Councilmembers and Staff—
First, thank you to the staff for the substantial work modernizing the old
NTMP framework into a more data-driven and equitable Slow Streets Program.
Removing the petition requirement, streamlining implementation, and
aligning with Vision Zero are meaningful improvements.
I also appreciate that staff clearly understands that California’s AB 43
framework creates additional flexibility for cities to lower speeds where
vulnerable users are present.
AB 43 was enacted specifically so cities could stop allowing the fastest
drivers to define safe speed on streets used by vulnerable people. College
Avenue is one current example—but this issue applies to many Menlo Park
streets with missing sidewalks, vulnerable users, and residential
cut-through traffic.
On College Avenue:
-
much of the corridor lacks sidewalks,
-
pedestrians and cyclists are routinely forced into the roadway,
-
the street functions as a de facto neighborhood bike/ped connector,
-
and a relatively small number of higher-speed vehicles
disproportionately drive injury risk.
The 85th-percentile framework helps describe typical driver behavior, but
it does not fully capture exposure where people are already walking in the
vehicle right-of-way. AB 43 allows cities to incorporate context,
vulnerability, and human exposure into speed-setting decisions.
I encourage Council to:
1.
Add a Pedestrian-in-Roadway Exposure criterion to the Slow Streets
Program for all streets with substantial sidewalk gaps or documented
in-lane walking;
2.
Authorize 90-day quick-build pilots using reversible measures such as
signage, flexible bollards, and painted walking zones;
3.
Direct staff to evaluate 20 mph speed limits on College Avenue and
similarly situated neighborhood streets.
This is a strengthening addition to the proposed program. It simply aligns
the program with modern Safe Systems thinking and the tools California law
now provides.
Best,
Ken
--
*Ken Kershner | Co-Founder & CEO*
Cell 650-248-9059 | Email k en@triomotors.co
Trio Motors | Menlo Park
