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Home My WebLink AboutREDvariousb2R ECEIVE D MAR 1520 1 SLO CITY CLER K From :Brett Cross[SMTP :BRETTCROSS@YAHOO .COM ] Sent :Tuesday, March 15, 2011 12 :24 :42 P M To :Richard A . Schmidt ; Smith, Kathy ; Council, SloCit y Subject :Re : Sidewalks : safety fixes before vanity redos downtow n Auto forwarded by a Rul e My friend's mother fell on the sidewalk right next to her house (Oceanaire St). an d suffered facial lacerations and a very bloody nose ( I thought it was broken). Let's be ver y honest the City isn't doing its job in going out and maintaining our infrastructure . The City use to go out in the neighborhoods and identify hazardous sidewalks along wit h overgrown landscaping protruding into the sidewalk area . That no longer seems to b e occurring and the City is relying on the community to bring matters to their attention . There are a lot of folks who are wondering what are "we" paying "them" for . Oh, the City came out and ground down the tripping hazard on the sidewalk a few days later . RED FILE MEETING AGENDA DATE,3//s///ITEM #Ba From :Richard A . Schmidt <rschmidt@calpoly .edu > To :Kathy Smith <ksmith@slocity .org > Sent :Tue, March 15, 2011 11 :26 :59 A M Subject:Re : Sidewalks : safety fixes before vanity redos downtow n Thanks Kathy . In the case of where I fell, it is city property -- city park with city sidewalk in it, th e only sidewalk for Murray . I don't see how the city can have a legal leg to stand on if it uses fund s for vanity projects rather than safety projects . As for the rest of the story, your staff are completely indifferent . Last July they dug up sidewalk o n Foothill, both sides, by the railroad for some sort of project . That's an area where 5,000-10,00 0 pedestrians per day pass . The sidewalk was not replaced . Some of the void was filled with sand .I have asked repeatedly for some sort of hard pavement fix -- no dice . So, all winter thousands of people had to trapse through mud and sand ; the sand is all over the nearby sidewalk making i t slick and slippery when dry ; there is a 2" vertical trip and fall at the edge of the old sidewalk . O n the north side of Foothill by the rr there's a sharp peice of metal sticking out of the sidewalk wher e a sign was removed, waiting for somebody to trip over it and be seriously cut (these are all ove r town). On the south side mid-block between Calif and Casa is a hole in the sidewalk, half th e width of the sidewalk, where there was once a tree ; this trip and fall has been there for some 2 0 years!!! This isn't a matter of lack of funds . It's a matter of city negligence . The council needs to decide who they serve : the people, or the special interest pressure group s led by the chamber. I still ask : why does the business community always expect (and get) handouts from the rest of us? If they really think vanity sidewalks are a good investment, wh y don't they invest in them themselves through an assessment district? When "funds are short," why do THEY always get them, and residents get the short end of the stick? Good governmen t isn't about special interest handouts ; it's about fairness to all, and above all serving residents wit h basic needs, like SAFE sidewalks . Sincerely , Brett Cross hard copy:email: a COUNCIL a CDD DI Ra CITYMOR a FITDI R a ASST CM a FIRE CHIEF a ATTORNEY a PW DI R a CLERKIORIO 13 POLICE CHIEF 13 PIE a PARKS &RECDI Ro TRIBUNE a UTILDIR a NEWTIME9aSLO CITY NEWS o COUNCIL a CITY MGR a CLERK Richard PS . Let me ask you a serious question : If the city behaves this way, why should resident s "reinvest" in higher sales tax? The city is killing renewal of Measure Y by what it does, an d doesn't, invest in . Original Message From : "Kathy Smith"<ksmith(a~slocitv .orq > To : "Richard A . Schmidt"<rschmidt(calpolv .edu > Sent : Tuesday, March 15, 2011 10 :29 :09 AM Subject : RE : Sidewalks : safety fixes before vanity redos downtow n Richard , Really sorry about your fall . I actually experienced a similar one about 8 months ago, fallin g directly forward on poorly maintained pavement on private property . Pretty scarey and painful i n the aftermath - my vanity (black eye & scraped face, knees, etc . ) was injured as well ! We need adequate funds for CPI in SLO throughout the city . Realistically, the majority of thos e funds come from sales tax . It's a tough call on where to invest ... but, we' re looking at all sides . .. believe me ! Hope you're doing OK ? Peace - Kath y From : Richard A . Schmidt [rschmidt c(~calpolv .eduj Sent : Tuesday, March 15, 2011 10 :08 A M To: Marx, Jan ; Ashbaugh, John ; Smith, Kathy ; Carpenter, Dan ; Carter, Andrew; Lichtig, Katie Subject : Sidewalks : safety fixes before vanity redos downtow n Re Agenda Item 2, "Downtown Maintenance and Beautification " Dear City Council , Last week I tripped and fell on ill-maintained city sidewalk on the Murray Street median . I fel l forward flat on my face, injuring my neck, barking my hand, cutting my face, badly bruising m y nose, filling my mouth with herbicide-laden dirt, and breaking my new eyeglasses . I've had a headache ever since, have been on pain drugs, and will probably at the least have to underg o physical therapy as a result of this fall . This fall would not have happened if the city maintained it s neighborhood sidewalks . I have lived in the neighborhood for 39 years, and in all that time the city has done essentiall y nothing to maintain this sidewalk . I walk this route every workday, so I'm familiar with its hazards , still I was tripped by one . What of the stranger walking in the dark? What of the frail senior wit h poor balance? What of the enthusiastic child running? The city has been asked repeatedly to fi x these and other sidewalk problems . Your staff are quite aware of them . Instead of tending to sidewalk life safety in neighborhoods, the city has embarked on a huge $1 .5 million ESTHETIC sidewalk replacement program to make downtown and Monterey Stree t business interests happy, yet the city ignores trip and fall sidewalks that endanger citizen s throughout city neighborhoods . Shouldn't you tend to sidewalk life safety before such spendthrift outlays for vanity alone ? I'm asking that you deal with city-wide pedestrian sidewalk safety issues like those on Murra y right now, before you spend any more money on vanity sidewalks in the business districts . You'v e got more than $600,000 allocated but not yet spent for "mission sidewalks" downtown, so yo u have plenty of sidewalk funds . Once you fulfill your duty to protect your residents' sidewalk safety , if there's anything left over, then is the time to consider vanities like "mission sidewalks," no t before . I have walked the entire length of the proposed "mission sidewalk" construction area downtown , and found only a few fairly minor trip and falls which can be repaired for very little cash outlay . Most of the sidewalk is in good condition, much of it practically new . Much is also already "missionized ." Why is the city spending more than $600,000 on vanity sidewalks there when i t has so many sidewalk safety problems in neighborhoods? Is it not the city's general plan policy t o encourage safe sidewalks to promote walking as an alternative to driving? If so, how d o dangerous sidewalks promote this goal ? The neighborhood sidewalk safety problems strike me as a disgrace in a city that's so smugl y spendthrift with money for vanity sidewalk projects . If new missionized sidewalks along Higuera are really so important to businesses there, why don't they form an assessment district to inves t in this pro-business vanity instead of stealing funds that are needed elsewhere in the city fo r safety ? I'M ASKING THE COUNCIL TO FIX NEIGHBORHOOD SIDEWALK PROBLEMS LIKE THES E BEFORE SPENDING ANOTHER PENNY ON VANITY PROJECTS DOWNTOWN . Richard Schmidt