Dear Council Members and City Staff,
I am writing in regard to the Sonoma County Active Transportation Plans.
I have a few comments.
1) Remove all bicycle boulevards, especially the ones on High Street. High street is extremely narrow. Two cars cannot pass one another as the street is too narrow. 2) A high priority sidewalk connection is on Palm Avenue between Main Street and Petaluma Blvd. There are huge crosswalks on Main Street and Petaluma Blvd at Palm yet there is NO SIDEWALK on the half block section of Palm between the two giant crosswalks. This sidewalk had been slated for construction but was removed for budget concerns. This is a needed sidewalk connection to connect the two crosswalks at two major intersections. In fact, I would say that Palm between Main Street Petaluma might be narrowed and made one way or limit cars except for those entering into the parking lots of the buildings at that site.
3) The Gravenstein and Apple Blossom Trails should be given more priority. These are the best options for biking and pedestrian safety would be a huge improvement for Sebastopol.
4) Concentrate funds and priorities on sidewalks – in-fill where there are sidewalk gaps, fixing sidewalks so they are not tripping hazards, lighting sidewalks and widening sidewalks.
Thank you,
Kate Haug