By Camas Frank
Transportation planning staffers with the City of SLO gave area residents a “Bike Corridors 101” course during a meeting at the San Luis Obispo City/ County Library on Thursday, March 25.
Held during the time many locals are at the Thursday Night Farmers Market, the meeting was open to all but geared specifically towards residents of the upper Broad and Chorro St. area, North-East of Highway 101 and the Broad St. on-ramp.
A sizeable contingent from Bike SLO County (formerly the SLO County Bike Coalition) turned out as well to support the idea that they be given more real-estate in the City’s transit network.
For years residents have complained of the tendency for drivers to use their streets as a means to avoid the Foothill/ Santa Rosa intersection or as a shortcut to the highway. Specifically, after a repaving two years ago, the height of speed bumps was deemed insufficient by some neighbors who frequently send their grievances to the City Council.
Jake Hudson, the Public Works Departments’ transportation operations supervisor, addressed that issue noting that whatever might have gone before, the current height of the speed bumps are exactly at current standards. Those standards being adopted so as not to rip the undercarriage out of heavy emergency vehicles, another City investment that the residents might wish to all on some day.
Of course, private vehicle owners are free to abuse their suspension at will, which rather defeats the point of the measure to slow traffic through the area.
The preliminary workshop was intended to begin to address some of those long term planning issues. Although not a single idea taken down by the planners, on two large easel pads at the front of the room, is considered binding as to what they ultimately present, the dialogue was productive.
Indeed a large part of getting various parties to agree comes down to lingo.
Those somewhat inadequate speed bumps for example, they’re called “speed humps” in the traffic-calming portion of the PowerPoint staff used. It’s a small change but it rather connotes the difference between a parking lot with “bumps” that keep cars at a glacial pace and the whole point of traffic “calming” which could be better described as, “new ways to keep cars going the 25 mph speed limit without a radar gun.”
Likewise residents described the possible installation of low traffic circles, and curb height T-junctions designed to allow bikes through the intersection while forcing cars to turn, as “road furniture.” The implication being that they’re attractive for their use but also quite easy to stub a toe, or a fender, on.
There will be an approximate two month lull regarding the plan before staffers finish correlating all the ideas and importantly, rejections of ideas, that those at the meeting gave.
A straw poll of attendees came down strongly in favor of “full-scale” bike corridor treatment with vehicle diversions off Broad and onto other streets.
Residents who expressed concern that their voice would not carry sway when it comes time for a formal City Council decision on the matter were assuaged by Mayor Jan Marx, who told them that ,“things [opinions] have changed in the last 20 years. There’s citizen energy in making our town energy and bike friendly.”
City Councilman Dan Rivoire and Councilman John Ashbaugh also attended the meeting.
Both staff and Marx noted that a phasing in as funds became available rather than a complete renovation of Broad was possible if not preferable. The mayor added that she might be in favor of an additional sales tax ballot measure to fund transportation.