HomeMy WebLinkAbout7/18/2017 Item 14, Brooks
Christian, Kevin
From:Lea Brooks <leabrooks332@gmail.com>
Sent:Monday, July
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:San Luis Ranch comments for July 18 meeting
Attachments:San Luis Ranch City Council 7-18-17.docx
Please provide the attached comments to the City Council for its consideration of San Luis Ranch on July 18.
Thank you.
Lea Brooks
San Luis Obispo
1
To: San Luis Obispo Mayor Heidi Harmon and Council Members Carlyn Christensen,
Aaron Gomez, Andy Pease and Dan Rivoire
emailcouncil@slocity.org
From: Lea Brooks
1130 Islay St.
San Luis Obispo
leabrooks332@gmail.com
July 17, 2017
Re: San Luis Ranch Project
During your deliberations on the San Luis Ranch project tomorrow evening, I
respectfully request that you consider the following issues related to the Class I impacts
of traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions.
Thank you for taking seriously the impact of increased vehicle traffic and multiple turn
lanes in intersections on pedestrians and people on bicycles. Here’s a link to a short
video about protected intersections for people on bicycles:
https://vimeo.com/86721046.
Also of concern is the Planning Commission’s support of the staff recommendation to
override the Class I impacts related to achieving multi-modal objectives at Madonna
Road and Dalidio Drive, Los Osos Valley Road and Froom Ranch Way, certain
segments of Higuera Street and the Highway 101 mainline segments at Los Osos
Valley Road and Madonna Road because:
-People can walk to key locations within the San Luis Ranch island.
-There is a network of interconnected paths and trails with the San Luis Ranch island.
Below are photos taken very early Saturday morning, July 15, of Froom Ranch Road
looking west across Los Osos Valley Road. This road serves a number of retail stores,
including Costco, and access to the Irish Hills hiking and off-road bicycling trails near
the Costco gas station. Not all trips to this shopping area result in massive purchases,
and cargo and electric-assist bicycles can accommodate large loads.
This car-centric entrance that is already experiencing traffic congestion has only one
crosswalk across Los Osos Valley Road for pedestrians and no bike lanes and will likely
be identified as a significant barrier in the Pedestrian Master Plan being developed.
That means the existing situation will continue for families with children, the elderly and
those with disabilities who either want to walk or can’t drive for whatever reason.
In stark contrast, directly across the street is the east segment of Froom Ranch Road
within the San Luis Ranch development. It is proposed as a beautiful complete street
with the following cross section: 12’ class I multi-use path with two 2’ shoulders, two 6.5’
bicycle lanes, two 11’ travel lanes and a 10’ landscaped median.
It’s understandable that the City does not want to require additional infrastructure
mitigations that will add to the cost of housing units in San Luis Ranch. However, other
options should be explored so pedestrians and people on bicycles have safe and
convenient choices to reach their destinations, especially those within reasonable
walking and bicycling distances.
San Luis Ranch’s proposed internal bicycle and walking trails are A-plus. Perhaps they
could be designed to B-plus so part of the budget can be diverted to bicycle and
pedestrian connectivity to west Froom Ranch Road. At the very least, west Froom
Ranch Road should have sharrows and signs that indicate bikes can take the lane.
Providing multi-modal transportation choices and connectivity are key to easing existing
traffic congestion and the additional traffic projected from San Luis Ranch and other
projects.
Sincerely,
Lea Brooks
San Luis Obispo
Only one crosswalk at Los Osos Valley Road and Froom Ranch Road.
No bike lanes on car-centric west Froom Ranch Road.