Dear anonymous concerned citizen,

While I love the fact that your taking an interest in this and trying to make a helpful suggestion widening Blake Street would be counterproductive and highly detrimental to this neighborhood.

A widened road yeilds two possibilities. Best case scenario (from a traffic engineering perspective) is that vehicle speeds increase dramatically and it takes much less time to get from SCU to Whalley. More likely, the reduced inconvenience and smooth sailing will induce commuters to take this road instead of others, or drive instead of taking transit, walking, or cycling. Cars shuffle along the widened road, progressing from traffic light to traffic light like on so many other depressing suburban strips. As a community, we are left worse off than before, with about $10 million down the drain and a 100-foot wide sea of cars dividing the neighborhood.

If you are concerned about the current congestion, I would ask that you consider smaller, less destructive, & less expensive options. First and foremost, you--and others like you who are concerned by the congestion--should put additional pressure on the University to bring down the number of students and staff who commute by car. This can be accomplished though increased parking fees, shuttle services, incentives, and other programs. Second, I ask that you consider traffic calming, streetscape improvements, and other measures that would benefit the community, not just the commuters.

Again, I applaud you for getting involved and hope you will consider my advice.

Brian Tang