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HomeMy WebLinkAbout5/7/2019 Item 15, Brooks To: Mayor Harmon and Council Members Christianson, Gomez, Stewart and Pease From: Lea Brooks, San Luis Obispo resident Re: Agenda Item 15: Introduce an ordinance to amend the land-use designation of the northwest corner of Tank Farm and Broad streets (3985 Broad St., 660 Tank Farm Rd.) May 6, 2019 I am chair of the Active Transportation Committee (ATC), but am submitting this comment as a resident of San Luis Obispo as this project has not been considered by the ATC. I am disappointed that the ATC was not asked to review the project’s internal circulation for pedestrians and people on bikes and active transportation connectivity with the rest of the community because, as the staff report states: “The majority of the site was rezoned to have a Special Focus Overlay when the 2014 Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE) was adopted. The Special Focus Overlay for the site includes general policy direction that the site will be used as a mixed-use site, provide a strong commercial presence, include appropriate buffers for creek protection, and pay attention to connectivity, safety and comfort of bicycle and pedestrian circulation.” My review of the staff report concludes that the applicant’s response to the Special Focus Overlay was to provide a more bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly internal circulation plan and to add extra bicycle parking. The end result is yet another island of development with poor bicycle-pedestrian connectivity to the community. This area of the city is motor vehicle-dependent and an unpleasant and daunting place to ride a bicycle or walk. People who want to walk or ride bikes to and from this project need to feel safe doing so. The off-site mitigations focus on motor vehicle traffic flow rather than sustainable transportation. As you know, the ATC is updating the Bicycle Transportation Plan and developing the city’s first-ever pedestrian plan. The Bicycle Transportation Plan is utilizing a level-of- traffic stress analysis that determines a level of comfort for bicyclists based on factors, including posted speed limit, street width and the presence and character of bicycle lanes. Tank Farm Road and Broad Street are Level-of-Stress 4: roadways ridden by “strong and fearless” cyclists, not the riders the city is trying to attract. Riding a bike on Tank Farm Road, the primary east-west connection between Higuera and Broad streets in this area of the city, and through the intersection of Tank Farm Road and Broad Street is best described as hideous. Regarding Transportation Mitigation T-1, which proposes a second westbound traffic lane, bike lanes and sidewalks on Tank Farm Road from Broad to the Mindbody intersection. Comment: Adding a second traffic lane will encourage aggressive driving for a short distance by motorists maneuvering to reach the one-lane-each way segment of Tank Farm Road and will not encourage people to ride bikes. Instead of a second westbound traffic lane, this space should be designated for a protected bicycle lane. Regarding Mitigation T-2: The project shall make a fair share contribution of 0.62 percent of the cost of widening Tank Farm Road to four lanes between Santa Fe Road and Old Windmill Lane. Comment: This contribution should also be used for protected bicycle lanes. Regarding Mitigation T-3, the intersection of Broad Street and Industrial Way: The project shall make a fair share contribution toward converting the east and west approaches from split phasing to permissive phasing and restriping both east and west legs of the intersection to provide dedicated left turn lanes and shared through/right turn lanes. Comment: This mitigation only addresses motor vehicles. It ignores the fact that many people on bikes avoid Broad Street by riding the Railroad Safety Trail, Sacramento Drive and Industrial Way. The challenge with Industrial Way is that its eastern segment is being used for free motor vehicle parking for employers who are not providing adequate parking for their employees. Because Industrial Way is being utilized for vehicle parking, the city painted sharrows to indicate motorists should share with people on bikes. In reality, many motorists are downright hostile to sharing Industrial Way with bicyclists, making it an intimidating place to ride. Replace vehicle parking with Class II bike lanes the full length of Industrial Way. The choice is subsidized vehicle parking versus bike lanes where people feel safe to ride. Accommodate parked vehicles or people riding bikes. And the intersection of Broad Street and Industrial Way must be protected for pedestrians and people on bikes. Regarding Mitigation T-4: Fair Share Contributions: The project applicant shall make fair share contributions toward the following improvements through payment of Citywide Traffic Impact Fees: • Tank Farm Road/Higuera Street: Install a second southbound left turn lane. • Tank Farm Road/Santa Fe Road: Install a multi-lane roundabout. • Broad Street/Tank Farm Road: Install a dedicated northbound right turn lane, convert the westbound right turn lane to a shared through/right lane, and establish time-of-day timing plans. Comment: Again, this mitigation solely addresses motor vehicle traffic flow with no mention of pedestrian and bicyclist comfort and safety. These intersections are already daunting for pedestrians and people on bikes when traffic is heavy and this project will add to the traffic. These intersections must be protected for bicyclists and pedestrians to improve connectivity. I would like to remind the City Council that in January, the requirement for construction of a Class I bike path from the existing Prado Road terminus to Broad Street was removed from the final map for the Calle Malva tract because the Damon-Garcia family was unwilling to dedicate the land for the bike path at this time because it would conflict with their existing uses on the property. And approval of the Avila Ranch project only included Class II bike lanes from the extension of Buckley Road to Higuera Street to the eastern edge of Avila Ranch, leaving a one-mile gap in the bicycle transportation network between Avila Ranch and Broad Street/Highway 227. Most of this gap has no shoulders. That leaves Tank Farm Road as the primary east-west active transportation route for the near future. Without mitigations to improve connectivity for pedestrians and bicyclists, the vast majority of people will continue to drive between Higuera and Broad streets to reach their destinations, including the rapidly growing worksites in the vicinity of the airport. For more information about protected intersections, please see the Protected Intersections for Bicyclists at: https://vimeo.com/86721046.