I contacted Ms Choy in July about the lack of red painted curbs directly in front of my apt complex at 2225 Sharon Rd. I am not satisfied that she understood the situation.
I have lived at 2225 Sharon Road which is directly across the street from La Entrada School since 2001. Several years ago, it looked like an effort was made to make things more disabled/bike/kid friendly corners and curbs. It was really great. The problem was that after the curbs were changed, not all of the curbs were painted red next to driveways- specifically the two Country Sharon Driveways. If you take a tour around Sharon/Eastridge/Monte Rosa, you will see that the red lines are missing in several key areas. I park in the small parking lot for my complex. This summer while the work was done at La Entrada, it became very dangerous bc many of the workers drove large pickup trucks which could not be seen around. I was able to contact the Parking Enforcement folks and they came out and laid down some red tape. This solved the immediate problem in a 5 ft section, but that was all. I do not believe this is sufficient to see around the curve in front of La Entrada & my complex.
Several years ago, a friend was pulling out of that stretch of street parking and her car was totalled. The current red painted curbs are inadequate to protect against that happening again.
I think there are two problems;
1. people do NOT drive 25mph in that stretch- this is particularly a problem when the car is coming from Safeway; my complex is slightly downhill from Safeway and people don't notice that they're gaining speed. By the time they are approaching Eastridge, many people are going 30-35 mph- way too fast around a pedestrian neighborhood. More enforcement needs to be done- esp now that school has started.
2. people parked in neither parking lot of 2225 Sharon Road have enough red painted curbs to see around the curve- it's totally blind. I suggest the red areas be elongated- ideally they would be doubled- esp for the small parking lot close to Eastridge where people are driving too fast & the parking lot exit is blind.
My suggestion is that you come out and look. An esp good time to do that would be when the kids leave LE in the afternoon.
As long as I'm writing, I want to draw your attention to two other things.
a. The crosswalk across Sharon at Eastridge has a ramp on one side and no ramp on the other. The kids certainly can't ride their bikes across it- the curb is taller than most and squared off. The little 90 year old lady who frequently walks with her walker around the neighborhood cannot negotiate the curb. It makes no sense to have it on one side and not on the other.
b. I am currently disabled and sometimes have to push a walker myself. The asphalt sidewalk along the East side of Monte Rosa is chewed up- the worst of the worst is in front of 810 Monte Rosa. I wrote to the current prop mgr at Compass (?) about 4 weeks ago and asked them to fix it and to cut the overhanging vegetation back. As of late last week, they had not done neither. That address is definitely the worst but it is not the only property that needs to fix their asphalt sidewalks. There are also broken cement sidewalks all over Sharon Heights. The stretch of Sharon between Alameda & Santa Cruz is unsafe at any speed- walking, biking, driving, but I am sure you already know that.
Again, I think whomever is my Sharon Heights City Councilperson &/or other appropriate City people should take a field trip. I am happy to go along as a guide if you wish but it will be obvious if you drive around. I know you've tried really hard to upgrade our sidewalk infrastructure and I really appreciate it but the job was not completed. I just don't understand why the contractors/city employees didn't ensure the red paint was appropriately laid down.
I will be out of town from this Thurs thru Sept 20. I will be available by em.
I know this was long. Thank you so much for your time & attention. We need to have streets that are physically safe and accessible to children, the disabled; and regular citizens. we do not have those on Monte Rosa between Avy & Eastridge or around Sharon Green Apts or the other complexes along Sharon Road between Santa Cruz & Safeway or Sharon between Altschul & Santa Cruz.
Sincerely
Cynthia Kelly
