Reader remembers man who kept I-280 rest stop very clean
QMy husband and I recently stopped at the Father Serra rest stop off Interstate 280 on our way to see relatives in Marin County.
We haven’t been there for years since some man took charge of cleaning it up.
It remains so clean we wanted to thank him, but he wasn’t to be seen.
What ever happened to him? — Mary Cruz, San Jose
AJerry Morissette is the man you are thinking of, I believe.
He died of cancer several years ago.
He had been homeless for several years when he decided to become the unofficial caretaker of the Father Serra rest stop.
He was very creative. Among other things, one way he cut down on vandalism at the rest stop was to post “Reserved for CHP” parking signs.
He also put flowers in the women’s restroom and offered free coffee to visitors.
He truly deserved our thanks, and many people did thank him for his efforts there.
Who else deserves a pat on the back for kind acts involving our roads, commutes, and transit lines?
QWhat in the name of all that is reasonable are the real obstacles to getting Interstate 5 widened to at least four lanes?
That is a major artery between Los Angeles and the Bay Area/Silicon Valley.
Our visitors from other parts of the country have marveled at this “quaint” roadway.
This would be a fine use of Federal Infrastructure money.
On Sunday, we had to make an unexpected onehour “tour” of San Benito County, a detour made necessary by a fatal headon collision on Highway 152 near San Felipe Lake. And we were lucky, as some folks got stuck at single stop sign intersections and oncoming traffic would not let them in. San Benito Co. law enforcement was nowhere to seen, let alone directing traffic. CHP was all we saw. — John Bronson, San Jose
AThis area remains a huge problem. There are no plans to widen I-5, but studies are proceeding to convert Highway 25 into a fourlane expressway to ease the problems on Highway 152.
QIf you hate speeding tickets, raise your right foot.
On Tasman Drive in Sunnyvale between Fair Oaks Avenue and Lawrence Expressway, they have installed some bollards, east bound only, blocking one lane from traffic.
The only reason I can think why they did this was to slow traffic in that area down, as there are zero issues with the road itself.
Help. — Tony Smith, Sunnyvale
AYou got it exactly right.
The bollards and lanereduction are a strategy to lower speeds on a busy road, and to protect bicyclists.
You’ll see this used elsewhere soon throughout the Bay Area.