HomeMy WebLinkAbout8/15/2017 Item 16, Cooper
To: SLO City Council, Daryl Grigsby, Jake Hudson and Luke Schwartz
Re: Study Session No. 16: North Broad Street Bicycle Boulevard
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From: Allan Cooper, San Luis Obispo
Date: August 10, 2017
Honorable Mayor Harmon and Council Members -
I live on Broad Street immediately south of the freeway and my stretch of
the Broad Street Bike Boulevard was not included in this study. I disagree
with leaving this important link out of the overall plan as this is tantamount
to piecemeal planning.
Nevertheless, I went to most of the North Broad Street Bicycle Boulevard
workshops and participated in the online survey. I am not a bicyclist and I
am guessing that a number of non-bicyclists also, along with me, filled out
this online survey because we are advocates for neighborhood wellness.
For what it's worth, I did not support the "non-bike-boulevard" Alternative 2
which included turning Broad and Chorro Streets into one-way, one-lane
streets. Presently Broad and Chorro are serviced by four lanes of two-way
traffic and this alternative will compress all of this traffic down to two lanes.
By doing this, the study readily acknowledges that there will be increased
traffic volumes on Chorro, Meinecke and Lincoln (exceeding established
maximum neighborhood traffic thresholds). There will also be less
convenient access to properties, less convenient access for emergency
service providers and loss of on-street parking. If this plan is realized, I will
feel very sorry for the residents living along these stretches of Broad and
Chorro. I also disagree that bicycle lanes should run the length of North
Chorro instead of routing all bicyclists to Broad, because this will tempt
these bicyclists to remain on Chorro as they progress south of the freeway
into Downtown and this is not recommended in the Citywide bike plan.
Unfortunately, the local bike enthusiasts and the City are recommending
Alternative 2. On the other hand, 239 North Broad Street neighborhood
residents (see my numbers below) overwhelmingly supported "no
alternative" with a close second in support for Alternative 3 (which I
personally supported). Granted, alternative 2 got a plurality of the total
votes (171) but among those surveyed, 314 voted against Alternative 2
by voting for other alternatives. So it is clear to me that the "bike
coalition" is in the minority here. Please do not favor the interests of a
special interest group over the interests of the North Broad Street
neighborhood. Thank you!
Broad Street Neighborhood: 239 respondents
No alternative 37% 88
Alternative 1 7% 17
Alternative 2 27% 65
Alternative 3 30% 72
Citywide Online Survey: 240 respondents
No alternative 19% 46
Alternative 1 15% 36
Alternative 2 44% 106
Alternative 3 23% 55
Total
No alternative 28% 134
Alternative 1 11% 53
Alternative 2 35% 171
Alternative 3 26% 127
No. Opposed To Alternative 2 314