HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/29/2024 Item 1, Mills
melanie mills <
To:Advisory Bodies
Subject:ATP Committee - ATP Elements 2024
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Thank you, ATP Committee for your work making SLO a safer and more comfortable place for people walking and riding
bikes! I have reviewed the plans and appreciate the work that has gone into them.
Below are project specific comments:
Johnson and Southwood:
This is a major crossing point (a safer detour is 15 minutes away by foot) for community members, including children, to
access the primary walking and biking routes to the local elementary school, the high school, a major City park, and
downtown. Please consider providing additional features to slow vehicle speeds at this intersection to avoid a deadly
collision. Ideally, safety crossing measures for this intersection should be addressed as a standalone project.
Grand Avenue:
Improvements on Grand are absolutely overdue and necessary for making it safe for the high level of use by people
walking and riding bikes. The road diet is an important first step, but please push back on the fire department’s request
to apply a California Fire Code minimum unobstructed width of 20ft and their unwillingness to consider mountable
options that a fire truck could easily roll over. The Fire Code will allow the fire official to permit smaller widths "to meet
the public safety objectives of the jurisdiction" (CFC 503.2.2). A striped buffer will do little to slow speeds. This route
must include "vertical friction" such as flex posts in the buffer area to make people riding safer.
Given the tragic recent history on Grand, I hope that as a community we can prioritize the safety of vulnerable road
users, especially on such a busy route and major connector between the University and town. How often do you see
marked up or damaged flexed posts around SLO? They are a REAL deterrent to keep drivers where they are supposed to
be driving and out of the bikes lanes.
Thank you!
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Melanie Mills
millsmelanie@me.com
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