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Dan Calvert, with the city of Santa Rosa, installs the new sign for the Humboldt Street "Bicycle Boulevard" in April. JOHN BURGESS/PD
By KEVIN McCALLUM
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Santa Rosa traffic officials are considering removing one of the four roundabouts on the city’s experimental “Bicycle Boulevard” following safety concerns expressed by pedestrians, including blind ones.
The option is the latest effort by the city to tweak the design of the 1.5-mile stretch of Humboldt Street revamped last summer to make it more bicycle friendly.
At the heart of the project are four temporary roundabouts designed to help drivers and cyclists keep their momentum through those intersections, making it easier and safer for them to get to and from downtown.
But neighborhood reaction to the project has been sharply split. Critics say the roundabouts are unnecessary, confusing and dangerous, while supporters say they’re succeeding in reducing traffic and improving the experience for cyclists.
“It’s been a mixed sentiment,” city planner Nancy Adams said.
When the features and signs were installed in August 2009, the city envisioned a six-month trial, but the Santa Rosa City Council has extended that period to help work out the kinks.
City Traffic Engineer Rob Sprinkle said he expects to ask the City Council in September to make a final decision on whether to make the project a permanent one and what the final design should be.
At the moment, he said, it seems to make sense to return the intersection of Humboldt Boulevard and McConnell Street in front of Bills Friendly Market to a four-way stop.
“Our concern is the visually impaired who tend to use it to go to the bus over on McConnell,” Sprinkle said.
Beryl Brown, 72, who is legally blind and a member of the city’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board, said trying to cross at a roundabout is a big challenge for the visually impaired.
Since the cars don’t stop, blind pedestrians can’t be sure when they can safely cross, she said. A group of visually impaired people from the Redwood Empire Council of the Blind, some with dogs, others with canes, visited the roundabout recently and found it intimidating.
“One thing that they all agreed on is that it was an unsafe place to cross,” Brown said.
Roshan Asefnia, co-owner of the market, said neighborhood opposition is fierce and the lower car traffic has reduced her business.
“They should all be taken out,” she said. “They’re ridiculous.”
In June, city planners sought input from the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board, which rejected the idea of removing the roundabout. Sprinkle returned to the board last week and again asked for input. This time, the board deadlocked 3-3 with one abstention, he said.
Brown, who voted in favor of removing the McConnell roundabout, said there’s something of a standoff on the board between bicycle and pedestrian supporters.
“I personally don’t think we’re ever going to agree on it,” Brown said. “This whole test project is in limbo.”
Project supporter and area resident Susan Adler said she strongly supports the concept, but thinks the city needs to show some decisiveness instead of continuing to debate and tweak the design.
The longer the test period drags on, the worse the project looks, she said. Temporary stanchions have been run over and crosswalk striping has worn away, she said.
“People in the neighborhood are so confused; they’re thinking this Bicycle Boulevard thing is such a mess.”
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I have been very surprised that the people in favor of the HBB, as it is now, have generally been VERY negative toward those of us expressing concerns about the unsafe traffic circles and the extra miles that would be driven if the diverters at Pacific are approved. Negative to the point of belligerence, yelling, etc!!! And last night vandalizing/removing posters that expressed such concerns!
We need to work together to find acceptable compromises. It was our neighborhood and our street before the Coalition tried to claim it. We are trying to come to an equitable resolution to the current mess, and some of you are
preferring scare tactics! What gives?
Fascism in the Junior College Neighborhood? From locked community bulletin boards to the unelected neighborhood president, to Christine Culver, Executive Director of the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition, putting up bicycle coalition flyers on top of other flyers opposing the Humboldt Bicycle Boulevard. What’s next, the bicycle coalition police? I just saw her taping them up in the roundabout at McConnell and Humboldt STREET. Shame on her.
Things are heating up in the neighborhood with both sides getting signatures and putting up signs in advance of Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Couldn’t Christine get someone else to put up those flyers? She must be desperate.
Also, men who won’t give their names have been dropping in on merchants discouraging them from posting signs and collecting signatures from residents. This intimidation and harrassment coming from the SCBC has to stop. No wonder people are lining up to overthrow the council majority that endorses all of this.
I use Humboldt Street all the time & I also bicycle around the neighborhood. It’s a running joke for those of us who bicycle that we use all the streets except for Humboldt because its too dangerous. I almost hit a pedestrian after dark near Freindly Bill’s & so did someone I know. I am a very cautious driver. It’s a complete disaster & its time for the city to admit it. Since they have made 1 & 2 hour parking on much of Humboldt it has just transferred the JC parking to Spencer & Humboldt with all the parked cars & bicycles & moving cars its becoming a death trap.
I am not against more people using bikes. Some of my friends were active in
that. However, for many years–more than
15-20-I see City Councils fail to worry
about _streets_. Only what they connct,who uses. Wrong. Santa Rosa lacks
right kind number, of streets. Not just
Humboldt. Not enough to sacrifice them!!
I recall a city council declaring
publicly: probably Mistake to block
4th and 5th Streets. Awful lot of problems about 3d St!
A human being if problem with veins
might have some blocked. But if a disease that creeps up! Bad business!
Now all these plans to narrow, block
change worsen traffic N to S.
Some in govt now focussed so on Bikes
they disregard any other problems.
Somehow they take what comes from Europe or somewhere and make it weird
or queer. Europeans have been working on
these problems for years–but when I let
them know: are they going to think this
City does it sensibly??
Also I am unhappy about the methods or
tactics used. Rest of world–probably
most of Calif won’t like that. Such as
stalling and prolonging so public can’t
evaluate or input—17 years on that
horrid Court House Square–and avoiding
the _details_ in rosy puffs for it.
Dragging six month on! more! until beat down
any opposition. And these alleged
neighborhood groups that are really
artificial(!). The methods of the Rand
Corporation were supposed to be used in
the Cold War—-not in our American way
of life, our ordinary politics.–
All over the world people shall find that rubs many wrong ways. -JA.
I was in the council chambers when Gary Wysocky, vicemayor of Santa Rosa, said that ‘We’ve got to get cars off the road.’ He was the president of the Sonoma County Bicycle Coaltion before he was on council. According to my son, who is a neighbor, he himself has a car, a van, and a truck. So hypocrisy and an allegiance to a United Nations program are the ‘requirements’ for public service?
Although I don’t live near Humboldt Street I sympathize with those people whose street is a ‘mess’. Confusion, danger, ugliness, potential injury—is this worth it? For what? My grandchildren ride their bikes and I wouldn’t want them on Humboldt. How much money is being wasted by the city on this fight? Our tax dollars are needed for other things. Use that money to turn on the streetlights!
The Humboldt bike boulevard has been an utter failure for all users. Taking out just one of the 4 dangerous circles will not fix the problem. I guess the city doesn’t care if they get sued when a pedestrian is injured or killed.
Santa Rosa joined ICLEI in 2007 and in 2008, the council majority changed over to pro bicycle, anti-car agenda. ICLEI Sustainable Development is the NGO that is working to implement the United Nations Agenda 21 Sustainable Development program in the United States and worldwide. Their agenda includes eliminating private automobiles. That’s no joke. Santa Rosa Avenue is slated to be narrowed to one lane in each direction. They also tried to reduce Mendocino Ave. to one lane in each direction. On Humboldt Street, they want to give the whole street to bicyclists.
The United Nations Agenda 21 Sustainable Development program is being implemented fast and furiously and includes the efforts to start taxing all carbon emissions. It may already be too late to stop it in Sonoma County where it is so firmly entrenched.
Almost every city and county in the Northbay is a member of ICLEI Sustainable Development. Anyone who has taken the time to do research on this international plan knows that eliminating private cars is one of their goals.
The Humboldt Street bicycle boulevard has not succeeded. The city keeps dragging out the test probably because they don’t have the $800-900K they need to complete it. The street functioned very well before and there was no problem at all. Now though, there’s a big problem, it’s unsafe for all users. What a boondoggle. I hope Petalumans don’t have to go through what we’ve been going through.
Like in Petaluma, several business owners have lost business or parking or both because people (and bicyclists) are using alternate streets to avoid all the dangerous circles. The side streets are getting more traffic too.
The pro-bicycle council majority wants to approve the project before they get voted out of office in November. They’re so militant about their love of bicycles that they won’t even listen to 400 people from the affected area that are asking for it to be removed.
How do you know that the bike people have taken over? When there’s three articles about bike paths on WSC at the same time. And the green police will be patrolling these too. Cars are so yesterday. I hope our government will take care of us when they’ve curtailed our freedom of movement and packed us into a smartgrowth development. That way they can lock us in there so we won’t continue to be a menace to the planet. And the train is a nice touch in case we need to be relocated.