HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/4/2025 Item 7a, Smith, K.
Kathy Smith <
To:E-mail Council Website
Cc:Gene Nelson; Mary Pollock; 'Sharon Whitney'; June Smith; Cynthia Pretzel; Duane
Livingston; 'Cathy Veley'; John Mudge; Christine Escartin; 'Vicki Ann Richardson';
Fukushima, Adam; Schwartz, Luke; Mark Buchman
Subject:FW: Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, 5:30 p.m. Study Session
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
From: Kathy Smith \[ ]
Sent: Saturday, February 1, 2025 1:41 PM
To: emailcouncil@slocity.org
Subject: Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, 5:30 p.m. Study Session
THIS RELATES TO THE STUDY SESSION ON Higuera Complete Streets Project
I’m a resident of SLO for 35 years who served on the City Council 1994-98 & 2010-14.
Cognizant of many procedures entailed in public office, I wanted to illustrate “how best to influence governance” by
sharing possible actions encouraging my nearly 400 neighbors at Chumash Village to “work the system” in the best
interest of all involved.
The Higuera Complete Streets Project obviously would thwart the access of residents to safe entrance/exit to the
development and the main corridor of Higuera Street. I launched my campaign by meeting first with City Staff – way
back in December, 2023 – to share with them the concerns of our SLO Senior Community. At that meeting I talked with
Adam Fukushima and Ryan Caldera and pointed to specific safety, equity, quality of life disparities to mobile home
developments included in the Higuera Street project area . . . there are 5 different such developments in the project
area.
The uniqueness of Chumash Village is:
235 units (only one larger – has traffic light entrance/exit to 4 lanes of traffic)
For Seniors Only – one other with only 100 units – two entrance/exits & traffic light . . . with potential for robust
Emergency calls
One entrance/exit to Higuera Street
Proximity to 101 entrance/exits, makes this segment of Higuera a FREEWAY when backups occur on 101 (almost
daily these days)
The idea that we are the most logical segment of Higuera to initiate a road diet (down to two lanes) seems quite
unreasonable! We have specific safety hazards when residents attempt to turn left (going south) and are thrwarted by
three lanes NOW (north of the exit) due to a public land purchase to a private party allowed some years ago.
As an idealist, my next attempt to influence changes to the plan was to plan an HIGUERA STREET FORUM in the
Clubhouse on June 19, 2024 at our Chumash Village so that staff could explain the plan and answer questions stated
both in advance and at the meeting. We were pleased to have more than 80 residents attend the meeting and, again,
hoped the staff could understand the seriousness of this Plan on our residents. Some ideas presented were a traffic
1
light at the Chumash entrance, reducing the speed limit to 35 miles per hour (we are the only segment in the plan at 40
miles per hour)or perhaps a light at Elks that allowed a timing process to clear traffic temporarily. We seriously
questioned why our area was selected for the Road Diet!
Well, we are close to the point of no return. Gene Nelson and Mary Pollock have sought the attention of this Council at
meetings and we will have a cadre of residents at the Study Session . . .
THERE HAVE BEEN NO ADJUSTMENTS TO THE PLAN THAT BENEFIT THE SAFETY, EQUITY,QUALITY OF LIFE CONCERNS OF
THE SENIOR COMMUNITY AT CHUMASH VILLAGE!
Staff has pointed to the “numbers” required by various agencies that our “counts” don’t meet. We appreciate the
numbers game and the need for such, but appeal to you as a Council that supports DEI (diversity, equity &
inclusion). We are SENIORS who are kiddingly often mentioned as “invisible” in many settings. We ask that you
consider realistic and significant differences in our capabilities, physical reaction time, etc . Even beyond that, look
closely at the entire plan and how other all-age mobile home communities are blessed with greater safety measures
(especially traffic lights).
We appreciate the cooperation of staff and also the needs of our RESIDENTS. Please consider SAFETY, EQUITY AND
QUALITY OF LIFE and override the numbers structure that seems to paint our needs into an invisible corner.
Thank you for reading all this. I remember, well, the times we – when I was on Council – needed to take another look at
the rigid structure of governance and do what was best for the SLO Community. And, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE . .
.
Sincerely ---- Kathy Smith
3057 S. Higuera St., #75
805-542-9587
2