HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/6/2024 Item 6a, Medaglia
Anthony Medaglia <
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Fund South Broad Street Project
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I've lived in SLO for over 20 years in the South Broad Street neighborhood, I am writing to you to request priority for
commitment to implementing missing elements of the South Broad Street Plan that was announced 10 years ago. I read
through it thoroughly when it came out and was excited to one day be able to experience these improvements to our
neighborhood. It's been 10 years and while the neighborhood on the east side of Broad has been thoroughly developed
according to the plan, we have yet to see any of the improvements on Broad Street itself.
I do my best to commute and run errands on my bike as often as possible, my vehicle often sits in the driveway unused
for weeks because of this habit. However, even as an accomplished cyclist, Broad St. always makes me a bit nervous. I
often need to cross Broad St. on my bike to run errands, shop, or dine at local businesses such as Miner's, Staples, the
Food Co-Op, Taste Eatery, or to access the Bike Blvd. for an easy ride to downtown.
I've cycled to and from work along and across Broad Street for these 20 years, which is always a pain point of my
commute due to the traffic, whether I need to cross it or ride along it. Every evening I need to make a left turn off
northbound Broad to access my neighborhood, I'm usually on my bike sitting nervously in the middle left turn lane in the
dark with traffic speeding by me in both directions, waiting for an opportunity to get across to Lawrence or Mitchell.
Living on Mitchell for the past 10 years I've been able to observe its frequent use as a bikeway for recreational cyclists,
It's a convenient way to safely traverse southward through the city and get to Broad St. I also see riders going the other
direction, which usually means they had to make that same anxiety inducing left turn off Broad into our neighborhood.
I am constantly encouraging friends in the neighborhood and family to commute and run errands in town using their
bike, but conveniently crossing or riding along Broad St is a major concern raised in those discussions.
Lastly, South Broad St is a wide median-less eyesore of a highway through what should be a residential area. Bringing it
up to the standards of the aesthetic appeal of our city should be a priority.
Calming traffic via traffic lights, adding crosswalks at key locations, adding medians planted with trees, adding dedicated
left turn lanes into the neighborhoods, and building the west side railroad safety trail and the pedestrian bridge over the
railroad tracks at Lawrence are all in the plan but none have been executed 10 years in. I'm asking the city to commit
available funds to begin to deliver on these elements of the plan. They would be welcome by myself, my neighbors, and
the community as a whole.
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Anthony Medaglia
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