pages: TransportationCommission/2007-04-25.pdf, 6
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TransportationCommission | 2007-04-25 | 6 | parking at multiple unit buildings, and therefore, they really need to on-street parking spaces. I'm sure they will tell you they are well-served by the existing bus stop at Willow and Whitehall. "Otis Drive is a wide street with limited access. Between Willow and Grand, only Sand Creek Way intersects it on the south side, and Sand Creek does not go south to the beach. The "isles" which intersect on the north side are all one-block, dead-end cul de sacs. It is natural for people to drive fast on Otis than they would on a narrower street or a street with cross streets every block. This is why visibility is so important to pedestrians. The people near the proposed Lum School location are seriously concerned about pedestrian safety is a bus stop is placed such that it blocks the visibility of oncoming traffic. The proposed bus stop location in front of 1815 Otis is on the wrong side of the crosswalk. Ditto the proposed eastbound stop. This is the reason there has been so much opposition to this bus stop. "Safety problem #1: It is safer to have bus stops located where cross streets and crosswalks are located at the rear of the bus, rather than in front of the bus. This allows pedestrians to see oncoming traffic, and traffic to see the pedestrians. The proposed bus stops at Lum School have the megabuck crosswalk in front of the bus. This is the least safe location. People exiting the bus will be drawn to the front of the bus to cross the street. Some of the correspondents on this subject suggest that the crossing guards will prevent people from crossing the street while the bus is present. They fail to consider that the school is in session 185 days out of 365 days, and only from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. This is a small percentage of the bus schedule. This crosswalk is used by residents in the area, as well as kids that use the playground facilities when school is not in session, as well as kids and adults that use Rittler Park on weekends and during the summer. The bus stop should be located where they are safe all day and all year. It is ridiculous to use an existing red curb for a bus stop when the red curb is there to ensure visibility for the people using the crosswalk. You have spent a fortune on this crosswalk. If you had gone to the trouble of preventing cars and SUVs from parking there, 24/7/365, ever since the crosswalk was installed, then you don't want a bus to park there, either. You want people to cross the street behind the bus, and not in front of the bus. "Safety problem #2: The proposed bus stops at Lum School are in a very complex traffic area. there are three houses between Sandalwood Isle and Waterview Isle on the north side of Otis. This is a short block, not a long block. Sand Creek Way and the Lum School dropoff lane intersect Otis on the south side between Sandalwood and Waterview. Add in a supercrosswalk which does not align with any of the four intersections, and you can imagine that cars are coming from all directions at the same time. All cars from these four intersections must turn onto Otis, as none go straight across. Having the crossing guards not let pedestrians cross while the bus is present is great for the pedestrians, but does nothing for the autos that are coming from each other from all directions. When the children are arriving at school in the morning, and leave in the afternoon, there are many vehicles parking on all nearby side streets, as well as in every available space on Otis, and every available space in the Lum School dropoff lane. Cars are turning onto and back out of Sandalwood Isle and Waterview Isle, and also entering Otis from the dropoff lane in Sandcreek Way. It is heavily congested. The supercrosswalk is in the middle of this very confused traffic pattern. Adding a bus to the mix only exacerbates the congestion and limits the visibility. 6 | TransportationCommission/2007-04-25.pdf |