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HomeMy WebLinkAbout9/17/2019 Item 13, Streets for All From:SLO Streets for All < To:E-mail Council Website Subject:Re: Council Item 13: 1144 Chorro St SLO Streets for All is a neighborhood group advocating for safer streets for all roadway users. We formed during the Anholm Greenway debate and gathered over 500 supporters of our cause. Steering Committee consists of: Kim Bisheff, Jesse Englert, Garrett and Chenin Otto, Steve and Shannon Klisch On Mon, Sep 16, 2019 at 1:58 PM SLO Streets for All <slostreetsforall@gmail.com> wrote: Dear Mayor and Council, Looking over the project and scale, SLO Streets for All feels that in order to meet the height exception and parking reduction there should be additional "pedestrian amenities" and contribute to the cities multi-modal goals. Our downtown has so much potential to be one of the great people-oriented downtown like Pearl Street in Boulder. The Downtown Concept Plan is a start, but we still do not have all the pieces quite figured out how to implement it. Anyways without getting off topic too much, we feel that this project should help us achieve a more pedestrian and bike oriented downtown. Thee following are some suggestions for conditions of approval we think are reasonable and consistent with the City's guiding documents. A lane of traffic has been removed on Marsh street between the block of Broad and Garden as part of the hotel construction without any impact to vehicle traffic/circulation. As part of this project it would be great to see the sidewalk widened out into the current loading zone to make room for more pedestrian space. Just like the other block on Marsh you could still have 2 lanes of traffic and enhance the pedestrian area greatly. The 3rd drive lane could be re- purposed for that loading/drop off zone instead. Additionally there is recommendations for protected bike lanes through the downtown core as part of the Active Transportation Plan (ATP) update and in the Downtown Concept Plan. All the details on how to implement this have not be ironed out enough to give specific direction for the developer. Instead it would be beneficial for them to contribute funding for these future amenities. Lastly, with minimal parking proposed and the large amount of residential/office space, there should be requirements to help encourage alternative transportation options. In order to get people onto their bikes it takes more than just providing some bike parking spots. Helping meet our mode shift goals could be in the form of contributing to a fund dedicated to implementing elements of the ATP (all around town, not just downtown), a pedicab purchase for car and carbon free "taxi" service, and ongoing support for organizations helping reduce single occupant vehicle trips (Bike SLO County's Bike Valet and Bike Kitchen comes to mind). Thank you for your consideration, -- SLO Streets For All To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. 1 -- SLO Streets For All To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. 2