Hello Justin and City Council,
With all the road improvements on Ravenswood right now, I know safety at the CalTrain crossing is an important priority.
I was in San Francisco this weekend and saw this lane painting on many of the main high-traffic streets that uses red paint to make it clear which lanes are for buses only.
Since the green paint to clearly delineate bike lanes has been effective, and now used in Menlo Park, I thought we could paint the street the train tracks, plus a margin on either side, as a reminder to cars not to stop on those areas. There is already white lettering there warning of a train crossing and to stay clear. However, it has faded, and the contrast would be more readable against a red background (see the photo below of a street in San Francisco).
Until the crossings can be made safer through the new gates required for the train Quiet Zone, I think this would be a very effective safety improvement. And super cost effective with just the cost of paint and labor!
In the spirit of keeping residents, employees, youth and visitors safer with this especially troubled intersection, I wanted to share this easy and low-cost solution!
Warmly,
Sue Connelly
