Neighborhood Safety <br />All of the streets on Capital Hill of the Fairmount Neighborhood are narrow and winding; <br />many if not most have minimal to no sidewalks. These are the streets that are used by <br />neighbors and visitors to access Hendricks Park. These are the streets that bicycles and <br />pedestrians share with motor vehicles. These are the streets that school children walk in <br />the early morning and afternoon. <br />Our property is between Malabar Drive and Spring Boulevard. Not only do we use Spring <br />Boulevard, we witness cars, pedestrians and bicycles using Spring Boulevard. We have <br />been residents of the Fairmount neighborhood for over forty years and at this address for <br />twenty-two years. Our written testimony that follows, focuses on our experience of living <br />on Spring Boulevard.' <br />Spring Boulevard is the route all neighbors take to get up and down Capital Hill. <br />Pedestrians walk it at all times of the day and night. It is the major street for school <br />children that walk to school and who, after school, enjoy bicycle riding and skateboarding. <br />It has no sidewalks. Residential speed limit is 25 miles per hour. Oncoming cars come <br />toward each other at a closing speed of 50 miles per hour. It has several `blind' turns. <br />Lighting is minimal. As is, there are numerous safety factors on Spring Boulevard. What <br />increased risks will occur if it becomes the main road for numerous construction vehicles <br />that will provide the infrastructure and housing for the planned Capital Hill Planned Unit <br />Development (CHPUD)? <br />The experience of the neighbors who use Spring Boulevard is that there are regularly <br />occurring dangerous situations. We personally have had two accidents - one with a cyclist <br />at the intersection of Spring and Capital Hill and Madrona (the `5-way stop'). And the other, <br />on Fairmount Boulevard just below the intersection of Spring Boulevard, was a head-on <br />collision that resulted in a total loss of our car. Please note that each of these accidents <br />occurred on the principle roads accessing the proposed CHPUD. <br />So let's count the factors working against safety: <br />1) No sidewalks <br />2) Blind turns <br />3) Periods of frequent pedestrian and bike traffic - neighbors, walkers, University <br />athletes training <br />4) Park users <br />5) Poor lighting <br />I (John), unfortunately, witnessed a pedestrian who was killed while legally crossing on a <br />Eugene street. Accidents happen. Spring Boulevard has all of the qualities of a dangerous <br />1 <br />