Around Town … with Robert Airoldi: After more than two years of work, First Street has been redone

The final project made the roadway into what officials call a “complete street”

Published in the November 25 – December 8, 2020 issue of Gilroy Life

Photo courtesy city of Gilroy New bike lanes have been added to the First Street corridor.

By Robert Airoldi

Robert Airoldi

Yay! Here’s good news for motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists. After nearly two years of construction and a decade of waiting, First Street (Highway 152) from Monterey Street to Santa Teresa Boulevard through Gilroy, is complete.

The project includes water and sewer line replacement and repaving the entire corridor cost $14.1 million.

The first step was the city sewer system, which was completed in 2018. Then came the 8,000-foot, 100-year-old water line beneath the street. That part of the project was completed in late 2019. The final project made the roadway into what officials call a “complete street,” that takes into account bicyclists and pedestrians as well as motorists. It added new curb ramps, bike lanes and flashing beacon crosswalks.

“This is a very exciting moment,” Mayor Roland Velasco said at a Nov. 13 ribbon cutting, thanking residents, staff and construction crews.

Residents place a wreath at Morgan Hill’s Mount Hope Cemetery. File photo Gilroy Life

San Martin resident Larry Carr is promoting sales of “Wreaths Across America” to purchase ornamental wreaths made in Maine to be placed on the graves of veterans in three South Valley cemeteries. It is a wonderful tradition done by communities across the country as well as at Arlington National Cemetery to decorate gravestones for the holidays

To sponsor a wreath for only $15, go to Gilroy.org/WreathsSouthCounty or send a check payable to Wreaths Across America and mail it to Gilroy Chamber of Commerce, 7471 Monterey Street, Gilroy, CA 95020. (Please include the ID number on the check #CA0073P.) Donations must be made no later than Nov. 30. The wreaths will be placed on the graves at 9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 19, at the Gavilan Hills Memorial Park and Saint Mary Cemetery in Gilroy and the Mount Hope Memorial Park in Morgan Hill.

If you have any questions, call Carr at (408) 710-5400.

The South Valley Fleurs Garden Club worked with the city of Gilroy recently to establish the Blue Star Memorial Garden in front of the Veterans Memorial Building on Sixth Street. The garden and plaque were unveiled at a virtual Veterans Day ceremony Nov. 11.

The Gilroy City Council approved the club’s request in mid-August. Since then, crews cleared out existing plants and secured drought tolerant plants such as geraniums, agapanthuses, and myoporums which will bloom with red, white and blue flowers.

A 500-pound stone for a memorial plaque was purchased from Peninsula Building Materials in San Martin, which was put into place by city public works crews.

The nonprofit South Valley Fleurs is a group of gardeners in South Santa Clara and San Benito counties that maintains several public gardens in Gilroy, Morgan Hill and Hollister.

Since 1980, the Gilroy Foundation has awarded more than $14.8 million in grants and scholarships that have made a positive and powerful difference in every sphere of life in the Gilroy community. It has helped strengthen schools, improve the health system, appreciate the arts, and enhance technology and protect the environment. To date, in 2020, $331,566 was awarded to local organizations and programs.

The 2021 Competitive Grant Cycle opens Dec. 1 and closes Feb. 1. All nonprofits with a 501(c)(3) status, GUSD schools, and Gilroy city programs are eligible to apply for a Gilroy Foundation grant that will serve the Gilroy community.

To apply, download a 2021 grant application, available at www.gilroyfoundation.org. Grant  application, supporting documentation and copies must be submitted.

Organizations are notified of their status by the end of March. Grants are awarded at the annual meeting and Charitable Giving Program in April of each year. Contact [email protected] with any questions about the grant application process.

Due to the recent COVID-19 restrictions, the Gilroy Arts Alliance, a nonprofit that operates the Gilroy Center for the Arts, has been shuttered, again. The center advocates on behalf of the arts in Gilroy and the surrounding areas by supporting artistic and cultural activities of the talent in the community. And, please visit their website at www.gilroycenterforthearts.com and give what you can.

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Robert Airoldi is the editor of Gilroy Life. Reach him at [email protected].