Angela: I sent email to Sergeant Ortega in Traffic concerning the issuance of resident permits relating to the left turn restriction from Woodland Ave. to Baywood Ave, 3-7 PM, M-F. I understand his enforcement concerns (included below). But, I would like to pursue this with Transportation or the Complete Streets Commission, or with the City Council. My proposal is to have the city issue permits of high visibility (bright yellow or orange background, with black printing) that would be displayed on the front or rear windshield of a car. The permit would allow cars of residents to be excepted from the left turn restriction on Baywood Ave, and if it is put in place, on Blackburn Ave. On the sign at the intersection of Woodland and Baywood indicating the turn restriction, an example of the permit could be displayed with the words "Local Residents Excepted", or something like this. I ask for this in the spirit of trying to help with the calming and redirection of cut through traffic in the Willows, but with the notion that local residents not be overly negatively affected by actions by the city. I am concerned the City Council made decisions affecting my part of the Willows without notifying us of the the meeting in which this decision was made. I plan to discuss this at the Complete Streets Commission meeting tomorrow (12/19), and at the next City Council Meeting (1/18/18). Thanks very much, Peter -------- Forwarded Message -------- Subject: RE: recent traffic restrictions in Willows Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2017 17:26:04 +0000 From: Ortega, Matthew K To: Peter Whidden CC: Nagaya, Nicole H Mr. Whidden, That is a question you will need to bring up with the Transportation Department. From the enforcement side of it we would be against any permits or allowance for residents to make the turn during the restricted times. The main reason is that as soon as one vehicle turns against the restricted time frame, others will follow which would then start the chain reaction and the sign restriction will not have mitigated anything. I understand your issue but I do not think it would be a viable option for the permit because we cannot enforce the sign daily. -----Original Message----- From: Peter Whidden [mailto:pwhidden_at_(domainremoved) Sent: Monday, December 18, 2017 8:36 AM To: Ortega, Matthew K Subject: recent traffic restrictions in Willows Mr. Ortega: As you probably know, recently, the Menlo Park City Council passed some ordinances(?) relating to cut through traffic in the Willows neighborhood. One of these is a new restriction on left turns from Woodland Ave. to Baywood Ave., 3-7 PM, M-F. I live at 150 Baywood Ave., and this new restriction will affect my ability to get from Middlefield Rd. to my house, during my evening commute time. Also, there is a possibility the City Council will pass an additional rule to restrict left turns from Woodland to Blackburn during the same period - further increasing my difficulty to get to my house. So, I wonder: is it legally permissible the City Council, or the Complete Streets Commission, approve permits that allow local Willows residents to make those left turns during restricted times? If so, I will ask for that allowance, from the proper authority (I would ask for permits that could be placed on the front or back windshield of a car, for ease of viewing by police and other residents). Because local municipalities have the authority to restrict parking in residential areas and then issue parking permits those residents, perhaps that concept of residential allowance can be extended to cut-though traffic diversion situations. Thanks for your consideration of this. Best, Peter -- Peter Whidden Rare Books Specialist Special Collections & University Archives Stanford University 691 Pampas Lane Stanford, CA 94305-7206 (650) 723-7350 pwhidden_at_(domainremoved) Received on Mon Dec 18 2017 - 10:24:32 PST
