HomeMy WebLinkAbout9/4/2018 Item 15, Feltman
From:Charles Feltman <
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:re Anholm Bikeway
Dear Mayor Harmon and SLO City Council,
First, full disclosure, I live in one of approximately 82 homes on Chorro St. that will be impacted by increased traffic if
this project goes into effect as currently proposed. As for many of my neighbors, backing out of my narrow 1920s
driveway onto Chorro St. is already challenging and dangerous. With 55% more cars going by – because that’s what will
result from the proposed changes – it will be all that much more so.
So, I may appear to be arguing not to have this project built in my front yard because it’s inconvenient for me and my
family. But I want to make a distinction. I fully support creating safe, low-stress bike routes throughout SLO. What I am
arguing for here is safe, low-stress routes for cyclists that do not have large negative impacts on our neighborhoods.
To change the street classification for Chorro St. from a residential feeder to a residential arterial street in order for the
proposed plan to be better aligned with the General Plan on paper ignores the reality on the ground. Chorro would be
the only 2-lane residential arterial in SLO. All of the other streets with that classification were built to handle high traffic
volumes: Foothill Blvd., California Blvd. between Foothill and US 101, Johnson Ave. between San Luis Drive and Orcutt
Rd., South St., and Grand Ave. Those streets have the capacity to handle much higher traffic levels. The streets in
Anholm – Chorro, Meinecke, Murray, Lincoln – were never intended to carry even the number of cars they do today,
much less the increases projected for this project.
I ride my bike from home to downtown and back often. Going into town I take Mission St. to Lincoln St. and pick up
Chorro again just before crossing under the 101 underpass. It takes me on average 38 seconds longer than going down
Chorro. But I feel much safer and less stressed, which more than makes up for the tiny amount of additional time.
I understand one of the reasons for not considering Lincoln St. is that some studies show cyclists prefer to take the
shortest, quickest route from point A to point B, so they would ignore a bikeway that runs on Lincoln. But by the same
token, then, most of the bike riders going from the Cal Poly campus and surrounding apartments will do? Go an extra
block over to Broad St.? No, if the research is accurate most of them will just continue to ride down what will be an even
more crowded and dangerous Chorro St.
Before we build a Mercedes Benz of bikeways with big negative impacts on the Anholm neighborhood, or any other
neighborhood in SLO, I strongly urge us to at least try a simpler, less expensive project that has a much smaller
consequence for the people who live here. Let’s see if we can address the primary concerns for safety, low stress and
high usage that way first.
Thank you,
Charles Feltman
chas.feltman@gmail.com
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