HomeMy WebLinkAboutPUBLIC COMMENT---SACRAMENTO DRIVETuesday, June 07, 201 1
To : San Luis Obispo City Council ,
Subject : Concerns of the Commercial Zone surrounding Sacramento Driv e
The changes made to Sacramento Drive since completing its connection to Orcutt
are not without serious impact on the businesses in the oldest commercial / industria l
zone in the city . The catering to organized crime big money special interests that have
infected our commercial zone with a housing tract in the middle of the largest block in
the commercial zone disguised as mixed use housing was only the start . That project
brought many more cars into the zone that needs parking and there is an overflow of
parking onto the street . Not enough parking was provided for the condos and thei r
internal roads are fire lanes that do not allow parking.
That project also treated the principle street in the commercial zone used by sem i
truck and buses and all the other commercial traffic like it was a residential street . The
street is even narrower because residential standards were applied in the planning proces s
even though the street still has to handle the larger vehicles that the commercial zone
attracts .
Sacramento Drive also became a principle bicycle path route and we recently ha d
to give up precious parking on one side of the street to accommodate the inclusion o f
dedicated bicycle lanes on both sides of the street . They are some of the widest bicycl e
lanes in the town . On the East side of the street for the most part they are five feet wide .
On the West side of the street the width is as much as Seven feet. That extreme width i s
common in front of the Broad Street Village where the road was narrowed in reflection of
its residential construction parcel. Yet the same semi trucks and other oversize vehicle s
that use the street are crammed in undersized lanes that are not dimensioned as would b e
specified for a street being used fore regular commercial industrial traffic .
Also a'problem is occurring when cars are using the extremely wide bicycle lan e
on the west side as a second lane . There have been several reports of cars running down
that seven foot wide bike lane have had near collisions with vehicles trying to come ou t
of the business complexes and having to poke out into the bicycle lane to see around the
oversized vehicles that bracket those driveways . A few days ago I witnessed a ca r
coming out of the driveway where I am located and a small car was bearing down Sout h
bound nicely fitting with in the bike lane that for the most part is un marked as a bicycle
lane for most of the street . The South bound car was traveling at the typical speed for th e
street except for being in the bike lane when it narrowly avoided a collision with the, ca r
poking out from in front of a bus parked tightly up to the driveway . Only with an
emergency swerve into the proper traffic lane was an accident avoided. That is to sa y
that the South bound bicycle lane nearly no bike lane signage and only an occasional bik e
symbol on the pavement . Actually the other side of the street has very few bike symbol s
on the pavement either although there are so many bicycle lane sign posts that the other
kinds of signs get lost in the visual clutter .
The businesses along Sacramento Drive and the rest of the commercial zone that
is serves were never included in the decision making process about the changes being
17J 1
Sacramento Drive Repor t
The concerns of the Sacrament o
Drive Industrial Zone businesse s
gathered by the Southside Mayor .
Looking South at Sacramento Driv e
from across Orcutt intersection .
The start of the express short cut
Soon Sweeps 45 degrees Right
Accelerate past 3 No Left Turn Signs
With no signage to warn and advis e
a 75 degree left curve !!!
Oops! To o
Fast . Thir d
time takin g
out fence .
Cleared the creek thi stime in broad dayligh t
but missed the concret e
narrow bridge this time .
Looking North a t
gentle Left Curv e
at narrow bridge .
Warning Curve an d
Speed advisory sig n
Comes up fifty fee t
before narrow bridg e
at start of sharp curve .
Last time an errant Northbound wipe d
out half of the black ornamental fence .
Yield to bicycles a t
right turn lane sign s
and paint markings .
Moving Sout h
approachin g
Capitoli o
Intersection .
Squeez e
The bike lane i s
so wide that car s
i t use
The street narrows in front of th e
residential development in spite of al l
the commercial use of the whole zone .
Sacramento Drive "Tee's" into Industria l
Way with a lack of warning and advise .
The great bicycle route'l~ads up to th e
great egress into the residential zon e
bicycle path . For years a locked gate .
After the rude ending of the bicycl e
lanes at Industrial Way, it is a share d
street to find another destination .