7/31/2019 Land Park Community Association statement on the Freeeport Blvd. Bike Lane Project

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LPCABoardStatementRegardingtheFreeportBlvd.BikeLaneProjectApprovedUnanimouslybytheLandParkCommunityAssociationBoardofDirectors-10/2/2012

TheLandParkCommunityAssociation(LPCA)supportstheCityofSacramentos

commitmenttobeingbicyclefriendlyanditsencouragementofsustainable,non-

polluting,energyefficientandhealthconscioustransportation.Ourneighborhood

iswellrepresentedbycommunitymemberswhoutilizeandpromotealternativemodesoftransportation,includingpublictransit,ridesharing,bicycleuseand

walking.Theadditionaladvantagesthatcanaccruetothecommunitybypromoting

alternativemeansoftransportationinclude:reducedtrafficaccidents,improved

physicalandmentalhealth,lowerfinancialstress,andpromotionofmorewalkableandbicyclefriendlybusinesses.

TheFreeportBlvd.BikeLaneProjectisanambitiousprojectthatmayachievesome

oftheabovestatedgoals.Theproject,whencompleted,shouldincreasebicycle

usagebystudentsandneighbors.Trafficaccidentsmaydecrease.Trafficpatternsareexpectedtoachieveanewequilibriumbecausecommutersandlocaltrafficwill

findmoreefficientavenuestotravel.Achievementoftheotherpotentialgoalscanonlybehopedfor.

Itshouldalsoberecognized,however,thatchangestostreetsascomplexas

FreeportareusuallyincludedinalargerCompleteStreetconceptwherebystreets

aredesignedandoperatedtoenablesafe,attractive,andcomfortableaccessand

travelforallusers.TheseCompleteStreetprojectsusuallyincludeinfrastructure

changessuchas:changingsidewalks,raisingcrosswalks,addinglandscaping,

creatingbuspulloutsorbuslanes,andcreatingmediancrossingislands.Thoughwe

understandthebudgetaryconstraints,theLPCAwashopefulthattheFreeportBlvd.

BikeLaneProjectcouldbemorecomprehensivethantheresurfacingand

restripingprojectcurrentlyproposedbyincludingotherfeaturesofaCompleteStreet.Wedonotwanttolosethisopportunityforcommunityenhancement.

TheLPCAalsoappreciatesthedifficultycitystaffhasencounteredattemptingtobalancetheneedsofallaspectsofthecommunity.Wehaveworkedveryclosely

withstaffandourcouncilmember,andwehaveattemptedtoreachtheentireneighborhood.Wehaveconductedmanyoutreachmeetingsandhavereceived

commentsinawidelydistributedopinionsurvey.Theneighborhoodissplit

regardingmanyaspectsoftheproject.

Withtheseconsiderationsinmind,theLandParkCommunityAssociationhas

determinedthattohaveareasonablechanceofsuccess,theFreeportBlvd.BikeLaneProjectmustincludethefollowingelements:

1.BusinessParking:ThisprojectremovesmostofFreeportBlvdson-street

parking.On-streetparkingplaysacrucialroleinmaintainingtheviabilityofa

commercialdistrict.Thelossofparkingspaceswillforcemanybusinesscustomers

andemployeesontosidestreetscompoundinganalreadyseriousproblem.Inorder

7/31/2019 Land Park Community Association statement on the Freeeport Blvd. Bike Lane Project

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LPCABoardStatementRegardingtheFreeportBlvd.BikeLaneProjectApprovedUnanimouslybytheLandParkCommunityAssociationBoardofDirectors-10/2/2012

topreventdegradationofthecommercialdistrictandcreateadditionalresidential

parkingissues,Citystaffmuststrivetofindinnovativesolutionstothisdilemma.

2.Mitigationofcut-throughtraffic:Mostcommutersareawarethatafreighttrain

orlightrailwillstoptrafficonFreeportBlvd.forseveralminutesmanytimesduring

theday.Whatisnotknownispreciselywhenthestoppagewilloccur.Itcanbeassumedthatmanycommuterswillavoidthechanceofanextendedcommutetime

andfindanotherdailynorth/southcommuteroute.Ontheotherhand,manydrivers

willtaketheirchancesonFreeportBlvd.andutilizetheresidentialeast/west

avenuesiftrafficonFreeportBlvdisstoppedandautomobilesarestackedatintersections.Itisthiseast/westcut-throughcommutertrafficonnarrow

residentialstreetsthatisaconcerntotheLPCA.Mitigationmeasurestohelpreduce

cut-throughtrafficincludingsignage,speedbumps,andotherinnovativetools

shouldbeutilizedasapartofthisproject.

3.BicycleUsageStudy:Thoughautomobiletrafficpatternshavebeenstudiedas

partofthisproject,bicycleusagehasnot.Itisonlyanassumptionandahopefulpredictionthattheadditionofbikelaneswillincreasebicycleusagebystudents,

residentsandcommuters.Bystudyingcurrentbicycleusagepatterns,including

accidentrecords,andcomparingthemtobicycleusageafterprojectcompletion,we

candeterminewhetherthecitysbicyclefriendlypoliciesareeffectivelyincreasing

usageandsafetyaswehope.

4.ReviewProjectAfterCompletion:Thetrafficstudyconductedforthisprojectis

basedoncurrenttrafficcounts,asetofempiricaldata.Theanalysisissubjective,

however,becauseitcannotaddressallofthecomplexfactorsthatinteractto

produceapredictionofthefuturetrafficconditionsonFreeportBlvd.Inorderto

ensurethattheunintendedconsequencesoftheBikeLaneProjectareproperlymitigated,theimpactsoftheprojectmustbecomprehensivelyreviewedwithina

reasonableperiodafterprojectcompletion.Iftheprojectiscompletedasproposed

inSummer2013,thenreviewshouldoccurwithinsixmonthsafterthestartofschoolinSeptember.Theparametersoftheprojectreviewcanbefinalizedlater,but

shouldincludefactorssuchas:lengthofdelaysandqueuingatintersections,particularlyintheTaylorMarket/McClatchyHighSchoolarea;impactofqueues

regardingaccesstoFreeportBlvd.fromsidestreets;changesintrafficvolumeson

Freeportandotherpotentiallyaffectedstreets;impactoflanereductionattheSuttervilleRoadandFreeportBlvd.merger;impactofparkinglossonFreeport

businesses;andothertopicsasappropriate.Further,thecitymustcommittothe

promptmitigationofadverseimpactscreatedasaresultoftheFreeportBlvd.BikeLaneProject.

TheLPCAhasworkedveryhardtounderstandthedesiresandconcernsofthe

communityregardingthebikelaneproject.Ourapproachhasbeentoreachoutand

listentothecommunity,reportthefindingsinafairandunbiasedmanner,make

suggestionswhereappropriate,andadvocatethebestwecanfortheentire

community.