[Reposted by Moderator]
Dear Fellow Athertonians,
I am sorry that I did not know of this list sooner and am sorry about the late notice for tonight's meeting.
As some of you know, one of the things that I think about more than your average venture capitalist is ways that our traffic congestion can be alleviated w/o large expenditures. In that spirit, I got Atherton to repaint the lane markings at the intersection of El Camino & Atherton Ave. & Fair Oaks to enable right turn lanes from the latter 2 streets. Not rocket science & easy decision.
I have set my sights slightly higher to try to alleviate one of Atherton's worst traffic jams: the daily queue that forms at Atherton Ave. & Alameda. This can be accomplished with a roundabout — or more precisely, a "mini-roundabout," which is smaller and less expensive. I am giving a presentation on this tonight, Tuesday, May 8th, to the Atherton Transportation Committee in the town chambers at 94 Ashfield Rd. The meeting starts at 6PM. If you are available to show up to voice your support for this, that would be great. When I raised this topic with them 15 months ago, one of the comments was that they have not received complaints about the traffic. Now that there's an alternative to the traffic jam, it would be good to convey what you think. Attached is a summary of the logic for doing the roundabout. If you can't come, but like the idea, please reply to this & say so and I'll convey it to them. Please also copy: transportation@ci.atherton.ca.us, which is new and may be working. If any of you are inclined to be negative on this, please at least read the attached and the links that pertain to whatever issue you might have with it prior to deciding. Note: I may not have a chance to respond to all mail prior to the meeting.
Feel free to pass this on to others who might be interested.
Thanks,
-Gary Lauder
This attachment can also be downloaded from http://athertonroundabout.com which is quite minimalist so far.
Hi Gary,
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great idea. The traffic jams at Alameda & Atherton are a waste of hundreds of people's time, and are completely avoidable. The traffic jam only exists because the traffic pattern turns an normally inefficient 4 way stop (which introduces a short delay to each individual car) operate horribly inefficiently (giving each car a delay from all the cars in front of it). I'm surprised it hasn't been fixed just from a public safety point of view. How would fire trucks on Alameda respond to something in Atherton with the blockage on the road twice a day?
I'm not sure I can make it to the meeting tonight, but feel free to cite my support.
Ross Koningstein
Hi Gary,
ReplyDeleteI also think this is an excellent suggestion. I am interested to hear what the committee has to say. Unfortunately we will not be able to attend tonight. Like Ross, please feel free to cite our support.
Belinda and Thierry Nivaggioli
I am also supportive.
ReplyDelete217 Camino Al Lago
David F. Welch, Ph.D. Co-founder Executive Vice President
Chief Strategy Officer Infinera
Hi Gary,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your effort looking into alleviating traffic at the Atherton Ave intersection and for reaching out to fellow Athertonians for input. I have looked through your presentation. It looks like lots of good work has gone into it. However, one thing noticeably absent is a discussion of bicycle safety. And while I don’t have any numbers, as a cyclist who lives near the intersection (Marymont Ave off Polhemus) by observation the number of cyclists who cross Atherton Ave on the Alameda every day is quite significant.
Although I was a mechanical engineer by undergrad training and did a fair bit of program simulation of traffic patterns of 4 way intersections way back then (it was fascinating work trying to minimize queue lengths), what I want to convey is not from an analytical standpoint, but rather from experience. Having spent 40 years living in the Boston area and vacationing on Cape Cod including to this day almost 15 years later, I have cycled over 1,000 miles through Cape Cod’s many roundabouts. And what I will tell you from my experience is that it is SIGNIFICANTLY more dangerous for a cyclist to go through a roundabout than through a 4-way intersection, whether the intersection uses stop signs or stop lights. The reason is quite obvious – as a car driver (and I have driven many more miles as a driver through the same roundabouts), you are focusing on cars in the intersection, not [as much as] on cyclists on the side of the road. NOTE: I did see the pedestrian representation in your diagrams, but the pedestrian flows DO NOT represent cyclists.
Bottom line – I support the investigation into improving traffic flows through the Atherton Ave/Alameda intersection, but the analysis I have seen thus far erroneously excludes a very important consideration – bicycle safety – that must be taken into account.
Regards,
Bob Machlin
Thank you for your interest. I just want to voice my opinion re the idea of a traffic roundabout at Alameda and Atherton Ave.
ReplyDeleteI live on Atherton Avenue west of the Alameda so I cross this intersection going various directions several times a day.
I do not feel that any change is required. There is a brief period in the evening when there is a delay getting through the stop sign. However, in my experience, this delay is not any longer (probably less) than the delay incurred when waiting for a stop light. As it currently stands, this delay is very infrequent. If there were a traffic light it would be incurred whether or not there was traffic present.
Regarding the idea of a roundabout, I feel this is not necessary and would create a very urban look in our quiet neighborhood. I am not sure how the land would be acquired for this either.
My opinion is that there is no real problem here. Please leave things as they are.
Thank you,
Marie Straube
Your experience is at odds with those who travel during rush hour. This is a daily occurrence that appears not to match up with your travel patterns.
ReplyDeleteFWIW: I received over 50 replies of enthusiastic support from people who have to suffer this, a few that raise legitimate concerns, but yours is the first to express disbelief that there's a problem. There are over a thousand people per day that experience several minutes of waiting time that far exceeds what would occur w/a roundabout or traffic light that has road sensors.
Roundabouts do not seem urban unless there's a fountain or statue in the middle. They are often encountered in rural settings.
A mini-roundabout would not require any new land.
-GML
Terrific idea, Gary, but it would take some time for drivers
ReplyDeleteunaccustomed to roundabouts to adapt. Still a great idea
worth pursuing. Good Luck