Councilman Richard Silverman wants to put an end to the creation of traffic tourniquets created as Manteca grows.
They’re the often maddeningly short stretches of pavement along major arterials and collector streets that are kept narrow between the end of a new subdivision and a nearby major roadway.
On Tuesday when the Manteca City Council was being asked to allow Atherton Homes to start subdivision improvements before the map was filed for the second phase of the firm’s 356-home neighborhood east of Pillsbury Road, Silverman asked that such a tourniquet be addressed.
In this case it is 510 feet from the end of the Atherton Homes project and where Pillsbury Road T-intersects into Woodward Avenue between Van Ryn Avenue and Atherton Drive.
Silverman noted the city is creating a situation of sending more and more traffic down a road that ends up narrowing right before reaching Woodward Avenue.
He said he’d like to see the city develop an “area of benefit.” It’s a mechanism that would allow the work to widen the remaining 510 feet of Pillsbury Road to take place now instead of later. In such cases the road work along a stretch of land that is not ready for development is funded by the city or an adjoining developer who is then reimbursed when the land is developed.
Silverman noted the city has allowed similar situations to be created south of Woodward Avenue on Union Road and south of Atherton Drive on Main Street. A similar stretch can also be found south of Woodward Avenue on Main Street just north of Tannehill Drive.
Earlier this year the council directed staff to include existing street squeezes on major streets such as arterials and collectors to be included in the Public Facilities Improvement Plan Fee study that is targeted to be brought before the council Oct. 3 for possible adoption.
Silverman would prefer that the city refrain from creating more such tourniquets as growth occurs specifically where development of land along the remaining segment is years away at best. That is where areas of benefit come into play.
The city already has recognized that the Pillsbury Road and Woodward Avenue will have an uptick in traffic as well as being a safety concern.
The intersection has money budgeted for an all-way stop with overhead red flashing light. Eventually city plans call for traffic signals.
The council approved Atherton Homes proceeding with subdivision improvements.