Mayor Gary Singh was a Sierra High senior when the first significant residential development broke ground along the Airport Way corridor in 2000.

Councilman Mike Morowit had yet to venture into city politics as it was years before he’d be appointed to the Manteca Planning Commission.

It was back when the city didn’t try to leverage off-site improvements when it came to road widening and putting in place missing segments of sidewalks on what would clearly be walking routes to school for children of future homebuyers.

The city policy, at the time, was only requiring street improvements to the center lane fronting new development. 

The rest of the street widening or improvements wouldn’t occur until other parcels developed.

But it failed to address more than 80 smaller residential parcels that line Airport Way where it would be highly unlikely a different use would go in place for decades, if then.

Today, the two — along with the rest of the City Council — are dealing with addressing issues to widen a large swath of Airport Way.

And when it comes to complaints by the motoring public, the patchwork approach to Airport Way of going back and forth between two, three, and four lanes and large segments lacking turning lanes and sidewalks is near the top of the list.

The reality was the conversion of streets built more than a century ago as country roads that eventually became lined with homes on half acre to 2.5 acres such as Woodward Avenue, Lathrop Road, Airport Way, and Austin Road wasn’t an affordable undertaking for  the city or for developers much beyond their property.

Economic dynamics and Manteca’s strong growth in the past six years have given the city the opportunity to change how former country road corridors are being transformed into city arterials.

And Singh and Morowit serving on the council’s economic sub-committee capitalized on that by laying down more aggressive perimeters with developers.

The highest profile example of that new approach is the 797-home Cedar Point neighborhood, formerly known as Yosemite Square.

It is being built by Lennar Homes on the west side of Austin Road between Yosemite Avenue (East Highway 120) and the Austin Road interchange change.

*Sidewalks, curb, and gutters will go from the southern boundary of the new neighborhood now under construction all the way to Yosemite Avenue in front of a dozen or so parcels the developer doesn’t own.

*Austin Road southbound will be widened from Yosemite Avenue to two lanes to the southern end of Cedar Point. The northbound lane, that is in the county, will be repaved.

*The sewer line they are extending under the Highway 99 freeway will be run up Austin Road and connect with existing lines to create a loop to support future development.

*Northbound Austin by Calla High by Yosemite Avenue will be reconfigured on the developer’s dime to clear up congestion and address student safety issues by putting in a proper left turn lane, thru lane, and a proper right turn lane.

*PG&E power poles will be moved back to accommodate the street widening.

*It also includes traffic signals at both entrances to the neighborhood

Even though the developers weren’t thrilled about the high ask for offsite improvements of which most won’t be reimbursed as future developers build, they agreed to the requests as it ultimately improved the appeal of their project.

“I’m not here to make developers happy,” Singh said. “I’m here to make residents happy.”

The off-site sidewalk work addresses serious safety concerns the Manteca Unified School District had about future students in the neighborhood walking along Austin Road to reach Manteca High and Joshua Cowell School.

“We appreciate the efforts of the city in helping address student safety,” said Manteca Unified Assistant Superintendent Victoria Brunn.

Morowit said growth needs to address the safety of future and current residents including the ability to pay for the salaries of additional police and firefighters through ongoing community facilities district fees.

“Smart growth means not just building homes but making sure we have infrastructure to support residents and not just sidewalks in front of the neighborhood,” Morowit said. “It’s a very well-rounded approach when you build homes in areas that have never been developed.”

Lennar already has 36 homes in various stages of construction including 15 homes.

The homes range from $554,880 with 1,245 square feet with three bedrooms and two bathrooms to $748,000 for six bedrooms and four bedrooms with 3,505 square feet.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com