HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/6/2018 Item 12, Smith
Christian, Kevin
From:carolyn smith <cjsmith_107@yahoo.com>
Sent:Sunday, February
To:E-mail Council Website; CityClerk
Subject:Item #12 - Anholm Bike Way
Mayor Harmon and Council Members:
I support the residents in the Anholm neighborhood who are opposed to the preferred alternative of
the Anholm Bike way Plan. There should be no doubt whatsoever that this alternative will be
detrimental to the quality of life for the residents who live along this bike way and the survey
overwhelmingly demonstrated that the residents living in this neighborhood (and many who do not)
don't approve of the plan that will remove a significant amount of on-street parking.
Due to Cal Poly's continued enrollment growth and lack of sufficient on-campus housing for their
students, as well as Cuesta's increasing enrollment, our once family homes, some of which were built
50 to 75 years or more ago, have become rental homes with 5 or more young adults living in these
homes, most owning a vehicle. Many of these older homes have insufficient off street parking, some
without adequate driveways or garages, to accommodate the additional unanticipated vehicles per
house. This has resulted in many neighborhoods experiencing bumper to bumper parking on both
sides of their neighborhood streets. Often there is not even space for guests or others to park or for
adequate street sweeping due to the proliferation of owner/tenant parked vehicles. While some
neighborhoods have been able to form a parking permit district, it isn't easy to do so. You need 60%
of the residents (including tenants) who live in the problem neighborhood area and in an adjacent
street (in order to avoid a spill-over problem) to sign the city's application to begin the process. Since
residents who have numerous vehicles do not want their parking restricted, some refuse to sign the
application which makes this process a daunting and oftentimes impossible effort.
By way of example, several years ago, I attempted to obtain a parking permit for my street due to a
high volume of student rental parked vehicles in a cul-de-sac with very limited parking. Unfortunately,
I was unsuccessful due to the students, as well as the residents on the adjacent street who did not
have a parking problem, not wanting to limit themselves to two on-street parking spaces. Therefore,
this mitigation should not be relied upon as a solution to the parking problems this bike way will
create, as it may be unattainable.
Removing 70+ parking spaces from this residential neighborhood will severely diminish the quality of
life for many residents in this neighborhood. Staff's report suggesting that it's not too inconvenient
for residents (including the elderly and the frail) to have to walk a block or two (oftentimes carrying
multiple bags of groceries) to get to their homes is disrespectful and shameful. Our city can and
should certainly treat its residents better than this!
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While bike safety is an important issue, it should not be paramount to anything and everything else,
particularly since there have been no accidents on this route for years justifying such an extreme plan.
Certainly safety can be accomplished without pitting biker riders against residents. In fact, many
letters to council have pointed out that the preferred alternative plan is not the safest alternative and
have recommended other plans, including the Lincoln alternative, that they believe would be safer for
bike riders, as well as being less destructive to their neighborhood. Please seriously consider their
suggested alternatives.
During the last election, several council members pledged to work with residents to protect and
preserve neighborhood quality of life through open and meaningful dialogue and building consensus
on important issues. I've heard council members indicate they like to find a “middle ground.”
Therefore, I urge you to choose a plan that will respect and address the genuine concerns of your
residents while, at the same time, furthering the goal of a safer bike environment.
Thank you for your service.
Carolyn Smith
Laguna Lake resident
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