HomeMy WebLinkAbout9/4/2018 Item 15, Allen
From:Paul Allen <
To:E-mail Council Website
Cc:Harmon, Heidi; Christianson, Carlyn; Pease, Andy; Rivoire, Dan; Gomez, Aaron
Subject:Opposed to proposed Anholm Bikeway; Also autonomous vehicle issues with bikeway
My name is Paul Allen. I have lived on Luneta Drive in the Foothill area of San Luis Obispo for about 45 years,
and raised two sons in that house.
As a bit of background, I was an avid local and long-distance bicyclist for well over 30 years, until recent
problems with my lower back caused me to stop running and cycling about 3 years ago. In all my years of
bicycling, I never had any accidents or contacts with a motor vehicle, and never once felt threatened. Sharing
the road works very well if both drivers and cyclists are respectful and careful, as the vast majority are.
From those decades of experience, I don't believe drastic changes to Chorro or Broad are necessary to
encourage local bicycle use, except perhaps for minor improvements to bike lane marking. The proposed
Anholm Bikeway goes way too far, and severely damages the livability and functionality of that classic
neighborhood for its diverse residents.
One further comment relates to an article on the front page of Sunday's Tribune, about SLO City officials
beginning to plan for driverless or autonomous cars, which are coming to all of our neighborhoods very soon.
Recently, the City and this Council have been trying to discourage the routine use of privately owned and
operated vehicles. As a result, down the road, autonomous vehicles for hire may become a mainstay for the
local transit and shopping needs of many neighborhood residents around the city.
Currently, we know nothing about how some of the proposed Anholm features might be incompatible with or confuse
self-driving vehicles, thereby interfering with other safe vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian transportation. Before the City
spends large amounts of money on traffic diversion or calming features in Anholm, only to have to modify or remove
those features again in a few years, shouldn't they instead examine this carefully and completely first? Any changes to
Broad or Chorro, in the way of diverters or separation barriers, should take autonomous or self-driving
vehicles into careful account now. I recommend holding off on major Broad or Chorro roadway changes until
the neighborhood behavior of forthcoming autonomous vehicles can be fully evaluated and carefully
considered.
Please DO NOT approve the Anholm Bikeway as proposed, or change the traffic volume designations of streets
in the Anholm neighborhood.
Paul Allen, 191 Luneta Drive, San Luis Obispo
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