HomeMy WebLinkAbout05_24-25_2017 PC Correspondence - San Luis Ranch (Flickinger)Meeting: : R, p5,14 ,?.d (-- RECEIVED
CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO
From: Sarah Flickinger < Item: 9,^ MAY 2 5 2017
Sent: Thursday, May 25, 2017 12:07 PM
To: Advisory Bodies COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Cc: 'Marshall E. Ochylski; Hudson, Jake
Subject: Attn: PC re: Agenda Item 2, 1035 Madonna Road. SPEC/ANNX/ER-1502-2015 ESP Oceanaire
Attn: PC re: Agenda Item 2, 1035 Madonna Road. SPEC/ANNX/ER-1502-2015
Especially re: Pedestrian and Bicycle Movement on Oceanaire @ Madonna Intersection
May 23, 2017
Dear SLO Planning Commission: Kim Bisheff, Hemalata Dandekar, Daniel Knight, John Larson, Ronald Malak, John Fowler and
Charles Stevenson:
I wanted to provide a separate detailed comment about the situation at Oceanaire's crossing of Madonna Road. As
background, I am a lifelong rider and have had safe riding -in -traffic training multiple times in my life, and recently became a
League Certified Instructor (LCI) for the League of American Bicyclists. I am a confident rider and actually lived for more than a
year in the City without a motor vehicle, commuting as a student at the time to Cal Poly as well as three otherjobs in various
parts of town (Laurel, Orcutt and MissionCP/SLOHS). At the time in the late 90s/early 2000s I lived in the Foothill/Tassajara
area. I've also lived and biked from homes in the Palm/Pepper vicinity, and the South Street/Woodbridge vicinity. I've been in
Los Verdes Park 1 for 12 years. As a rider in the City over a long duration, I have seen and experienced the cumulative effects
Cal Poly, County -area and City -area development and growth have had on our existing infrastructure, particularly on our
arterial connections between neighborhoods.
For the past two years my daughter has attended CL Smith School. We usually try to bike to/from school with few exceptions.
Currently, because of the unsafe nature of LOVR at Calle Joaquin and the US 101 interchange crossings and her young --but
growing --abilities, I either have to load my daughter and her bike onto the back of my cargo bike, or have our car waiting for us
to finish our commute, from the Target parking lot to our home to complete the last leg of our route.
I'm always struck by how few children walk or bike to CL Smith, given its location in the center of a neighborhood and the
significant benefits to all. We are one of the furthest out neighborhoods within the school's area, and I find biking easier and
much more pleasant than driving. Why don't those who live closer? On an average day, there are 8-12 bicycling students. I
recently coordinated the school's Bike to School Day activities and we had 71 student riders participate (plus their
accompanying parents). I talked with these parents and kids about why they didn't ride every day. Despite an overwhelming
response from parents and kids that they would like to, the number one reason was safety, particularly on the LOVR, Madonna
Road and Oceanaire corridors, and especially at intersections of those corridors.
Another family who bikes regularly, in an effort to make its route safer and avoid having to cross LOVR twice at dangerous
intersections on its legal path, actually rides the wrong way on the sidewalk for a brief portion until the Laguna MS pathway is
available. As an LCI, this makes me cringe because I know the specific hazards relating to the practice of riding the wrong way
on a sidewalk (see League of American Bicyclists and NHTSA for statistics). I became an LCI to teach and empower riders to ride
safely and confidently with traffic. So that friends—like several just the other day following the Tribune editorial—don't have to
keep saying "I would ride, but our roads are just too dangerous." Most accidents within cities involving riders and motor
vehicles occur at intersections, especially multilane signalized intersections, where proper lane positioning can be intimidating
or unclear, and intersections with driveways and side streets along routes with faster moving traffic. Our intersections and
arterials need to be safe for everyday travel for all levels of riders, and we need to educate motorists and riders on safe sharing
of facilities, for true modal shift to be successful.
Fully separate off street facilities are often not the best choice for improvements for everyday riding, because moving between
those facilities generally involves some interaction with traffic on streets to reach them. Furthermore, the existence of off
street facilities often comes at the cost to improvements to on street facilities. Separated facilities are great for specific, limited
applications, but arterials that connect such limiting facilities—as well as connect the different parts of town where there are
no other options—need to allow for safe, buffered or otherwise protected full -access accommodation for bikes, pedestrians
and motor vehicles.
Relating to the intersection of Oceanaire and Madonna Road:
In speaking with Joyce Hansen, Principal of CL Smith Elementary, about ways to encourage ridership and provide safer routes
to the school, I learned that two CL Smith students have been involved in separate incidents of pedestrian -motor vehicle
accidents involving injuries at this intersection en route to/from the school in recent years (contact SLCUSD for information).
No child or parent should fear being struck by a motor vehicle walking or biking to or from school. The school has since
allocated resources to providing an AM crossing guard for pedestrians at the intersection most days.
I strongly support making changes to this intersection, including lane striping along Oceanaire, limiting parallel parking near
intersections for visibility (not lane additions), controlling vehicular movements from the various points at this complicated
intersection and additional safety indicators that alert drivers to the presence of actively crossing pedestrians and/or cyclists.
Additionally, the signal timing at this intersection is all about maximizing efficient vehicular traffic flow to prevent backups at
other arterial intersections and provides minimal, insufficient crossing times for bikes and pedestrians. The current timing is
dangerous, especially for children with shorter legs and smaller wheels. I would say that someone will get hurt, but they
already have. I know there are other avenues for achieving these changes, as I'm actively pursuing them, but this development
does present an opportunity to fund permanent long-term solutions at this important intersection. I am happy to work directly
with the developer and/or Staff and/or the Planning Commission to go through specific improvements and facilitate
community input in creating a plan specifically for this location that maximizes facilities for all modes to the greatest extent
possible. This should be achievable in a timely manner prior to June 7.
1 would not support a pedestrian bridge over the intersection as the mitigation as it removes that mode's travel from the
complete streets equation. In places where an off street facility is not feasible for functional use, a complete street should
accommodate cyclists, vehicles and pedestrians with some, but minimal, grade separations and other protections for ease of
travel, sense of security and multimodal accessibility. Otherwise the arterial becomes optimized for motor vehicle travel,
compromising other modes. Those modes not using the bridge or traveling elsewhere in the intersection or beyond for
whatever reason (destination positioning, etc.) are unnecessarily put in harm's way. This creates a barrier to multimodal usage.
The last thing I want to hear every day on my way to and from school with my daughter is her complaining about having to
leave earlier and go up an incline or around a longer route to get to school. If it's faster, easier and safer to drive, that's what
people will do. If it's faster, easier and safer to walk or bike, that's what people will do. How we optimize facilities determines
the mode of travel.
The intersection of Froom Ranch Way and LOVR, and the intersection of the Froom Ranch Way Extension and Bob
Jones/Oceanaire (limited modal access onto Oceanaire) require similar attention with this project.
I do not necessarily support an additional lane for accessing the Oceanaire neighborhood near Pacific Beach High School, as it
promotes neighborhood cut through traffic (already a problem), and the intersection with PBHS's frontage street onto
Oceanaire is already a hazardous spot for cyclists and pedestrians travelling through as it is uncontrolled (not even a stop sign)
at Oceanaire, and the cut through traffic travels at exceedingly high speeds with limited visibility on approach to Oceanaire.
Similarly, any additional lanes at Dalidio drive need to be carefully considered and executed or another amenable solution to
the Oceanaire residents' concerns selected, as the alignment and lane execution at Dalidio directly impacts safe multimodal
travel at Oceanaire/Madonna and along the road segment between the signals. As an LCI I recognize that any additional
dedicated vehicular lanes or circuitous routes for bikes/peds conflict with creating an easy shift to multimodal participation.
I am happy to provide any additional help within my capacities in creating solutions between now and the final review on June
7. Please feel free to reach to out if I can be of service.
Sincerely,
Sarah Flickinger