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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1/27/2021 Item 2, Rice Wilbanks, Megan From:bob rice < To:Advisory Bodies Cc:Thaddeus Rice-Williams Subject:533 Broad Street project Attachments:bobresponse to park plan.odt Please see attached letter regarding this project which is also incorporated by reference into the body of this email. Bob Robert P. Rice Jr., J.D., Ph.D. Professor Emeritus Cal Poly SLO 590 Cabrillo Road Palm Springs, CA 92262 415 691 5549 ______________ Robert P. Rice Jr. J.D., Ph.D. 590 Cabrillo Road rrice@calpoly.edu Palm Springs, CA 92262 415 691 5549 To: Advisory-bodies@slocity.org 23 January 2021 RE: 533 Broad Street Project I have owned the residential property which occupies the corner of Lincoln and Broad for nearly forty years and until a couple of months ago my family occupied the property. I am the primary homeowner 1 affected by the project. As such I have experienced changes which made my family home increasingly unlivable until we finally moved a couple of months ago. NOISE The primary problems resulting in the deterioration in livability are noise and traffic. Unfortunately, the proposed plans do nothing to ameliorate these problems and may increase noise. A number of years ago when I requested approval of a noise blocking wall around my property, my request was not approved despite a hearing where my neighbors unanimously supported my request. The primary sources of noise are: 1. acceleration of vehicles which, after stopping at the Broad Street/Lincoln intersection, accelerate rapidly to attain speed to permit merging with freeway traffic where a very short merge lane is present. 2. loading and unloading of goods for the Lincoln Deli which often occurs very early in the morning and which problem owners of the deli have not resolved despite several times when my son spoke to them. Additionally loud deli patrons and music often interferes with my right to peacefully enjoy my property. 3. loud yelling and screaming at all hours of the night by homeless persons occupying the present garden area and the large Highway 101 culvert adjacent. TRAFFIC Due to the amount of traffic on Broad Street and the fact that traffic coming off the freeway is traveling at a relatively high rate of speed for a residential street and that vehicles are accelerating as they attempt to enter the freeway this is an extremely unsafe location for a park which attracts children with playground equipment and a grassed area which presumably might attract children playing catch or other games that might result in them attempting to retrieve a ball that went over the fence into the street. Further, a grassed area utilizes a great deal of irrigation water with little benefit over an area covered with a permeable, cushioned mulch. 2 If the goal of the city is to create a more livable neighborhood through the addition of a park, this plan is a failure. The only way to make the neighborhood more livable is to work with Cal Trans to close the long discussed and inefficient Broad Street on-ramp. Only after that closure, will a park become safe and feasible. Sincerely yours, Robert P. Rice Jr. Professor Emeritus Horticulture and Crop Science Department Cal Poly 3 Robert P. Rice Jr. J.D., Ph.D. 590 Cabrillo Road rrice@calpoly.edu Palm Springs, CA 92262 415 691 5549 To: Advisory-bodies@slocity.org 23 January 2021 RE: 533 Broad Street Project I have owned the residential property which occupies the corner of Lincoln and Broad for nearly forty years and until a couple of months ago my family occupied the property. I am the primary homeowner affected by the project. As such I have experienced changes which made my family home increasingly unlivable until we finally moved a couple of months ago. NOISE The primary problems resulting in the deterioration in livability are noise and traffic. Unfortunately, the proposed plans do nothing to ameliorate these problems and may increase noise. A number of years ago when I requested approval of a noise blocking wall around my property, my request was not approved despite a hearing where my neighbors unanimously supported my request. The primary sources of noise are: 1. acceleration of vehicles which, after stopping at the Broad Street/Lincoln intersection, accelerate rapidly to attain speed to permit merging with freeway traffic where a very short merge lane is present. 2. loading and unloading of goods for the Lincol n Deli which often occurs very early in the morning and which problem owners of the deli have not resolved despite several times when my son spoke to them. Additionally loud deli patrons and music often interferes with my right to peacefully enjoy my property. 3. loud yelling and screaming at all hours of the night by homeless persons occupying the present garden area and the large Highway 101 culvert adjacent. TRAFFIC Due to the amount of traffic on Broad Street and the fact that traffic coming off th e freeway is traveling at a relatively high rate of speed for a residential street and that vehicles are accelerating as they attempt to enter the freeway this is an extremely unsafe location for a park which attracts children with playground equipment and a grassed area which presumably might attract children playing catch or other games that might result in them attempting to retrieve a ball that went over the fence into the street. Further, a grassed area utilizes a great deal of irrigation water with little benefit over an area covered with a permeable, cushioned mulch. If the goal of the city is to create a more livable neighborhood through the addition of a park, this plan is a failure. The only way to make the neighborhood more livable is to wo rk with Cal Trans to close the long discussed and inefficient Broad Street on-ramp. Only after that closure, will a park become safe and feasible. Sincerely yours, Robert P. Rice Jr. Professor Emeritus Horticulture and Crop Science Department Cal Poly