(UPDATE 5/21/18 11am: Del Rey Oaks Deputy City Clerk Kim Carvalho says the traffic data report won't be ready by the May 22 City Council meeting, and that the item has been pushed to the June 26 meeting.)
For nearly three years, Del Rey Oaks City Council has deliberated about how to slow down traffic on Carlton Drive, one of the few streets that connects the small city to Seaside.
While seemingly a simple problem, an elegant solution has remained elusive, as every course of action comes with a set of downsides.
But finally, it appears there is consensus as to what the solution will be: closing the street’s intersection with Seaside at Plumas Avenue.
On May 22, Del Rey Oaks staff will present traffic data to City Council related to a recent, temporary closure at Plumas Avenue, which City Manager Dino Pick says indicates that more traffic is shifting to streets like General Jim Moore Boulevard, Fremont Boulevard and Hilby Avenue, and has reduced the number of unprotected left turns at Canyon Del Rey and Carlton. (The data has not yet been made public.)
The closure would still allow for passage of emergency vehicles and school buses, as well as bikes and pedestrians. “Whatever the new normal is for a driver, it will be a minimal change from the existing pattern,” Pick says.
City Council has already budgeted $100,000 toward whatever the solution might be, about a third of which has already been spent to get to this point, Pick says.
Seaside City Manager Craig Malin says the majority of about two dozen Seaside residents who have written letters about the potential closure support it, but in general, he thinks closing intersections is a bad approach regionally.
“The late [1950s], mid-[1970s] perspective, is that’s what you’re supposed to do: Move traffic to arterials and collectors,” Malin says. “There are a number of other engineering perspectives that say streets function best as networks, and as you make blockages in the network, you get arteriosclerosis – clogged-up arteries.”
But he’s also sensitive to neighborhood traffic concerns, which “are the majority of concerns expressed in communities nationwide.”
(5) comments
It's no big surprise that the Mayor of Del Rey Oaks wants to close off Carlton Dr. --It's the street HE and another council member live on! The road was designed to connect Seaside to Del Rey Oaks and has served to do so for decades. If they do manage to close it, it will be a great inconvenience to hundreds of people, and hundreds or thousands more that will be impacted by congestion on the alternate routes including several school zones. Meanwhile It's a pretty nice deal for the mayor to get to use $100,000 in public funds toward his efforts to close his own street off from thru traffic and transform it into a cozy, secluded neighborhood which will increase his and the other council member's house values. Using his office and public money for what appear to be selfish interests to benefit himself and a few others comes at the expense and inconvenience of many.
It's no big surprise that the Mayor of Del Rey Oaks wants to close off Carlton Dr. --It's the street HE and another council member LIVE on! The road was designed to connect Seaside to Del Rey Oaks and has served to do so for decades. It's not even clear if the City Council has the legal right to close it, according to the California Vehicle Code. If they do manage to close it, it will be a great inconvenience to hundreds of people, and hundreds or thousands more that will be impacted by congestion on the alternate routes including several school zones. Meanwhile It's a pretty nice deal for the mayor to get to use $100,000 in public funds toward his efforts to close his own street off from thru traffic and transform it into a cozy, secluded neighborhood which will increase his and the other council member's house values at the taxpayer's expense. It will be interesting to see if the people who voted for him support him using his office and public money for what appear to be selfish interests to benefit himself and a few others at the expense and inconvenience of many.
A very selfish act. Closing Tweed at Plumas years ago wasn't enough. Since you don't want us travelling through your community perhaps you don't want us to visit the businesses in DRO. The family home on Hilby (otherwise known Laguna Seca revisited) will surely suffer more traffic!
I live on Sonoma Ave. Too much traffic. I say we close it also. Why not inconvenience the rest of town for my comfort ? ;-)
No one supports this other that the few people on Carlton in DRO. Check Nextdoor, the comments around this are all against it.
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