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Home My WebLink About8/15/2017 Item 16, Houghton �:�.��T�"�� "� G�`��: � �'��„��.�?��.��"�1 �°�"�..� �C� �� .,,� e M �,�w��N,.��.....�,....._.�,� From: Dave Houghton < > w� . x , -" Sent: Saturday, July 29, 2017 12:41 PM � � �a- � ��' �"�� . � � n��n� "�� .�� ' To• E-mail Council Website , Subject: Broad Street Bike Blvd � � �� °��"� �' � �� ' ': ".' ..� Greetings City Council. Please accept these comments on the upcoming August 15th Study Session on the Broad Street Bike Blvd. Thanks for your consideration. Dave Houghton 210 Lincoln Street ***** First of all, thanks to the City for working to improve transportation options in SLO. I appreciate bike-related improvements for safety and efforts to encourage more bikers. I am a biker and bike commuter living in the Anholm District. I use the Morro Bike Blvd frequently, and ride my bike to downtown, Cal Poly, and the airport for business, and to Avila Beach, Morro Bay, and beyond for pleasure and exercise. I've had close calls with cars but mostly been OK. This is a difficult issue. We need better north-south connectivity for bicycles, but I have concerns about all three alternatives proposed in the survey. The Broad Street Bicycle Boulevard plan is based on the assumption that a new pedestrian/bike overpass will be built over the freeway at Broad Street, and that the Broad Street 101 ramps will be abandoned. Both of these projects are capital intensive and unlikely to happen soon, if ever. Drawing a line down Broad Street, over the freeway, and into downtown is easy to do on paper but the physical and political challenges that must be overcome are significant. The proposed ped/bike ramp will require long 1:10 ramps or loops on both ends, and is projected to cost well over a million dollars. Bikers will be much more likely to just continue through the existing Chorro Street underpass than to climb up and over the freeway. CalTrans has stated that the Broad ramps can't be taken out until the Santa Rosa interchange is upgraded, an expensive proposition that isn't a high priority for the state agency. Alternative 1 would be nice for Broad Street, but it will greatly impact the side streets and especially Chorro Street. If the freeway ramps were eliminated, it might have a chance of helping out, but until then it will just redirect 101-bound cars. The resulting bike-friendly Broad Street will still contain the steep hill that makes it a difficult route to Foothill and beyond. Alternative 2 is a majar and costly restructuring of the traffic patterns, and is difficult to try out temporarily. It's a heavy-handed solution that will unfairly burden the east-west cross streets in the neighborhood—Mission, Center, and in particular, the block of Lincoln Street between Broad and Chorro. The protected bike lane on Chorro would be nice, but bikers and cars will still have to interact at the two stop signs at Center and Mission. i Alternative 3 adds car obstacles on Chorro but still doesn't create a bikeway that will make a significant difference to bike commuters beyond the existing situation. My survey vote is for"none of the above," far the reasons stated here. Instead, I believe the bike boulevard should be on Lincoln Street. It is wide with relatively light car traffic, has a reasonable grade with no stop signs, and climbs the hill to Murray Street fairly easily. From the Chorro/Murray intersection,bikers can go west down Murray to join Broad Street, or east down Murray to cross Santa Rosa at the light and continue to Cal Poly via Casa Street. Lincoln Street already receives a lot of bike traffic from those who have figured out that it's a friendly and safe way across that part of town. The trickiest parts are the West/Chorro and Murray/Broad intersections, which could use signage and perhaps other upgrades, all relatively inexpensive. My other suggestion is to improve the Chorro/101 underpass, with lighting, a nicer fence, and perhaps some aesthetic or even artistic upgrades. This key gateway to our delightful downtown is currently a dark concrete passage. It's a great opportunity to engage with local design firms, artists, andlor Cal Poly's landscape architecture program. Other cities have done amazing things with similar situations—for a taste, google "freeway underpass art." The recent makeover of East Campbell Avenue below Highway 17 in Campbell CA is a great example. The Anholm district has done a nice job of coming together to discuss these proposals—many of us have had informal meetings and some have even gone door-to-door to discuss the options. The neighbors I've talked with generally recognize that we need to do what will wark best for all the streets in our area, and indeed what's best for the city as a whole. Thanks for considering these comments and all the other input from the citizens in the Anholm. David Houghton PE �, ,� Principal • California Office 1075 Court Street, Suite 209 � � San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 `� � 805-706-0700 office �� I 970-209-1216 mobile d9t��.rc��t�ar��;��r��r�l��;��r�. I� �� w � � �" I� �"fl 2