San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, Councilmember Michael Mulcahy and several city transportation workers gathered recently to cut the ribbon on Katherine Court, a 500-foot stretch of road in the city’s Rose Garden neighborhood next to Interstate 880. Admittedly, a ribbon-cutting for a small residential street is a little weird, and Katherine Court isn’t new — it’s been on the maps for more than a century.
But it’s been given new life thanks to an innovative, first-of-its kind project.
You see, Katherine Court is part of the 0.2% of San Jose’s 2,500 miles of streets not paved with asphalt. It was paved entirely with concrete, and the last time that happened may have been in late 1929 or 1930, according to a Mercury Herald article I found.
Asphalt streets need to be resurfaced every 10 to 20 years, a transportation official told me, but concrete can last decades longer. In the case of Katherine Court, though, it was heavily cracked — think of your garage floor — and had been patched a few times. Bob Sippel, president of the Rose Garden Neighborhood Association, said when workers would come out to repair the street, they’d tell him it was only a temporary fix.
Unfortunately, the street had a more permanent problem: The sidewalks were almost level with the street and there weren’t any gutters or storm drains. As a result, heavy rains would cause some major flooding since the street was so flat the water couldn’t run anywhere. When that happened, Sippel, who has lived in the neighborhood since the 1970s, would help push the water down the street with a broom.
“So we did what San Jose does best,” Mahan said. “We innovated.”
A team from the city’s department of transportation, led by project manager Isaiah Watts, replaced the broken concrete with interlocking permeable concrete pavers that will allow storm water to seep underground beneath them. Councilmember Mulcahy, whose district includes Katherine Court, said city workers went door-to-door to talk to neighbors to make sure their concerns were addressed and that the street kept some of its quirkiness, like gently sloping curbs.
Mulcahy expressed his gratitude to the neighbors for collaborating on the innovative solution, the first time the city has used pavers for a street like this. “This project is a small street with a big impact, a model for how San Jose can preserve the character of our historic neighborhoods while investing in more sustainable, resilient futures,” Mulcahy said.
The project had a $800,000 price tag, significantly more than the $2,104.30 contract awarded to pave it in 1929. Of course, that’s not a bad deal if it lasts another century.
CLASSIC COUPLE: Who says young love doesn’t last? Dom and Suzanne Cortese — who were married when he was 23 and she was 20 — celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on Wednesday. The couple’s son, state Sen. Dave Cortese, says his parents had a quiet evening at home with their five adult children dropping in.
Dom Cortese, who served on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and then 16 years in the State Assembly, was a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army stationed at Fort Ord when he married Suzanne Donovan. His military duties allowed the couple time for just a one-day honeymoon in Carmel. When they got back, a lack of groceries meant their first dinner was pancakes, accompanied by a scramble to find clothes hangers for their new “home” at the barracks.
RALLYING FOR JACK’S: My colleague George Avalos had an update this week on the continuing woes of Jordan and Rina Trigg, who have closed two of their four Japantown businesses and lost their properties to foreclosure. Trigg says they’re still trying to hold onto what’s left, and to that end, Santa Clara County Supervisor Betty Duong and San Jose City Councilmember Anthony Tordillos are hosting a fundraiser on Nov. 19 at Jack’s Bar to support the family.
The event runs from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at Jack’s in Japantown, 167 E. Taylor St. You can also donate to a GoFundMe campaign directly.
GOOD COMPANY: The Palo Alto Museum has added a familiar name, Joe Simitian, to its roster of Honorary Chairs as it gets closer to its opening next spring.
Simitian — who served on the Palo Alto City Council, Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, state Assembly and state Senate — will be an ambassador for the museum, along with his fellow Honorary Chairs — civil rights scholar Clay Carson, Los Altos surgeon Dean Clark, education leader Gloria Hom, Pulitzer Prize historian David Kennedy and philanthropy-tech pioneer Susan Packard Orr — who will be working with CEO Marguerite Gong Hancock.
“It has been tremendously satisfying to help bring the museum this far, but what excites me most is what comes next, transforming the wonderfully restored historic building into a living, breathing community space,” Simitian said. “The Palo Alto Museum will not only preserve our history, it will spark new conversations and connections to help us build a better future together. It’s exactly the kind of vibrant civic and cultural anchor Palo Alto deserves.”