HomeMy WebLinkAbout9/4/2018 Item 15, Donatello
September 4, 2018
RE: Anholm Bikeway and General Plan Amendment
Dear Mayor Harmon and Members of the Council”
I am a resident on Lincoln street between Broad and Chorro. Please reconsider
traffic calming improvements in the Anholm neighborhood that includes
diverters. As a planner and urban designer, I have always valued the concept of
the grid system design as it provides multiple connections to effectively disperse
traffic and allow the user many options for getting to where they need to go as
expeditiously as possible. Diverters re-direct traffic onto other streets impacting
them in ways that was not originally intended. Proposing a diverter at Ramona
and Meineke will cause Chorro and Lincoln Streets to double the volume in
Average Daily Trips.
Consider the Morro diverter at Osos Street, this may have worked well because of
its location in the center of a large gridded street system with options for N/S
travel on both the east and west. Broad Street on the other hand, is not
surrounded by a gridded street system. It is pressed up against a mountain with
only one option to get travels to their destinations on either end of the
neighborhood. During high volume periods travelers, from the northwest
neighborhoods and even Los Osos, are dead-set to get the 101 SB ramp. I think it
safe to say that about 90% of these folks will use Chorro and then Lincoln to get
to the ramps. The City knows this, hence the General Plan Amendment to
reclassify these streets from Collector status to Arterial.
But how does doubling the traffic on these two streets (Chorro and Lincoln) make
anyone safer? Those backing out of their driveways are now at greater risk. How
are you mitigating for the tighter gaps and line of sight issues for the residents? As
well as mitigation for increase noise and pollutants for residents on Lincoln and
Chorro?
Without the ramps I think a lot of these issues go away. Because of these ramps,
using diverters is impractical and unrealistic and really, you can’t have it both
ways. The more I study these plans and the problems expressed by everyone
affected, the real problem here is not the traffic calming measures but the Broad
Street hook ramps. If these ramps went away most of these concerns would as
well.
In addition, I have studied the City’s 2016 Annual Traffic Safety Report and by all
indications this neighborhood gets a gold star for safety for the traveling public of
all modes. There are no indications that if the city is receiving funds to spend on a
bike safety project, that is where to spend it. I encourage everyone to examine
this report, to get a full understanding of where the dangerous circulation issues
are within the City, and you will see, they are not in the Anholm neighborhood. In
fact, it is shown to be one of the safest neighborhoods in the City for cyclist.
Please reconsider the use of diverters, as part of the Anholm Bikeway Proposal.
Better yet, postpone any action on the middle portion (Lincoln to Ramona) until
the true ramifications of the proposal are studied and vetted with input from all
stakeholders.
Thank you
Allison Donatello
754 Lincoln Street
San Luis Obispo
allisondonatello@yahoo.com