HomeMy WebLinkAbout6/10/2020 Item 2, Brooks
To: San Luis Obispo Planning Commissioners Wulkan, Dandekar, Kahn, Hopkins, Jorgensen,
Quincey and Shoresman:
From: Lea Brooks, San Luis Obispo resident
Re: June 10, 2020, Planning Commission Meeting, Item 2, HASLO Headquarters
I am a member of the Active Transportation Committee (ATC), but am submitting comments as
an individual.
I support the Housing Authority of San Luis Obispo’s desire to remain at its current location and
recognize the challenges associated with the site’s limitations. I also support the Transportation
Demand Management Plan intended to reduce vehicle parking and parking demand.
My concern is what the consultant describes as a “creative use of street right-of-way” by
creating additional parking for motor vehicles with angled parking on Leff Street and changing
Leff to one-way between High and Beach streets. Diagonal on-street parking consumes
significant roadway width and poses a safety risk to people on bicycles because motorists back
into traffic. My experience with diagonal parking in Sacramento and at the Amtrak station
parking lot in San Luis Obispo is that motorists can’t see the travel lane because other parked
vehicles, especially large vehicles and vehicles with tinted windows, block their view. Another
issue is that large vehicles block part of the travel lane so it’s difficult to drive or ride a bike
through the resulting narrow passage.
Was there any consideration to require back-in parking so at least motorists can see bicyclists
when they exit, diagonal parking on one side only to provide space for a cycle track or a limit on
the size of the vehicles to prevent blocking of the roadway? Or approval of more than a 32
percent parking reduction?
The bigger issue is the policy question of the use of public space to increase the number of
parking spaces for motor vehicles at the expense of bicyclist safety. I do not recall a discussion
of the impact of diagonal parking on bicycle safety before the Active Transportation Committee
and am concerned this project will set a precedent by deciding additional parking spaces are a
more important use of public space than bicycle safety. How does devoting more space to
vehicle parking and changing the circulation pattern on a public street achieve the city goal of
increasing trips by bike?