HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/6/2018 Item 12, Grady
Purrington, Teresa
From:John Grady <johngrady5@yahoo.com>
Sent:Wednesday,
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Broad Street Bicycle Blvd.
Dear Mayor Harmon & City Council Members,
I oppose the current Anholm Bikeway Plan under your consideration as a safer bicycle route from
downtown to Foothill Boulevard.
I concur with the local Viewpoint published in the Tribune on Jan. 31, 2018 written by Richard
Schmidt, an architect, planner, and eight year veteran of the SLO Planning Commission. Mr. Schmidt
raises countless valid and very reasonable concerns and objections to the plan as proposed, not the
least of which is the enormous cost of this proposal! Mr. Schmidt cites these costs at $3 million; your
staff report cites nearly $1.5 million - just for phases 1 and 2 of the project. I see no mention of the
projected costs for phase 3. And we all know how seldom projects come in at their 'projected' costs.
I reside on the Morro Street Bike Boulevard and I use this route daily to commute to and from work
and downtown. This roadway safely co-mingles bikes and cars without the need for costly cycle
tracks and without requiring bicycles to move against the flow of traffic (illegal I believe on normal
streets). Mr. Schmidt raises a legitimate concern with the proposed cycle tracks crossing 31
driveways, with cyclists moving in both directions with no escape route for the cyclist should a car
come backing out of a driveway and not see the cyclist. This problem is non-existent on the Morro
Street Bike Boulevard. And street parking for residents living on Bike Boulevard is not affected at
all.
I believe in our era of a soft city hiring freeze and a burgeoning pension crisis that this $1.5 million -
$3 million of taxpayer money could be put to far better and more productive uses. I much prefer the
Lincoln Street alternative as a more cost effective (and perhaps safer) bike route. Or even better yet,
consider the creation of a bike boulevard along north Broad Street like the Morro Street Bike
Boulevard which has served our cycling community (and the associated neighborhood) so well for
many years.
Thank you.
Very truly yours,
John Grady
San Luis Obispo
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