Public Testimony (Opposition) - Laserfiche WebLink

street. To quote the FED EX driver in this neighborhood, "There are close calls everyday!" To plan for more cars, trucks, pedestrians and cyclists using Spring Boulevard without sidewalks is irresponsible! Risking serious injury should not be required to fulfill housing demand. Please consider that this is a very stable neighborhood with long-term residents who understand the limitations of Spring Boulevard as an access. This helps to mitigate safety issues. We slow way down around blind curves. We know there could be pedestrians or bicyclists around aU curve. We plan for this every time we travel up or down the hill. Safety concerns increase when children, the elderly and the disabled are asked to share the roadway with cars. Whatever the law requires of motorists sharing the roadway with pedestrians and cyclists, the experience of Spring Boulevard neighbors and users is of many cars passing pedestrians and bikes at the 25 MPH statutory speed limit. There are the people who live in our neighborhood, and those who pass through it. The proposed CHPUD will substantially add to the latter. CHPUD neighbors might not consider the elements of `neighborhood awareness', as those we discuss here for Spring Boulevard. We bring this up because the impact CHPUD neighbors will have on the roads and neighborhoods, will be felt by people all the way down the hill, not just the 1/4 mile that is mandated to be studied by City code. The risks on Spring Boulevard increase with unaware or new users of the roadway. The bottom line for us is, cars sharing the roadway with pedestrians and bicyclists is fundamentally unsafe. Any person who thinks that more traffic with more pedestrians and cyclists is safe should experience walking or biking up or down Spring Boulevard in the dark around dinnertime in the winter. It can be very frightening for all! We know from experience that pedestrians are required to jump at a moment's notice into the bushes to avoid being hit in the roadway. On the uphill side of the street there is not even room to stand on the curb. Is this the street that you would allow your child or grandparent to share with construction vehicles and trucks? A new neighborhood will increase the potential for unsafe conditions. We should not sacrifice safety for housing. We recommend the City deny the CHPUD application. Respectfully, John Curtis and Janne Underriner, Associate Professor of Research, University of Oregon 2362 Malabar Drive Eugene, Oregon 97403 Please enter this document into the CHPUD application record. 2