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Home My WebLink About2/4/2025 Item 7a, Price keith price <keith.f.price@sbcglobal.net> Sent:Saturday, To:E-mail Council Website Subject:City council meetingon March 18th Attachments:2025 sth higuera cycle project eight.docx This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond. Please find attached comments regarding the South Higuera proposals for alterations to the cycle lanes reference the March 18th council meeting Kind Regards Keith Price 805 602 6294 1 SOUTH HIGUERA CYCLE SAFETY IMPROVEMENT PROPOSALS I am very concerned about the alterations proposed for South Higuera to improve cycle safety on a 2 mile stretch which I believe is already the most lethal for cyclists in the whole of California as there has been a cyclist fatality on this stretch in2022,2023 and 2024,yet there is a sign heading north on sth Higuera by Trader Joes welcoming visitors to San Luis Obispo the “Cyclist friendly city”, how ironic is that, to be located on the most lethal stretch of road for cyclists in the whole of California In fact if this was replicated throughout California there would not be 140 cycle deaths a year but many thousands. According to what is available on the internet the most dangerous places to cycle in California are LA,SF,San Jose and Sacramento. In 2023 there were no deaths of cyclists in SF,however, there were at least 2 to my knowledge in SLO although SF has about 80 times the population of SLO and SLO was in the midst of cycle improvements Personally I have been riding a bike for 65 years in which time I have covered 200 to 300 thousand miles Although I am told there has been public consultation I just wonder how extensive both in disparate groups and numerically it has been because I contacted local bike shops and they were unaware of the project even those situated within a few hundred yards of South Higuera I was critical of a cycle lane layout near Hawthorn School one of your officers challenged me to check it when it would be used by parents/children so I did no one used it I am not saying no one ever uses it but it looks risky and complicated I criticized vehicles turning right on Marsh St and cutting across cyclists ,some time ago an acquaintance told me he was knocked of his bike twice once at Chorro and once at Osos[I believe] but I think the Beach St junction is worse There are many other points I could make but the foregoing are peanuts as to the proposals for South Higuera Looking at the existing cycle lane it is shown generally to be 5ft wide but there is a problem here mostly there is concrete for about 1ft from the curb then asphalt, meaning there is a joint sometimes with grass growing out of it and that joint is dangerous to cross obliquely so you cannot ride in that area which reduces the usable width to 4ft The handlebars of my mountain bike are 2ft wide if I ride in the center of the 4ft width vehicles would have to be 2ft outside the bike lane in order to comply with the 3ft Mantra for overtaking cyclists I suggested that taking the asphalt to the face of the curb would solve the joint issue,I was told that could not be done.W hen I got back to the city that that had been done outside Cal Trans I did not receive a response.Even at a recent Active Transportation Committee Meeting the response was the same I am concerned about the proposed concrete separation curb between the traffic and bike lanes A few years ago vehicles coming out of and going into driveways on this road without carefully checking their situation vis a vis other road users was not a problem now it is a serious problem.I frequently encounter people riding in the opposite direction in the bike lane,sometimes with a trailer,people walking,standing,sitting in the bikelane and those who rush off the sidewalk without warning or cannot make up their minds whether they want to walk on the sidewalk or in the bike lane I think some of these people are members of the homeless community.Also another cyclist may want to pass me and that is highly likely when electric bikes can now reach 70mph. There is also a major problem of visibility at the end of driveways,etc caused by vegetation,fencing,signage ,etc ,the provision of an informative sign near the end of driveways together with the removal of the visual obstacles could assist in this situation. Whilst it might not be possible to insist on this legally,maybe an approach to the companies,owners,etc informing them of the issues might lead to a voluntary commitment to provide the desired solution Currently I have latitude to move out of the bike lane to take avoiding action if safe to do so in the foregoing and in the following situations.A concrete divider would make that impossible I ride on South Higuera several times a week and I can guarantee I get obstructed once and sometimes 6 or 7 times particularly going south between Bridge St and LOVR My own suggestion for separation would be very flexible posts about 2ft high on the lane marking about 100ft apart and an 18inch wide rumble strip beyond that and that the posts should be hinged and lightly sprung at the base I notice the County use a rumble strip on Broad St beyond the city boundary but the city don’t provide one in their jurisdiction again I was told a rumble strip could not be provided on South Higuera Some years ago some residents suggested a rumble strip in another part of the city due to the dangers to cyclists in that location but that fell on deaf ears,guess what,sometime afterwards a cyclist was killed at the location mentioned Seemingly the Nay sayers are in control I mentioned that there was an alternative to using Sth Higuera heading south ,that was to take a right on Elks Lane left on Prado then right on the bike path by the creek leading to LOVR I was told this was not suitable as it did not give access to every business on Sth Higuera I was told that if I did not like riding within the proposed curbs I could ride outside them in the traffic lane to which I replied “That would be suicide” don’t you agree I asked why no signs had been put up on the road to inform people of the intentions of the city and was told the reason was that they would get stolen. I also asked the city if they had contacted the Slo bicycle club,I was told they had but that they had disparate views and thus they were discounted So I contacted the safety officer of the SLOBC to ask him his side of the story he told me he indeed had reservations about the idea but when asked did the safety officer speak for EVERYBODY !!!!! in the SLOBC and he said he did not his reservations were discounted. SLO says it is cyclist friendly but recent events seem to contradict that and in 2015 it had the worst record of cycle accidents of any county in California A major problem on sth Higuera is that it is a designated truck route and I think that happened after the alterations to the LOVR/101 junction.These vehicles should be encouraged to use the freeway for a variety of reasons not only the danger they present to other road users but the damage they are doing to the road.I have never seen a weigh scale in SLO but I have seen them in Paso Robles.To make matters worse truck driver training schools are now using it with 16 year old trainees behind the wheel and what I have seen/experienced in that regard frightens me.I spoke to the CHP about this and the officer I spoke to did not disagree with my points and asserted it was the responsibility of the city to deal with situation. I have noticed since 2019 a dramatic deterioration in driving standards and an increase in speed,so what could be the reasons for this,amongst others I would suggest the following : 1 In august 2020 I believe Meghans Market opened which used Bianchi Lane to access Higuera St and up to the end of 2022 I had cause to walk or drive along that lane frequently,in fact it got so dangerous to walk in the road that I ended up walking through their parking lot and these drivers HAD to turn onto Higuera and frequently ignored the “no turn on red sign” at the junction this led to pandemonium at the junction which led me to suggest that the market should get somebody to assist in directing their customers.I do not use Marijuana but somebody who does told me that the product sold at the market was particularly strong. Before this market opened there were no such issues at this junction, I will let you draw your own conclusions 2 During2020/2021 Cal Poly and Cuesta were closed for in person classes so students from outside the area were not available to do Uber driving,serve in restaurants,do deliveries ,etc. I noticed when eventually got downtown that there were a lot of young people who did not seem to behave like locals and that there was a lot of inconsiderate driving including speeding taking place. To me driving standards had deteriorated and have continued to do so subsequently 3 The pandemic seemed to affect the spatial awareness of young people whom I encountered whilst walking downtown,they seemed to be less aware of their personal space and that of others than in 2019.These people are likely to be drivers and that lack of awareness bothers me At the end of the day cyclists safety cannot be disassociated with the speed of traffic on this road which requires that the speed is suitably policed by the authorities Should the current laissez-faire attitude of the authorities continue things will only get worse with cyclists and pedestrians suffering the most Keith Price 805 602 6294