It looks like Pine Grove will be getting a new signaled intersection. As part of the mitigation measures for the Mokelumne Bluffs tentative subdivision, the developer, John O’Sullivan, will be required to install a signaled intersection at Gayla Drive and Highway 88. The Mokelumne Bluffs subdivision will be located south of Highway 88, just west of the Ranch House Estates development, with access from the new intersection across from Gayla Manor. The subdivision will include 98 residential one-plus acre lots, as well as tennis and basketball courts, and two recreational areas and walking paths. Many Gayla Manor residents feel that a stoplight is needed, especially when turning left onto the highway from Gayla Drive. Residents of Ponderosa Ridge, the newer development off Gayla Drive, feel the same. One resident says, to get out, you currently “just floor it and burn rubber!” Another resident says he welcomes the stoplight, but is worried about “backing up traffic on the highway,” for a few cars turning from Gayla Drive.

When asked about the Mokelumne Bluffs subdivision in general, many of the residents of both subdivisions had the same view. All agreed the subdivision would raise the value of their homes, and welcomed that fact in light of the recent decline in California home values. In addition to the Gayla stoplight, the developer will be paying their share of cost towards the future construction of a stoplight at Tabeaud Road and Highway 88. The Mokelumne Bluffs subdivision Final Environmental Impact Report will go before the Amador County Planning Commission on April 8th for certification and a possible project decision.