Why a new stoplight in San Jose’s Japantown is worth celebrating

Making a traffic light operational might not seem like a very big deal in a city as large as San Jose. More than a million people live here and there are 181 square miles, mostly covered by streets with intersections just like the one at Sixth and Taylor streets in Japantown.

But the fact that two pedestrians were killed in the past decade at this very intersection — and that the city has suffered a record number of traffic fatalities this year — makes any traffic-calming measure worthy of applause.

That’s one of the reasons San Jose City Councilmember Raul Peralez was at that intersection last week to celebrate the installation of new traffic lights, as well as sidewalk “bulbouts,” in an effort to keep pedestrians safer. He noted that pedestrian activity in the area is only going to increase, with not only two senior living facilities but also new residents soon moving into the Japantown Corp Yard mixed-use projects. And all that’s happening in one of San Jose’s more vibrant, walkable districts.

For the past two years, Peralez has chaired the city’s Vision Zero task force, which is trying to implement ways to reduce traffic and pedestrian deaths. People are still dying despite their efforts, but Peralez has not given up.

“This is a trend we want to be able to reverse, and this is how we do it,” he said.

Victoria Takeda, president of the Japantown Neighborhood Association, said the long-awaited project would create a “safety bridge” for residents walking or driving through Japantown. She pointed out one safety feature called “leading pedestrian interval,” which gives people a “walk” signal a few seconds before the traffic light turns green and makes them more visible to drivers.

“This few seconds designated to pedestrians crossing here can and will save lives now and into the future,” she said. The feature has been implemented at most downtown intersections and will be rolling out to other parts of the city as well.

Peralez said he was “beyond elated” to get the project completed before he was termed out, but he knows his successor, Omar Torres, and others will have more safety measures to install. “We’re trying to make this area more bike- and pedestrian-friendly,” he said. “I do encourage the future councilmember and all councilmembers in the city to continue their efforts to try and enhance traffic and pedestrian safety in our city.”

INNOVATE AWAY: Some lucky kid is going to get to be “President for the Day” at the Tech Interactive, as part of a contest run by Zigazoo, a social network platform designed for children (as opposed to Twitter, which seems to be for people behaving like children). The challenge asks the young innovators to create a brand-new exhibit, and the winner — chosen by a panel in January based on creativity, innovation and showmanship — will be flown out to San Jose with a parent to have some fun at the Tech.