HomeMy WebLinkAbout7/19/2022 Item 6i, Marshall
July 19, 2022
Dear Council Members:
I'm writing to you in hope that the City of San Luis Obispo will reconsider the pedestrian facility type at
the South Street/King Street crossing project. As someone that uses this crossing daily, especially to
bring my children to school at Hawthorne, I strongly suggest revising the proposed crossing to a signal or
at least a Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon (PHB). This is favored by neighbors and other community members
that also utilize the crossing for the following reasons:
1. The proposed RRFB does not seem to assert the imperative for traffic to stop. This is noticed
throughout the city at other RRFB crossings.
2. Providing a signal or a PHB will hopefully provide a better flow of traffic as the 7:45 -8:15 school
drop-off window could cause a complete shutdown of South Street during that window as an
RRFB does not operate on signal cycles.
3. A study released by the FHWA in 2016 noted that there is a higher yielding rate for PHB signals
opposed to RRFBs and that results support the use of a PHB on roadways with multiple lanes or
a wide crossing as driver yielding at RRFBs were significantly lower for wider crossings.
4. Finally, the MUTCD provides graphs as guidance on when to consider a PHB, these graphs
indicated a 20 pedestrian/h threshold. Note that South Street at King has more than 30
pedestrians/h during peak periods.
The City of San Luis Obispo is making great strides in creating safer bicycle and pedestrian paths
throughout the city limit. We want the SLOCOG funds promised to be utilized on the improvement and
executed to the highest level possible to keep the spirit of safety in the forefront.
Thank you for considering this request,
Melanie Marshall
Melmarsh31@gmail.com