HomeMy WebLinkAbout5/6/2025 Item 7c, Clark
Brendan <
To:E-mail Council Website; Fukushima, Adam
Subject:Comment on Item 7.c - Tank Farm Road Diet
Dear SLO City Council,
After much contemplation, I am voicing my opposition to the Tank Farm Road road diet. I say this as
someone who occasionally rides my bike to my office downtown and walks this area frequently, with
my family on the weekends and solo in the early mornings. This is not the right solution. There are a few
reasons: The section between Broad and Poinsettia is regularly congested as-is, the crosswalk proposed
at Poinsettia and Broad absolutely cannot be moved to the east side of the intersection,and in general,
traffic is increasing in the area.
Area between Broad and Poinsettia.
This area must have two lanes each way. I travel this section of road at least twice a day, and sometimes
more. There are 4 driveways along this short section of road and vehicles routinely turning left from Tank
Farm into Marigold center or into the alley behind it. Vehicles are also regularly queued at the Marigold
center to turn left and go east down Tank Farm. How are vehicles supposed to merge east onto Tank farm
after taking a left from the Marigold Center or the Alley?
The proposed road diet striping severely restricts movement and merging opportunities here. This is a
high traffic segment and this proposal is too much.
Crosswalk @ Broad and Poinsettia.
The most dangerous part about crossing Tank Farm, as someone who regularly does this with children, is
the traffic going west on Tank Farm, toward Broad. If this crosswalk is moved to the east, the line of sight
for pedestrians crossing and cars traveling west would be even smaller (worse). Especially at the
Southeast corner of the intersection, there is no line of sight to see west-bound traffic on Tank Farm.
You'd be forcing people to cross near blind. This proposal makes me wonder if the design team even
visited the intersection at all.
Further, the 11-21-24 ATC meeting planset for public review did not have this change. The crosswalk
was on the west-side of the Tank Farm/Poinsettia intersection (where it currently is). Why the change?
General comments.
The staff report lacks some regional planning context. Hundreds (thousands?) of homes and apartments
have been added to Tank Farm/Orcutt (which is fine) in the last few years. Traffic at the Marigold center is
increasing. Traffic to Los Ranchos and Laguna Middle School is increasing. These are two schools
that cannot be biked to. I understand bike lanes to Hawthorne, CL Smith, etc. I rode my bike to
elementary and middle school too. They were accessible that way. These are neighborhood schools. Los
Ranchos is not a neighborhood school. The traffic in the mornings is quite bad going west down Tank
Farm at Broad. Traffic in the 3-5pm range is getting worse. This road diet would exacerbate already poor
rush-hour conditions.
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Thank you for considering my comments.
Brendan Clark, PE
Resident along Tank Farm Rd.
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