Frustrated reader wants streets, roads resurfaced, not just slurried

Q

A reader points out that Winchester Boulevard between Lark Avenue and Blossom Hill Road is rougher than Highway 17 as a result of all the patchwork projects.

You replied that Los Gatos will be adding final slurry and striping on top of Winchester.

Slurry doesn’t make roads smooth. It just paints them black, but leaves them as bumpy as ever.

Will any Bay Area municipality actually resurface any streets and roads?

There have been myriad projects in San Carlos, too, leaving the roads in worse condition than the Oregon Trail.

Yellow center lines have completely worn off on many streets, making it nearly impossible to discern where lanes are. Consequently, most cars drive right down the middle, making it impossible for two cars to pass each other.

— Joseph Gumina

A

A slurry seal involves spraying a mixture of polymer modified asphalt emulsion, well-graded fine aggregate, mineral filler and water on the surface of the old pavement.

It is used to fill cracks and seal areas to prevent moisture and air intrusion into the pavement, and to improve skid resistance.

Streets that are in relatively good condition will be slurry sealed in order to preserve their condition.

Matt-the-Los Gatos-Traffic-boss says roads receive different maintenance treatments during their life cycle, depending on their condition at the time.

“Is a newly resurfaced roadway smoother (where repairs are made to the material deep under the old pavement) and more pleasant to drive on? Absolutely,” he says.

“However, it absolutely would not be fiscally prudent to resurface a road every time we treat it.

“The seal does more than just paint the road. It protects the substructure and extends the life of the roadway.

“Los Gatos does resurface roads when it makes sense. It plans to do so for several roads over the next couple of years.”

But Joseph has another gripe.

Q

These same municipalities seem to have money to build those useless bulb-outs everywhere, whose only purpose appears to be saving pedestrians five or six steps when crossing a street.

But in terms of actually fixing the streets, themselves? Nada.

Couldn’t they at least invest in a few buckets of yellow paint to refresh the striping?

Fugeddaboutit! — Joseph Gumina

A

Whoa.

Those extra feet in a bulb-out may save someone’s life.

This is always significant as pedestrian deaths are climbing. That’s because more people are walking and too many drivers are traveling too fast for conditions.

The focus is on creating a safer environment for all users of the road. The bulb-outs provide an additional refuge area for pedestrians, help to slow vehicles, and shorten the time the pedestrians are in the shared space with vehicles.