HomeMy WebLinkAbout9/19/2017 Item 15, Bennett
Christian, Kevin
From:Mike Bennett <mike@bikeslocounty.org>
Sent:Monday,
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Avila Ranch Project
Attachments:AR City Council Comments for electronic submission 19 Sept 2017.docx
Good afternoon,
Please accept the attached comments on the proposed Avila Ranch project on behalf of the members of Bike
SLO County. I will also present these comments publicly Tuesday evening.
Thank you,
Mike Bennett
LtCol USMC, Retired
Executive Director | Bike SLO County
Managing Director | CCDDAP / “SeeDap"
mike@bikeslocounty.org W:805.547.2055 | C:760.815.4069
www.bikeslocounty.org
www.seedap.org
1
860 Pacific St, Suite 105 | San Luis Obispo, CA | 93401
Madam Mayor and City Council Members,
Bike SLO County greatly appreciates the opportunity to comment on the Avila
Ranch Development Project. Our organization is comprised of more than 4,900
individuals throughout the region who believe safer complete roads for biking,
walking and driving are essential to community-wide well-being. Replacing
personal motor vehicle trips with bicycle, transit and pedestrian trips saves energy
by reducing fuel consumption, reduces air pollution and traffic congestion and
improves public health.
Bike SLO County recognizes the need for a significant increase in the amount of
affordable local housing. Without more affordable housing, the success and
character of the city and the region will be threatened.
To that end, Bike SLO County supports denser, in-fill housing, like the Avila Ranch
Development, for people who want to live closer to their jobs in the City so that
they don't have to commute long distances.
We appreciate the fact that Avila Ranch reached out to the cycling community to
ask for design recommendations, and are pleased to see a plan that emphasizes
bikeways and pedestrian connections on site and to the future site of the Octagon
Barn Center and Bob Jones Trail. The Class I multi-use paths and Class II and IV
bike lanes throughout the Avila Ranch site and between the site and the Octagon
Barn will benefit residents and visitors alike.
Creation of locally beneficial bike and pedestrian facilities alone, however, will not
enable the City of San Luis Obispo to realize its stated goal of 20% mode share
travel by bicycle by 2035. A Class II or IV connection on Buckley road between the
Avila Ranch Development and Broad Street as envisioned in the Bicycle
Transportation Plan would encourage residents to utilize active forms of
transportation to reach work, shopping, and recreation destinations along the
Broad Street Corridor. A Class I multi use path along this route would create a
Safe Route to School for Avila Ranch children attending Los Ranchos Elementary
School. Additionally, completion of the section of the Bob Jones Trail between the
Octagon Barn and Los Osos Valley Road will connect the Avila Ranch
Development to existing bicycle and pedestrian facilities providing improved
access to the Laguna Lake area and Downtown SLO. These challenging projects
BIKE SLO COUNTY bikeslocounty.org
require cooperation with the County, but they will not happen without City
leadership.
If provided with viable and safe bicycle facilities that connect to the businesses in
southern and central San Luis Obispo, Avila Ranch residents will consider active
transportation as a reasonable option; this option will become even more
appealing when they are confronted by the additional local vehicle traffic that will
come, by necessity, from this development and other pending developments. The
only way to mitigate the additional vehicle traffic is to provide facilities that support
multi-modal options like bicycles and ebikes. We ask you to continue to
demonstrate your much-appreciated commitment to multi modal transportation,
and to take the lead in making these proposed bicycle facilities a reality as you
continue to work to solve the housing challenges faced by our community.
Respectfully,
Mike Bennett
LtCol USMC, Retired
Executive Director Bike SLO County