From: Ted Godshalk
To: Public Comment
Subject: Public Comment for item 9.2 on April 2, 2024 from Mr. Ted Godshalk Date: Sunday, March 31, 2024 7:05:39 PM
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Public Comment for item 9.2 on April 2, 2024 from Mr. Ted Godshalk:
Council,
Why has staff continued to push the inclusion of the closure of 19th Street in the Focused General Plan Update? You have all studied the closure project at the site and have explicitly told staff that it is a bad idea. There is new information to include in your decision tonight.
The proposed Bike Path in the 19th Street underpass will most likely be more expensive than originally estimated by Chief City Engineer Roberto Yano and the consultants he used to get the grant and start this project. This project is not only unsafe but makes less sense economically and it is not needed to build the Bayshore Bikepath. You should begin to question whether that project also has enough funding.
This unwise plan to close 19th Street will cost the City of National City more money than originally budgeted and it should be taken out of the FGPU. We can, and must, do better planning.
Why has staff not taken your advice and deleted it, but instead made excuses to continue to spend the grant first obtained?
Other changes to the document have been made. There are no more considerations to be made of it being changeable “at the project level.” That is too open ended. I encourage you to take the closure language out of document tonight.
Due to the unsafe conditions that will occur from closing 19th Street and going to two-way traffic in the other underpass, I am recommending that you make a finding that deletes from the Transportation Element and all maps and figures, the second and third bullet points above and makes appropriate changes to the Bicycle Master Plan to meet the requirements of the State grant and to provide Class I or II bicycle path in both directions under I-5 while allowing traffic to continue to use one lane in both directions.
Ted Godshalk