HomeMy WebLinkAbout8/15/2017 Item 16, Grady
Christian, Kevin
From:John Grady <johngrady5@yahoo.com>
Sent:Sunday, August
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Broad Street bicycle blvd.
Dear Mayor Harmon and Council Members,
I am writing to share my comments on your consideration of traffic calming measures on Chorro
Street and north Broad Street.
First and foremost, I believe any decisions to modify existing roadways should only be done with the
advice and consent of the neighbors who reside on these streets and who would ultimately bear the
brunt of adverse impacts of any changes. I would solicit their response via public forums in their
neighborhoods and via mail, and would only adopt changes that they deem reasonable.
Personally, I drive these streets about once a week and currently see no need for any
changes. Traffic speeds are controlled with 25 mph limits and numerous stop signs and speed
bumps throughout the two streets. It may be you have various solutions in search of a problem?
Living (and biking) along Morro Street, I really enjoy the design and function of the bike boulevard
along Morro Street. It is reasonably safe for cyclists with the exception of cross traffic (cars) which
often fail to stop or yield to cyclists. This makes me favor option 1 if you enact one of these three
changes. As a resident on Morro Street, the roadblocks to vehicles every two blocks are of no
consequence or bother. It is not an issue whatsoever in driving a vehicle to and from my
home. Option one seems the least intrusive, purports to provide safer biking than option three, and
eliminates the fewest number of parking spaces.
Option two (the recommended one) should be discarded. It is the most radical and intrusive of the
three options. It would eliminate the most parking spaces (33) which I believe would be a real
problem for residents, and I think it creates a safety hazard for ease of access and travel by
police, fire, and ambulance vehicles.
Option three purports to calm traffic, but I don't see really by what manner, and it comes with a cost of
losing 20 parking spaces. Parking along these two streets is already an issue for residents. Traffic
calming currently exists via speed bumps on Broad and stop signs on Chorro. The addition of
chicanes and a traffic circle seems of limited added value. The main promise of calmer traffic in this
option seems to be tied to Caltrans closing the Broad street on and off ramps. Were this to
occur, traffic will calm (and lessen) without the city making any changes whatsoever. Seems odd
these ramp closures are not referenced in options one or two?
In summary, I think your best course of action is to scrap this discussion and leave well enough
alone. If you feel the need to make any significant changes in this corridor, you must consult the
neighbors and get their buy in by listening to and accommodating their legitimate concerns. You
should not make decisions that will affect and disrupt these long established neighborhoods without
the approval of those who will be most affected by your decisions. And of the three options presented
to you, I support option one which mimics the tried and proven Morro Street bike boulevard that cars
and cyclists have shared and enjoyed for many years.
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Thank you.
John Grady
San Luis Obispo, CA
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