San Carlos seeks new pedestrian safety upgrades

The city has been pursuing the project for seven years, Councilman Ron Collins said during a Monday City Council meeting. Support for the project grew out of concern for pedestrian safety, particularly for children traveling to and from school, he said.

Public Works Director Steven Machida noted staff has struggled to access grants to help pay for the upgrades, estimating city grant applications were denied three times over the years.

The project design received grant approval in 2016, securing the city a $500,000 award. But as avid cyclists call into questions the safety of the design, Machida said the city is now faced with redesign and scheduling limitations.

Weighing community concerns with the potential loss of the city’s grant, the council ultimately opted to move forward with the project timeline. Mayor Laura Parmer-Lohan, Councilman John Dugan and Collins each voiced confidence in the engineers who helped develop the project and shared support for revisiting the site for future adjustments.

“This is first and foremost a pedestrian safety project. It wasn’t meant to be a bicycle safety project and there’s no reason to believe that bicyclists will be less safe,” said Collins, concerned that eleventh hour changes in response to late public objections would set a poor precedent.

City Manager Jeff Maltbie told the council that San Carlos Elementary School District Superintendent Michelle Harmeier shared support for the project, noting concerns for pedestrian safety was the driving factor for pursuing intersection redesigns.

Councilman Adam Rak sought to agendize the item to a future meeting for more discussion after listening to community concerns and visiting the site with Vice Mayor Sara McDowell and Machida. In a phone interview, Rak shared disappointment the council decided not to agendize the item and said he knew gaining support for the proposal would be difficult but felt it was paramount to try.

“Public safety is an important area of focus for our community,” said Rak. “It's unclear to me what can be done in the short term. … I’m hopeful that after the project is completed we can take another look at it and do a little more.”

Echoing sentiments shared by public speakers, McDowell noted the area would become unsafe for new cyclists and children who would be forced to share the road with cars. The design proposes installing crosswalk bulbouts at the intersection of Arroyo Avenue and Cedar Street to reduce the distance pedestrians will be expected to cross in front of vehicles. The bulbouts would create “choke points” that are beneficial for those on foot but a potential hazard for bicyclists and others sharing the road with cars.

McDowell also shared disappointment in public outreach conducted for the project. Machida said the plans were included in the city’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan adopted last June but the city’s Transportation and Circulation Commission was not engaged in the project.

Sonia Elkes, a San Carlos resident and transportation activist, noted many invested in sustainable and active transportation were blindsided when they learned of the plans. Some cyclists mostly concerned with the Arroyo Avenue and Cedar Street intersection redesign have called for curved curb-outs, dotted bike lanes near traffic stops and specific signs.

Rak and McDowell aimed to have the item brought forward during the next City Council meeting on Feb. 22 to publicly workshop some modifications.

“I’m tired of fixing intersections only to create another problem,” said McDowell, noting strong concern for children riding bikes through the newly designed area. “They would have to find room to go between vehicles and that is not safe and that would be a travesty.”

Some changes may still be made to the design but the list of changes is short, said City Attorney Greg Rubens. An engineer would have to sign off on the safety of each change though major modifications would put the city at risk of losing its grant.

COVID-related delays have also put the city’s grant in jeopardy, according to an email from Vatsal Patel, a senior engineer with the city. Construction on the project is slated to begin in March and any plan modifications would have to occur before permanent construction began, he said.

Following Maltbie’s direction, the council agreed to have staff engage McDowell and Parmer-Lohan to determine what changes would be feasible, without losing grant funding. Maltbie and Rubens would also have to meet with McDowell before meeting with staff to avoid any potential Brown Act violations that may occur following her and Rak’s visit to the site.

sierra@smdailyjournal.com

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