AGENDA CORRESPONDENCE
CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED BY THE
CITY COUNCIL FOR PUBLIC REVIEW
PRIOR TO THE MEETING
AGENDA NO: 8a
MEETING DATE: April 22, 2025
AGENDA CORRESPONDENCE
CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED BY THE
CITY COUNCIL FOR PUBLIC REVIEW
PRIOR TO THE MEETING
AGENDA NO: 9a
MEETING DATE: April 22, 2025
2 in-house? This is a significant position, like the city manager, and should be done out-ofhouse.
Sincerely,
Betty Winholtz
AGENDA CORRESPONDENCE
CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED BY THE
CITY COUNCIL FOR PUBLIC REVIEW
PRIOR TO THE MEETING
AGENDA NO: 9b & 5a
MEETING DATE: April 22, 2025
AGENDA CORRESPONDENCE
CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED BY THE
CITY COUNCIL FOR PUBLIC REVIEW
PRIOR TO THE MEETING
AGENDA NO: 9b
MEETING DATE: April 22, 2025
1 Heather Goodwin
From: Karen Beckman
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2025 12:58 PM
To: Council
Subject: Highway 41 Roundabout
[Some people who received this message don't oŌen get email from . Learn why this is important at hƩps://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdenƟficaƟon ] CAUTION: This is an external email. Please take care when clicking links or opening aƩachments.
Dear Mayor Wixom and Council Members,
We are residents of North Morro Bay who cross the 41/Main St intersecƟon at minimum twice daily. While there is congesƟon three Ɵmes a day, 8:30am, 12:30pm and 3:30pm, it is brief and quickly subsides. We cannot support a roundabout at this locaƟon. Pedestrians and roundabouts are not compaƟble. During MBHS lunch period and aŌer school at high schoolers flooding a roundabout will overwhelm the intersecƟon causing backups on Main Street, Hwy 41, and the north Hwy 1 off ramp at Main.
Perhaps an alternaƟve would be installing a temporary traffic signal at this intersecƟon. A roundabout is not the soluƟon.
Karen and Bart Beckman
Sent from my iPad
2 In conclusion, I ask the Council to consider directing staff to discontinue further work on the Roundabout Project and retain the $1.2 million of Measure Q/E funds for more immediate and adaptable safety improvements. This course of action offers both fiscal responsibility and tangible public benefit.
Thank you for your thoughtful consideration.
Sincerely,
Derek E. Dahlgren
1 June 2, 2023
From: Mary (”Ginny”) Garelick
To: Morro Bay City Council
Re: Comments on potential improvements to the Main Street/Hwy 41 intersection Thank you for sponsoring the public forum on May 10, 2023 to discuss options to improve the Main Street/Hwy 41 intersection. I attended the public forum and was impressed by how well Greg Kwolek and his staff planned and facilitated the forum, the excellent presentations, and the appropriate behavior of the audience. I also appreciated the “Sticker for Your Thoughts” exercise.
This was a great ice breaker for the participants and provided each of us an opportunity to “weigh in” on the various alternatives to mitigate the traffic congestion at this intersection. I believe this was a wonderful way to start the forum.
My husband and I have owned our home in Morro Bay for the past thirteen years, and during this time we have seen an alarming increase in the volume of vehicular traffic and number of accidents at this intersection. We believe a roundabout will not adequately address our concerns for public safety. We also believe that the option which offers the safest way to address increased vehicular and pedestrian traffic at this intersection is by installing double traffic signals.
At the forum we were told that one of the drawbacks of installing traffic lights at this intersection was that they would contribute to an increase of greenhouse gas emissions from idling vehicles.
Perhaps, this may be true in the short term, but probably not in the long term as the country transitions from gas powered vehicles to electric vehicles. Moreover, idling is merely a habit that drivers can break, especially when they realize how harmful it can be to health and the environment.
I asked if any studies had been done on vehicular traffic at this intersection that take into account the cumulative impacts of the traffic from the new housing project, new hotel, and Morro Bay High School. The answer was “yes.” We were told that a new study, completed last year, addressed cumulative impacts and that the new housing project and hotel would not significantly increase the amount of vehicular traffic.
Despite the response I was given, I still have concerns about the potential cumulative impacts of vehicular and pedestrian traffic at this intersection for the following reasons:
The guidelines in the Caltrans publication Guide for the Preparation of Traffic Impact Studies, dated December 2002, states that a facility is required to be analyzed when a project would generate more than 50 peak hour trips at an intersection. Was this guideline used; or was a more recent version used to determine traffic impacts for the new study?
2 The Intersection Control Evaluation (ICE) Step 1 and Step 2 studies prepared by OmniMeans, Ltd. for the intersection of Main and Atascadero Road were done in 2014 and 2016 respectively and were based on traffic volumes collected in February 2014. The Trip Generation and VMT Analysis conducted by Ruettgers & Schuler Civil Engineers for the new affordable housing project was included as Appendix F in the report entitled “Initial Study – Mitigated Negative Declaration for 405 Atascadero Road Affordable Housing Project” prepared by Rincon Consultants in March 2020. The Trip Generation and VMT Analysis assumes that the new 35 unit apartment project would generate approximately 24 trips during the PM peak hour and 18 trips during the AM peak hour of a typical workday. What was this assumption based on? When were the traffic volumes collected? Given that the low income housing project did not meet the Caltrans suggested threshold for Traffic Impact Studies, a traffic impact study was not prepared. Because this project consists of 1, 2, and 3 bedroom units these estimates seem low to me since some of the families may have several vehicles. And I don’t think those figures take into account people visiting the occupants of these apartments.
The traffic analysis conducted by Central Coast Transportation Consulting in March 2018 assumed that the new 82 room hotel would generate 670 daily vehicle trips (43 AM peak hour trips and 49 PM peak hour trips) on a typical weekday. The traffic counts for existing AM and PM peak hour conditions were collected in February and March 2018 when the high school was in session.
Has a recent study been conducted to determine the impact of vehicle and pedestrian traffic to/from Morro Bay High School on this intersection? If so, when was this study published?
Thank you for considering my comments and suggestions.
Attached are my comments on potential improvements for the Main Street/Hwy1 Intersection. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Ginny Garelick
1 Heather Goodwin
From: Jamie Irons
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2025 9:50 AM
To: Council
Subject: Roundabout agenda item 9b
CAUTION: This is an external email. Please take care when clicking links or opening aƩachments.
Honorable Mayor and Council,
Main Street and Highway 41 intersecƟon traffic flow, pedestrian safety, has been discussed in our community for more than a decade. Four way stop sign, intersecƟon traffic light, or roundabout, have been evaluated with proposals and costs. Roundabout projects in our county are increasing and in fact are increasing naƟonwide. For good reason as they provide the highest degree of safety and efficiency. During the last community discussion regarding the 41/Main Street intersecƟon we provided public input in favor of a roundabout. Our experience driving through roundabouts in a single vehicle or towing a travel trailer has always been posiƟve and States across America are adopƟng them. In Sedona Arizona roundabouts are standard and pedestrian, vehicle, and bike flow works great. Truckee is another community that adopted roundabouts with great success. Other coastal communiƟes and the Central Valley conƟnue to adopt roundabouts as their choice for safety and efficiency. To delay or stop this proposed roundabout will only increase costs in the future.
We support the roundabout project at 41/Main Street.
Sincerely, Jamie and Monica Irons
Sent from my iPad
1 Heather Goodwin
From: Francine Esposito <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, April 21, 2025 12:06 PM
To: Council
Subject: Turn around
CAUTION: This is an external email. Please take care when clicking links or opening aƩachments.
Sent from my iPhone
Dear Council,
I would just like to say as far as you considering the turnabout project, I would like you to dismiss the project and put in pedestrian safety and safety enhancement features instead .I know a lot of people and businesses have this same view.
Take this project away from Cal Trans.
Respecƞully,
Francine Esposito
Highway 41 AnƟque Emporium Morro Bay, Ca.
805-771-8000
2 Jane & Walter Heath
2 I lived and worked in Arroyo Grande 40+ years ago when Oak Park Road, the Frontage Roads & offramps from Hwy 101 all converged at an intersection very similar to the one under consideration in Morro Bay. The solution that was reached has been safe and successful: The north- and south-bound off-ramps were relocated so that the Hwy 101 traffic emptied on to the frontage roads about 1/4 mile before the Oak Park Road overpass. The Oak Park/Hwy 101 intersection was therefore simplified and the entire flow of traffic (vehicles and pedestrians) are managed by well-timed traffic lights.
A new roundabout is being built at the intersection of Highway 101, Shell Beach Road (the frontage road) and Avila Beach Road. There are few, if any, pedestrians that walk on these roads, and there are no businesses or housing within a half mile. The area under construction is massive. A roundabout in this situation is a reasonable solution.
In Morro Bay, we have the perfect opportunity to “fix” the flow of traffic between the Quintana & Main Street overpass, the Berwick/Main Street intersection and the Main Street/ Hwy 41 snarl. We already have an offramp to Main Street from north-bound Hwy 1 traffic; therefore the one that dumps out on Highway 41 could be eliminated. With that as the main access to Main Street from north-bound Hwy 1, and with a intelligent use of traffic lights, several problems could be solved in the short term.
Please halt the funding and the continuation of the Roundabout. This project should never have been started. Go back to the drawing board with a creative team of thinkers.
Thank you,
Gail Johnson & Paul Reyburn
Morro Bay
1 Heather Goodwin
From: Francine Esposito <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, April 19, 2025 11:23 AM
To: Council
Subject: Round About
CAUTION: This is an external email. Please take care when clicking links or opening aƩachments.
Sent from my I phone
-----Original Message-----
From: Francine Esposito
To: Council <[email protected]>
Subject: Round About
Sent from my iPhone
Dear Morro Bay Council
I would just like to address my opposiƟon to the round about is in the planning stages at Hwy. 41.
As the owner of Hwy 41 AnƟque Emporium I have concerns on the impact this will have for my business not only during the construcƟon but long-term. I would like to know what sort of compensaƟon the city will be providing during the construcƟon. Also the Ɵme frame that the construcƟon will be taking. What sort of plan will be implemented for the students crossing and how much will that be causing the city as well as during the construcƟon. What will be provided for safe crossing for the students and pedestrians that are camping and looking to go to Taco Bell in the gas staƟon during this period of Ɵme as well as will traffic be directed towards the anƟque store and miners ace hardware as the traffic will be backed up throughout that area. In closing I have not spoken to a single ciƟzen in Morro Bay that has been in favor of this roundabout. In my opinion, with all due respect it is an insidious plan that will only cause harm to the city.
Sincerely ,
Francine Esposito
805-305-2330
805-771-8000
2 Carole Truesdale
"Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul; living partners!" chef...Andre Simon (1877-1970)
2 Caltrans wants to complete the roundabout during its 2028-29 work year. During this year, they have a work plan for Route One from Toro Creek Road north of the City to San Luisita Creek Road south of the City. Since the roundabout would be part of this work plan, Caltrans has more money available to complete it. Continuing City involvement with Caltrans does not stop the roundabout from being built. Caltrans is engineering the project. Caltrans may ask the City what kind of trees it wants planted.
The colored map is somewhat confusing. The roundabout in blue appears to be limited in size, but green, red, and yellow marks show the expansiveness of the project. This is a multi-year project, using eminent domain to take private property to make the roundabout a usable size (to the detriment of businesses ingress/egress and mobile home parks parking), and not considering future development to the west side of the roundabout that will increase vehicular capacity. Are there not also sewer related projects involved with this intersection?
Please retain control of this project and cancel it. SLOCOG can use the money elsewhere.
Sincerely,
Betty Winholtz