HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/8/2020 Item 20, Azriel
Wilbanks, Megan
From:Eric Azriel <
To:Advisory Bodies; E-mail Council Website
Subject:Active Transportation Plan: Agenda #20 and #4
Dear City Council and Planning Commission,
I am writing to support the Active Transportation Plan. It takes the first steps towards meeting our climate goals.
Among my circle of coworkers, friends, and acquaintances, I inevitably end up being the ‘bike guy.’ I frequently assist
people into bike commuting and trips by active transportation. Their top concern is safety on the roads; it’s also the top
unprompted reason people tell me about how they want to commute by bike but can’t.
There is no safe way to cross San Luis Obispo from the Foothill Ave side to downtown (Chorro remains quite dangerous
without the protected bike lane). There is no safe way to come from the airport area to downtown (this specifically
prevented one person I know from adopting a bike to commute when he dearly wanted to). There is no safe way to
cross from LOVR to the rest of San Luis Obispo. Our streets are dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists. Only the bike
greenways are reasonably safe and I’ve been nearly run over on those too, from drivers running stop signs. I use the app
OurStreets to report dangers and I end up reporting cars turning into me, cutting me off and the like almost on a weekly
basis.
All the utilitarian cyclists I know are terrified of biking along Santa Rosa Ave, Madonna Ave, and Broad St south of South
St to name three main corridors. I’m sure South St and S Higuera St would be included on that list if I asked. Notably,
every single one of those has a painted bike lane. The bottom line is that we need protected bike lanes on our direct
routes. The railroad safety trail and Bob Jones trail are all well and good but they don’t connect important places by
direct routes. They are out of the way.
The interest and desire to use bikes is there – we need the infrastructure to make it safe. When I use my e-bike to run
errands I am frequently stopped on the street by curious people – people who want to try e-bikes for their
transportation. They are excited and enthused by the idea of e-bikes. But as long as our streets remain so dangerous and
inhospitable to people, we are blocking our own progress.
I am glad that equity is listed as a foundational principle. I am concerned about its implementation and whether actions
on the street will match the principles (for instance, the very many too narrow sidewalks, bike lanes that are too
narrow/irregular for traditional cyclists let alone recumbents or hand cycles, inaccessible bike racks, and greenways
installed on neighborhood streets that are already safer and wealthier than average). But I have to hope that equity is
truly used as a foundational requirement in all projects’ implementations. I will be paying attention as projects unfold.
In short, we need protected bike lanes. We need them now. The tier I priorities are a good start and I hope to see the
Active Transportation Plan passed and funded as soon as possible.
Thank you,
Eric Azriel
San Luis Obispo
Eric Azriel (He/Him)
ericazriel@outlook.com
1