Windsor pans 101 sound walls

Windsor Town Council members on Wednesday reacted with dismay at their first glimpse of the sound walls planned along Highway 101 as part of the upcoming freeway widening project.

"This is walling off our community," said Mayor Debora Fudge, who expressed disappointment at Caltrans' proposal to install the walls on a major stretch of 101 from just north of Shiloh Road to downtown Windsor. "I do not want Windsor walled off."

Not only the tunnel-like effect but the possibility of attracting graffiti was on the minds of city officials.

"It concerns me we're going to get these blank canvas walls basically in our town," said Councilwoman Robin Goble.

Caltrans' officials expressed a willingness to compromise and install shorter segments of walls. They said they want to gather public input at a May 15 meeting at Town Hall.

It will be at least a couple more years before any walls are installed, although the freeway widening work is scheduled to begin in the fall, just as the improvement project through downtown Santa Rosa winds down.

Fudge said Windsor doesn't need the type of sound walls seen along the freeway to the south.

"We're different from Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park," she said. "We have stronger design criteria in my opinion than they do."

"This is our scenic corridor," said Goble who said driving into Windsor now "feels like you're heading up to Wine Country and the redwoods. We don't want to lose that feeling."

"It's tricky. You're trying to protect people from noise. Aesthetically how do you get that done?" said Councilman Steve Allen.

Caltrans officials said the walls will be 10 to 16 feet tall and some could be more than a half-mile in length.

They estimate about 450 trees will need to be removed, including as many as 350 redwoods, but a number of sequoia trees will be planted as replacements.

Widening between Steele Lane and Windsor River Road is scheduled to start in the fall.

It will add car pool lanes for 7.6 miles and is expected to be completed by February 2011.

The cost is estimated at more than $91 million.

The widening will result in three 12-foot lanes each way, with 8-foot shoulders, using the existing freeway right-of-way for construction.

A separate project along the same stretch -- scheduled to begin in late 2010 and be completed the summer of 2013 -- will add sound walls as well as improvements at the Airport Boulevard and Fulton Road interchanges.

The Sonoma County Transportation Authority and Caltrans will hold a public meeting May 15 to present the proposed sound wall locations and tree removal resulting from the freeway widening.

The meeting from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Windsor Town Hall will include a presentation and question-and-answer session.

You can reach Staff Writer Clark Mason at 521-5214 or clark.mason@pressdemocrat

.com.