Public Comments for 14MAR23 Trinidad City Council Meeting.
Submitted by Aaron Hakenen (City of Trinidad Resident)
VIII. CONSENT AGENDA
3. Law Enforcement Report
I don’t have an opinion on this, but have a suggestion that is a low-tech solution to an issue that has been raised at CC meetings recently by both the public and at least one CC member.
The suggestion is for the City to ask HCSO (Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office) to return to their past practice of underlining the Trinidad City calls for service on the report. This practice stopped recently but seems like a simple fix to make the report more meaningful and easier to decipher to those who are interested in that level of detail.
X. DISCUSSION/ACTION AGENDA ITEMS
1. Discussion/Decision regarding Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) Project Proposal for Guardrails, Crosswalks, and Striping
This is a great project and I’m happy to see the improvements being made. I do have a change I’d like to suggest and hope that it’s not too late to adjust the scope of the project.
While I am in COMPLETE agreement that a crosswalk is much needed on Edwards in the Hector/Galindo area, I don’t personally see enough value added in having 2 located so close together.
I’d suggest instead, to place one at either location or perhaps midway between them - when I was driving around today, midway seemed a good spot, at the crest of the hill so to speak.
Example of Painted Speed Limit Information
Assuming that one crosswalk is deemed sufficient by the Council, I’d suggest that the remaining funds be used instead to paint speed limits on the streets in town, which I suggest falls well within the “installation of…signage and striping” scope. I think that an educational/ awareness approach to managing speeds in town delivers this information without increasing visual clutter/overload at eye-level. One of the BEST features of our town is a lack of signage and visual clutter at eye-level and I would not advocate for a significant increase of traffic control signs when there are other alternatives. If this is not possible within this project, then please add it to the list of improvements that are needed in town.
I defer to a traffic engineer as to where these would best be located on streets within Trinidad.
Finally, I’d also ask that a little tree trimming and clearing around the existing traditional speed limit signs be put on the “to-do list” as several of them are now obscured as stuff has grown - I can provide a list of the ones that come to mind.
2. Discussion regarding Resident Requests for Traffic Calming on City Streets Thank you for placing this on the agenda for renewed discussion/consideration as it is my understanding that this has been discussed in the past and I appreciate it can be frustrating to have issues come up time and time again!
My concern is primarily that the speeds on streets in town are frequently greater than the posted limits and that it’s in the best interests of the City to address this.
Main to Trinity to Edwards is the main thoroughfare from 101 to the Harbor (as noted in the General Plan). Given that they comprise a long, relatively straight section of road, drivers naturally gain speed and appear to frequently exceed the 20 MPH limit (15 in school zone) as well as gain speed as Edwards descends down to the State Beach/Harbor area. A speed hump or 2 heading down Edwards and along Trinity could serve to address this issue, but would need to be balanced with the needs/impact they might have on both the commercial and recreational fishing community that are integral members of our community. Crosswalks like those proposed on Edwards, will provide some degree of “traffic calming” in my opinion as they make the road feel narrower where installed and cause people to slow, much as the one in front of the school has done and may suffice along this corridor.
Ocean and View are used daily as alternate routes for vehicles traveling to/from the school and harbor area (based on personal observations) and drivers routinely appear to exceed the 15MPH speed limit while transiting them - particularly away from the ends of the streets, once drivers are able to gain speed. I’d like to see 2 humps/street on streets like these.
Councilman Tuttle also expressed concern over vehicle speeds on Underwood, particularly in the area of the turn in the road.
Scenic, Patrick’s Point, Westhaven Drive, Trinidad Frontage, and Berry are also not immune from excessive speeds as most of us would agree based on personal experience.
With all that in mind, I’d suggest that the council proceed with a campaign that:
- Increases visible communication of posted speed limits in the form of painted speed limits on streets. (Hopefully redirecting HSIP funds from eliminating 2nd crosswalk) - Employs the use of speed humps (not bumps) on streets used to bypass the Main/Trinity/ Edwards route (e.g. Ocean, View) so that traffic is not allowed to divert inappropriately. (Speed humps that are friendly to bicyclists and motor cycles can be designed/purchased - and speaking as a 30+ year first responder and operator of emergency vehicles, there is a negligible impact on response times, and fear of legal action over noise/vehicle damage is not a reasonable argument against in my opinion.)
- Rent/purchase/borrow from other jurisdictions radar speed signs/trailers to be moved around town to increase awareness and educate drivers.
- Consider the use of speed humps on Main/Trinity/Edwards to manage speed gain on straightaway and downhill sections.
4. Continued Discussion/Decision regarding Draft Contract Agreement to Provide Supplemental Public Safety Services from Pacific Coast Security.
I appreciate the council’s desire to address public safety concerns within the city and recognize that it’s not an easy nor simple issue to fix. I appreciate that we have “hot spot” areas and issues, but still am not convinced that this is the best/only way to go about it. I have spoken Example Speed Hump (note openings in middle for 2-wheeled vehicles) publicly at a council meeting when this was raised before, and met with Mayor Kelly to express in greater detail many of the points below.
I hope that:
- The City met with HCSO leadership and patrol staff to ensure that we are getting the level of service we are contracted to receive - that we know what is reasonable to expect from them under the terms of our contract and that they are indeed meeting that obligation. - That the City communicated to HCSO our “hot spots” and needs so that they are aware of how to best support us with their limited patrol coverage. Perhaps a bullet point list/map that could be shared with the patrol officers? If they know what we’d like to see, then it follows that they are better able to serve our needs.
- Consider the positive impact that the Community Ambassador Program will likely have on helping to connect folks in need with services. Developing positive relationships with people can go along way in resolving issues and supporting them (this is expertly demonstrated in the spirit and approach of our 2 unofficial ambassadors that walk our town many evenings, patrolling for trash, connecting with traveling visitors, and treating them as human beings and with dignity and respect) as opposed to only encouraging them to “move along” - after all, the city limits are small and our impact and jurisdiction ends there. - Develop some form of metric to evaluate the effectiveness of a trial program, so that at the end of the trial, the programs impact is evaluated as objectively as possible to see if it the additional expense has added enough value.
In closing, I hope that if you decide to go forward with this program, that clear expectations are set with any security firm hired, as to how we want them to represent the City of Trinidad when interacting with people in our town. The reality is that they will be seen as and will function as representatives of our City, it’s character, soul, priorities and values.
We live in a beautiful place that many people, of varied everything enjoy on a permanent and temporary basis. I believe that we are a supportive, loving and welcoming community to all and would hate to see that tarnished or changed in any way.
Thanks for your time this evening, for listening to my thoughts, ideas and concerns, and for considering them as you make your decisions.
Respectfully Submitted,
Aaron Hakenen