HomeMy WebLinkAbout7/16/2024 Item 8a, Burgnon
Nick Burgnon <
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Agenda Correspondence Item 8a
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Hello Councilmembers,
I am writing to provide comment on item 8a., the SLO Transit Short-Range Transit Plan Update. I understand that it
is relatively early in this process with a few study papers still outstanding with a projected completion date in the
fall, so I apologize if my comments may be premature. I would encourage the council to focus on increasing
frequency of existing scheduled routes as recommended by the papers, but we shouldn’t let a pilot program of
demand response micro-transit take away from potential new routes or improved existing routes. When Santa
Barbara MTD investigated implementing micro-transit, they decided to eliminate two existing scheduled bus
routes (36 and 10) in anticipation of this new service. Per their website, these routes have been eliminated but
their micro-transit service has not gotten off the ground and no updates appear to be available. Our bus network
has great potential, and increased frequency along with later operational hours on existing lines would be
fantastic. It is not outlined in this study, but I hope an east-west route in the south end of the City (i.e., along Tank
Farm between Broad and S. Higuera) has been considered. Tank Farm is unsafe to walk along and the County has
not maintained the bike lane here which makes it unsafe to bike along as well. Many jobs are located on the west
end of Tank Farm and along the immediately adjoining stretch of S. Higuera and residents near Broad and Tank
Farm really only have the option to drive this very short distance if they work in that area. Additionally, such a link
would allow residents in the southwest of the city (such as those along LOVR and Madonna) a significantly more
efficient way to reach the airport via transit. Thank you for your consideration and work in improving transit options
for all residents of San Luis Obispo, and I look forward to future updates.
Regards,
Nicholas Burgnon
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