San Jose is taking the first in a series of steps to protect wild animals on a stretch of Monterey Road known as the roadkill hot spot.
Collisions with vehicles in the area between Metcalf Road and Bailey Avenue have recently killed several mountain lions, a problem environmentalists and animal protection groups have wanted addressed for last the couple of years.
"We found that there’s twice as many animals hit on Monterey Road compared to Highway 101," said Tanya Diamond, founder of Pathways for Wildlife. "We have found, unfortunately, three of our bobcats were hit by vehicles while they were efforting to cross Monterey Road."
In the first of many steps, the city of San Jose, led by Councilman Sergio Jimenez and Mayor Sam Liccardo will put up large signs on that stretch of Monterey Road. Something some residents are skeptical of.
"That's fine, but I think they ought to be more concerned with the racing going on, speeding traffic," said Saso Family Farm owner, Ken Saso.
In fact, Pathways for Wildlife agrees and says it is working with numerous agencies to revamp the culvert at Monterey Road to hopefully give animals a way to avoid the traffic.
"We are kind of rural, a lot of people do speed up and down Monterey," said Denise Bradford, Coyote Bait & Tackle owner.
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Pathways for Wildlife says its studies show the warning signs do make an impact. They’ll see if that works for that area sometime after July 1.
