook School and Los Gatos High School.

The project is estimated to cost approximately $2.7 million, with a Metropolitan Transportation Commission and VTA grant providing about $940,000 and a $174,250 grant from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. The project is expected to be completed by Livermore-based Sposeto Engineering next spring.

Wendy Riggs, executive director and coordinator of nonprofit Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Safe Routes to School, lives close to Shannon Road. Her daughter bikes to school along the street, where a car knocked a student off their bike earlier this year. She added her older son fell off his bike on the road because of uneven pavement, which this upgrade should fix. She said there are likely more incidents students haven’t reported.

“(This project) is a great example of an improvement that’s going to help with safety and enable more students hopefully to walk and bike,” Riggs told San José Spotlight. “We’re always working toward increasing that and having fewer cars around the schools.”

Los Gatos first deemed the stretch a safety priority in its 2017 Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan. The design process began in summer 2021. Town officials said it took time to develop because Los Gatos held multiple community input sessions to appease concerns from Shannon Road residents.

Vice Mayor Matthew Hudes said this project could be a prototype for more pedestrian-friendly roads that connect to major arteries such as Los Gatos Boulevard.

“I thought it was very important that we get this one right and so we did slow down a bit so that we could go faster later,” he told San José Spotlight.

Hillbrook School, a private institution, is one of the schools that will benefit from the safety efforts.

Mark Silver, Hillbrook head of school, said many students walk or bike along Shannon Road to get to and from school. He said Los Gatos has stepped up over the past decade to create safer streets, and he’s glad this project is underway.

“There’s a lot of corridors that students are using and families are using. The more opportunities they have to create these kinds of bike lanes in particular … they make a huge difference,” he told San José Spotlight. “It both creates a space that’s protected, but it also heightens awareness for driving.”
Los Gatos is working on other roads too. Blossom Hill Road is slated for improvements following neighbors’ calls to make it safer after two deadly collisions last year. The town is also carving a new path for pedestrians and cyclists traveling over a Highway 17 overpass.

Amy and Doug Gregor send their kids to elementary and middle school along Shannon Road and support the project.

“Our kids walk to the public schools and knowing that the sidewalks will extend down Shannon will give the kids and (their) friends continued independence, but now with a much safer experience,” Amy Gregor told San José Spotlight.

Contact Annalise Freimarck at [email protected] or follow @annalise_ellen on X, formerly known as Twitter.