Hello Kevin, Thank you for your time yesterday discussing the unsafe bike/car situation on Olive Street/Santa Cruz while the kids are coming to and leaving Hillview. I understand that you have just installed the ballards in order to prevent the parents from dropping their kids off at that location on Olive St; however, the parked cars may be gone, but the danger to the bicyclists has now been inadvertently increased. I personally observed and photographed the bike/pedestrian and car traffic this morning at drop off time. Attached are the photos and following are my observations. In addition, City Service Officer, Swarna Sharma, was also present towards the end of my observation time and concurred with me on several of these points. 1. Starting at 7:55am, I observed over 70 kids riding their bikes to school on Olive Street in order to cross at the Santa Cruz Ave intersection. *At least 70% of these kids were riding on the wrong side of the street - facing oncoming traffic.* (See photos) 2. I observed some of these kids crossing Olive St in the middle of the block at the point where the ballards start. In other words, they were initially riding on the correct side of the street, but when they came to the ballards, they crossed over and continued their ride on the wrong side of the street. Obviously a dangerous situation, particularly because cars turning from Santa Cruz to Olive would not expect a bike to be in the middle of the road at that point on Olive St. (See photo of how ballard and pole block/detour bikes from using the blacktop.) 3. For those bicyclists who were riding on the correct side of the street, some road to the left of the ballards (sharing the road with the cars without adequate clearance) and some road to the right of the ballards, i.e. in the gutter or on the blacktop which is meant for the pedestrians. (see photos) As you can see in the photo, *there is not adequate clearance for both the cars and the bicyclist.* *This is another accident waiting to happen! *In addition, if as you suggested, the bicyclists ride to the right of the ballards, this is also not a safe situation for the pedestrians or the bicyclist. (For example, I observed a bicyclist riding on the correct side of the street, but when he saw the pedestrian on the blacktop to the right of the ballards, he was forced to stay to the left side of the ballards and into traffic.) *In summary, although I appreciate the city's efforts to eliminate the parked cars in this location, my observations and supporting photos demonstrate that the recent solution of installing ballards has inadvertently created a worse hazard and also reinforced the unsafe behavior of cyclists riding on the wrong side of the street.* Again, I am asking you and the city to take the following steps: *Remove the ballards and install a green bike lane or a different solution that would ensure maximum safety for all bicyclists, pedestrians and especially the school children.* I realize that a bike lane may take more time to implement, so in the meantime, I am asking that you provide a simple, quick and immediate solution that would include the following: *1. Remove the ballards immediately.* *2. Make the No Parking signs more visible, as they are currently covered by the foliage.* *3. Enlarge/widen the "red" no parking painted strip.* *4. Have a police officer on hand initially during drop-off times to issue tickets for violators.* Thank you again for your time and thoughtful consideration of this very important situation. As I previously mentioned, I am happy to meet with you or anyone else to further observe and discuss any options. Sincerely, Mary Jo McCarthy 650-400-6364 cell (image/jpeg attachment: Inadequate_clearance.jpg ) (image/jpeg attachment: bike_to_right.jpg ) (image/jpeg attachment: bike-ballard-car.jpg ) (image/jpeg attachment: bikes_wrong_side.jpg ) (image/jpeg attachment: bikes_wrong_side_2.jpg ) (image/jpeg attachment: lane_blocked.jpg ) (image/jpeg attachment: pedestrian.jpg )
