Description
From: Monica Burneikis [mailto:monica@meisel-law.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 10, 2017 8:41 AM
To: City Manager ; PW Mailbox
Subject: Fernside Speedway
Dear City Manager and the Public Works Department for the City of Alameda:
I am writing to express my concern regarding the excessive speed I have observed drivers using on Fernside Boulevard. I have lived on Fernside Boulevard near Thompson Street for 2.5 years. During that time, I have witnessed drivers on a daily basis driving at speeds well in excess of the 25 mile per hour speed limit. I also regularly (i.e., at least once per week) see drivers, frustrated with the car in front of them obeying the speed limit, swerve into the bike lane or cross over the double yellow median line in order to pass the vehicle ahead. Most concerning about this behavior is that I observe it most often during the morning commute, when numerous children are heading to school, walking across Fernside, or using the bike lanes.
While I do not know this, I hope that the drivers I have seen participating in the above actions do not live in Alameda, but rather, are using Fernside to get to the Harbor Bay Business Park, the Oakland Airport or the San Francisco Bay Ferry. Such would also help explain the reason for such haste in driving.
I would like the City to consider taking action to address this problem, and thereby reduce the risk of injury to the public and our children caused by the dangerous speeds and poor driving habits used by drivers on Fernside. Perhaps the installation of additional stop signs would be beneficial. Such is a low cost and relatively simple way to address the issue. There are currently no stop signs between High Street and East Side/Garfield Drive, which allows drivers to reach high rates of speed on this stretch of road. Another option would be to install speed humps all along the street. Finally, perhaps some sort of curb separating the bike lane from the roadway, or a center/median island (similar to the islands on Thompson Street) would be effective. I have personally spoken with non-Alamedians who have said that the large width of Fernside gives drivers the impression that the speed limit is higher than 25. Making the roadway narrower, either by installing a curb along the bike lane or a center median, may encourage drivers to slow down.
Another benefit of installing some sort of speed reducing system is that such may deter drivers from outside of Alameda from using Fernside as a thoroughfare to the business park, airport or ferry, and encourage those drivers to use DooLittle or Ron Cowan Parkway, both of which have higher speed limits and less pedestrian traffic.
Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to hearing back from you.
Best regards,
Monica Burneikis | Partner
Meisel, Krentsa & Burneikis
350 Sansome Street, Suite 600
San Francisco, California 94104
Direct Dial 415.288.4032
www.mkinjurylaw.com
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7 Commentaires
City of Alameda (Membre officiel vérifié)
R&B (Utilisateur inscrit)
alamedaDad75 (Utilisateur inscrit)
AlamedaCARegisteredReporter (Utilisateur inscrit)
I completely agree. We live on eastshore, right near fernside, and people drive so fast on fernside. In the past 2 days, twice I have been driving 25 mph on fernside and the cars behind me tried to pass me ( it is a single lane of course) and then proceeded to tailgate me at a completely unsafe distance. Yesterday I saw someone completely fail to stop at fernside/Garfield and two of our neighbors have been hit at the intersection of fernside and Garfield in the past 2 years.
There should absolutely be multiple speed bumps on fernside and narrowing the street, creating a proper bike lane, is a great idea. So many children from Lincoln middle school ride by our house daily and it always makes me nervous to see the morning rush of cars on fernside mixed with the children on bicycles.
Additional stop signs with cross walks along fernside is also an extremely smart thing for the city to invest in. I see people trying to cross fernside all the time and they are forced to do so illegally and dangerously because of the great distance between high street/fernside and the next stop sign/cross walk at Garfield.
Nicole Loeffler-Siu
John (Utilisateur inscrit)
Why would anyone think these drivers would slow down for a speed bump or the like when actually the best way to negotiate these is to drive faster ....{just saying}
Why would anyone think these Drivers would slow down when they do not even stop for Ambulance and Fire truck
Why would anyone think they would remotely care when they block the gate of the fire station clearly marked do not block intersection , forcing emergency crew to wait .
Why would anyone remotely believe these people would slow down when they attempt to mow away pedestrian like in old bumping cars .
Why would anyone care when they do not slow down when City workers or other agency are working on the street
And the list goes on...
Why did Speed limit throughout California has consistently risen in every Cities .
Blame your own insurance Company , they are the one which put that measure on the ballot and got it to pass , so Law enforcement agency could not write Moving violation instead of City Violation , the reason is simple you get a moving violation your rate goes up 2 or 3 and the price goes up , so these peoples no longer drive with insurance , what did the insurances Co did , force you to pay a premium for uninsured motorist . I short they have insured themselves a revenue proof system .
However there is something these penny counter did not take in consideration , the environment . That's right the environment....
In our case the entire City lay on gravel and sand saturated with water 1/2 of the year , when these vehicles travel in excess of the 25 MPH car and those bulldozers called trucks which destroy the pavement and infrastructure it is at all the tax payers expenses not to the insurances Co expenses .
Few suggestion :
- Issue citation to the vehicle reference the Driver
- Issue citation based of weight $ 300 FOR CARS $ 900 for trucks prorated every year to the cost of leaving .
- issue citation on income base just like many European nation .
- retrofit every intersection with speed sensor , vehicle travel by in excess of 29 mph next light turn red and stay red an extra minute so is the next one .
- on board camera with AFD truck and Ambulance monitored by the APD they cost less than $500 high resolution. don't stop when they are moving with light or siren , block the station , expect a ticket .
- on board camera with school bus , don't stop when red light flashing you pay .
Take the Police Officer as your ally not your enemy , for every driver they pull over at anytime of the day or night they deter low life criminal , which do not want to take the chance of being pulled over . This is a the best crime repellant .
Blame the laisser faire attitude of the planning dept , public work and Caltrans which told one of our neighbor as they were trying to get a traffic light , the crosswalk is used by around 800 students daily , the reply from Caltrans , is was not economical , and would interfere with traffic , you read right , A HUMAN LIFE IS NOT WORTH THE PRICE OF A TRAFFIC LIGHT , for the last 50 years they and the City staff had the same attitude . San Jose x Broadway ... please explain to the traffic commissioner the next time you get a violation for running the red light , Caltrans said it was interfering with traffic .
Thank you for having the trailer displaying the speed , it influence the majority of the heavy trucks , for as long as it is there , however should you use the data from those trailers to gather information , it is not correct as vehicle slam on the brakes and regain speed shortly afterward , use unmark vehicle {pick up truck , van like the beige one you have }
Reconnu Florence Lopez (Utilisateur inscrit)
Thank you for your notification. Your message has been forwarded to our Traffic Division.
Alameda Police Department
Clos Lieutenant DeRespini (Membre officiel vérifié)