Applause roared through the room during the Oct. 4 Campbell City Council meeting after the council unanimously voted to nix a proposed traffic light that would have gone at the intersection of Harriet and McCoy avenues.

Much to the delight of some residents, the city will instead consider other traffic calming measures at the intersection near two schools. The city is also going to hire two crossing guards to shepherd pedestrians through the intersection during student drop-off and pick-up times.

The council’s decision to scrap the project came after months of pressure from neighbors. For most of the year, the city had been working on a plan to install the traffic signal to address pedestrian safety at the intersection.

The intersection has a pedestrian crossing with a flashing beacon that alerts motorists when someone is crossing the street. Forest Hills Elementary and Westmont High schools are in the neighborhood.

Residents were skeptical a traffic light would stop cars from speeding down Harriet Avenue. Some residents argued the traffic light would make drivers speed up in order to make it through the signal.

“We need safer roads, not a half-million-dollar signal that says who gets to go next,” said Jaime Batiz, a resident of the McCoy and Harriet avenues intersection who spearheaded the opposition of a traffic light with his wife, Isabel.

Batiz and other residents met with city staff and came to city meetings asking the city to instead consider narrowing street lanes, creating a buffer between cars and bicyclists, and adding flat, longer version of speed bumps called speed tables.

The council was swayed by the residents and city staff’s desire to seek out alternatives.

“I appreciate the depth of analysis that the staff gave us,” said Vice Mayor Liz Gibbons during the meeting. “It’s a clear decision by the council, I think, in coordination with the community’s request.”

Matthew Jue, city traffic engineer, said a traffic light was desired because it would bring drivers to a complete stop. The traffic light could also have been funded with $516,900 in federal grant money.

The council requested that crossing guards be assigned to the intersection until an alternative to a traffic light is approved.

The police department is recruiting and train two crossing guards. The city put out a call to hire more guards on Oct. 6. The position pays approximately $14-$16 an hour.

In a phone interview with this newspaper, Campbell Police Chief David Carmichael said the city has nine crossing guards. He added that the police department has not had trouble recruiting crossing guards, and the cost to hire two more is approximately $12,000.

As for that federal grant money, the city is investigating whether it can be applied to another traffic project such as protected bike lanes, narrower street lanes or a hybrid signal system that would require drivers to stop when a pedestrian is crossing. The signal would turn off to allow traffic through when there is no pedestrian in the intersection.

If the funds can not be used, then the city will have to forfeit the grant money to the state of California.