gmhTODAY 09 gmhToday July Aug 2016 | Page 20

City Beat What Are All the Roundabouts About? Roundabouts Currently Under Construction: • Miller and Santa Teresa Boulevard • Third Street and Santa Teresa Boulevard • Third Street and Autumn (within the Meritage Homes Neighborhood) • 10th Street and Luchessa (within the Glen Loma Neighborhood) Upcoming Roundabouts: • Ballybunion and Santa Teresa Boulevard • Hecker Pass and Autumn The construction crews at the Miller Roundabout discovered an under- ground spring that ran right under the construction area. While this spring caused little to no effect during the hot and dry summer, it became a large complication during this past wet winter. Construction crews added extra drainage and then had to wait for the ground to dry so that it could be compacted adequately for pavement to be laid. The good news is, as can be seen by photo, Miller Roundabout is now under full construction with the first phase of construction complete. Why Roundabouts Instead of Traffic Lights? According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), roundabouts improve safety by reducing crashes by 37% and reducing fatal crashes by 90%. And with roundabouts, head-on and high-speed right angle collisions are virtually eliminated. And because the roundabouts are designed to lower the speed of the vehicles to 15-20 MPH, roundabouts have proven to be safer for pedestrians and bicyclists as well. Roundabouts also improve the “level of service” of the intersection by 30%, allowing more cars to flow through with fewer delays. Landscaping is also a prominent feature in the center of the roundabouts, providing an aesthetically pleasing look to our town. Twelve Communities Say Yes To Energy Choice! T he City of Gilroy and eleven other communities in Santa Clara County took action to form and join the Silicon Valley Clean Energy Authority (SVCEA), a local non-profit agency charged with procuring cleaner energy for residents and businesses. Community Choice Energy (CCE) is an opportunity to change the electricity market and provide residents and businesses with a new choice. This new electricity provider would be entirely 20 locally run. It’s similar to buying in bulk or participating in a co-op. The agency would buy power on the open market, encouraging the kind of competition that can result in more renewable energy sources at lower rates. Under CCE, PG&E would continue to provide essential services as a partner, delivering the electricity over existing infrastructure, maintaining the power lines, sending bills, and providing customer service. Your bill would even GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN JULY / AUGUST 2016 look the same. When a community decides to create or join a CCE, all customers within that jurisdiction are automatically enrolled in the CCE. However, customers can choose to opt-out and remain with or go back to PG&E. In existing programs, 80-90% of customers have chosen to stay with the new local agency as their electricity provider, opting for the cleaner, greener, local choice. For more information and updates, visit the SVCE website at: svcleanenergy.org/ gmhtoday.com Why Was Miller Delayed for So Long?