The time has come! On Tuesday, May 21 at City Hall, Council will be voting on funding for improving safety on two streets in the Rengstorff Park area and we need you to be there!
Like safer streets? This is the place to be on the evening of Tuesday May 21!
That evening, City Council will be voting on a number of projects as part of the Capital Improvement Program List. This list is only chosen every two years and typically includes projects that are over $50,000 and are upgrades of city infrastructure. Included are a handful of projects that will elevate street safety in the Rengstorff Park neighborhood and other parts of the city. Together with projects such as the Castro Street road diet, Council will be considering a project labeled as the California Street/Escuela Avenue Improvement Study.
This study is the first step towards a safer, more beautiful California Street and Escuela Avenue– and the first step towards great streets in the Rengstorff Park neighborhood! Here’s the project description– it reflects a lot of the ideas put forth by Great Streets Rengstorff Park.
California Street/Escuela Avenue Improvement Study: This project would study options to improve the bicycling and pedestrian environment along and across California Street. Improvements would be explored with and without reducing a travel lane in each direction. Examples of possible improvements include elimination or narrowing of vehicle lanes, increased area for bicyclists, curb bulbs to reduce crossing width for pedestrians, and improved lighting and signage. An analysis of the traffic impacts associated with lane reduction (road diet) will be included. The study would also consider pedestrian and bicycle activity to facilities on Escuela Avenue (e.g., Castro Elementary School, Senior Center, Teen Center).
City Council have made street safety efforts a high priority as part of their 2013 goal-setting initiative but, we must demonstrate that there’s strong support from those who live near and use these streets everyday.
Please join us on May 21 and voice support for the California Street/Escuela Avenue Improvement Study. Specifically, show support for analyzing the California Street road diet as part of the study. We’re confident that it can work, and would welcome the more detailed analysis that comes with the traffic study, but Council could choose to eliminate it from the study during the May 21 meeting.
The road diet has the strongest potential to reduce crashes and make the street a more inviting place, and we hope that you will join us in voicing support for the study and the road diet.
The date and time once again– Tuesday, May 21; Approximately 5:30PM; 500 Castro Street, Downtown Mountain View
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If you can’t make the meeting, please send council an e-mail expressing support for the California Street/Escuela Avenue study, including the California Street road diet alternative.
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