Pacifica Tribune/Letters to the Editor, 6/10/14. "Don't monkey wrench OUR commute" by Dave Ahlquist
| "Alternatives", no? No roads, no need to drive, live in your car, no traffic, no problem. |
"Pacifica
has officially entered what I call The Silly Season. We are close to
making a decision after 30 years of talk about widening Hwy 1 for one
mile to create a safer commute for thousands of Pacificans.
As a retired Teamster truck driver I can say this: unless you all want to walk to work, have your packages delivered by mule train or don't care emergency vehicles are stopped in traffic--the only way to improve our commute is to add another lane.
The latest rant by the nobies that merging traffic lanes will cause the apocalypse, oceans to rise, and unhinged mayhem on the highway is par for the course, and ridiculous as always.
Look at the Linda Mar Blvd. lane merge at the Adobe. Two to one going east, One to two going west. Look at the Fassler lane merge at the top of the hill. One to two going west and two to one going east. Hwy 1 south of Pacifica is a perfect example of lane merges. Hwy 1 has lane merges at dozens of spots all the way south. Commuters are a pretty smart bunch.
We can handle lane additions and mergers, as planned for our Hwy 1, pretty efficiently. Two lanes merge to one; one lane expands to two lanes to improve traffic flow. We don't need the Gang of No lecturing us or otherwise getting in the way. Hey Gang of No -- don't monkey wrench my commute!!"
Submitted by Jim Wagner
Note: photograph from Mulders World.
Posted by Kathy Meeh
25 comments:
"the only way to improve our commute is to add another lane." -- no, it's not. Absolute statements like this don't find the best solution for the community.
The traffic issue seems much stronger when school in in session -- would shifting school start times help?
The big backup seems to occur at Reina Del Mar -- why not alleviate things by disallowing left turns at certain hours. Some people would have to swing far and make a U-turn, but the vast majority of traffic flow could go unimpeded.
And further, is the traffic really all that bad? I drive through it every morning, and no I don't like the added time the congestion adds, but a major construction project isn't exactly lightweight on traffic impact.
Personally, I think adding a lane is a poor balance of choice. Pacifica has more to gain by creating and preserving character as a nice seaside town -- being an efficient conduit of traffic (and I'm doubtful that an extra lane would actually accomplish that) for the rest of the coast side seems like it would cause more harm than good.
Half Moon Bay has several areas of added lanes. No loss of coastside character. Stop fishing for false objections. Fix the road and unclog our commute!!
Just get the fn vote done and over with so this can move on to the real decision-maker, the CA Coastal Commission. Stop dragging this out. The overblown rhetoric of both sides is ridiculous. After council's expected yes vote, if the CCC, the guardian of all things holy, doesn't care about the effects of widening the highway, then why should we? If they do care, and they might, then something else will be proposed and the funds will have to be found. Dirt naps and Lark-scooters for all of us before that could happen.
Now this is going to be concrete and asphalt, right, and no elevated sections? None of that Chinese silly-steel with the weird welds, right? Caltrans only uses that stuff for bridges, yes? Break out the good stuff for Pacifica.
The traffic experts (gang of no) never cease to amaze me with how much knowledge they have of everything. 6:00 you don't think adding a lane will help? Ok lets stop the project boys/ 6:00 says it won't work. Roll up the plans, pack it in boys.
Pacifica has more to gain by creating and preserving character as a nice seaside town -- being an efficient conduit of traffic (and I'm doubtful that an extra lane would actually accomplish that) for the rest of the coast side seems like it would cause more harm than good.
A city that has no revenue from revenue producing projects ends up bankrupt.
6 pm maybe the city should hire you as finance director.
Peter Loeb, was once Mayor of a near bankrupt city, thus he knows what is best for a near bankrupt city!
Hutch would scale Everest in his underwear if Caltrans said so. We actually need a few people like that or nothing would ever get done.
1221 On that basis, every mayor from Loeb to Nihart is an expert on the issue.
Loeb will go down as one of Pacifica's worst mayor/councilperson. And he's the gift that keeps on giving.
The city was very flush in the 80's. Never "near bankruptcy."
455 Please, the truth on the subject will make 1221/408 cry. He's on a mission.
408 Loeb's the gift that keeps on giving? Yes, because his ideology is alive and well in Pacifica.
Start suing the Gang of No for all of he damage they have and continue to do to our "poor" little city.
It's the only language they understand.
750 And what was a brilliant fellow like you doing when all this was going on? For decades. You must have seen right through it all. Unless you were a child or didn't live here, you own a share.
4:55
The city was flush back in the 60's and 70's in the 80's the country was in deep depression with a 20%+ prime rate.
The city then suffered with the friends of the hills and friends of Pacifica and them nut jobs taking over city council.
9:25
You are absolutely right. I do own a share of this. Like too many people in the this city (and our country)I was too busy raising a family and paying attention to my own needs to pay attention to what these insidious, selfish and wrong-minded people were doing and now we pay the price.
Now that I understand what this gang of "I've got mine" is up to, it's time to fight like an adult in the only language they really understand.
Sue them in court for frivolous law suits.
Sue them for malicious obstructionism.
Sue them to recover the losses they inflict on anyone trying to invest or develop in this city.
Prevent them from seeking tax recompense to cover their unethical legal stunts.
Stop professional hucksters like Plater from shaking down tax payers in order to make a living.
Make life difficult for these "deadbeats" who think they are entitled to live their lifestyles and expecting the rest of us to subsidize them.
I blame the residents of Pacifica for electing and re-electing the same people over and over for City Council. The damage done by the last 3-4 city councils has finally showed its ugly head.
We had a city councilman on the San Mate County Transit Authority who did nothing to help better Pacifica other than pad his personal resume.
811 No grounds there for a lawsuit, but maybe you could stir up a revolution? I don't buy the "too busy to notice" excuse to explain how we got here. You do make a far better case for what Churchill said about liberals and conservatives. To paraphrase, show me a young conservative and I'll show you someone with no heart--show me an old liberal and I'll show you someone with no brains. Yeah, we're so much smarter now.
It doesn't really matter if you don't buy the "too busy to notice" excuse. Fact is I was too preoccupied with what I thought I was supposed to be doing (working hard, paying bills, raising kids, paying taxes, voting, not harming others, etc.)
I very naively thought that electing our leaders meant we were putting good people into positions to make good decisions for the benefit of all.
I got a rude awakening thanks to the George W Bush war crime machine.
I try not to be too cynical but I've finally learned that if we aren't vigilant there are bad people everywhere who care about nothing but themselves.
The "I've got mines" in Pacifica care nothing about anybody but themselves.
We've got to play hardball with these bastards. They prey on naïve,uninformed people with short memories.
The city didn't even go after Loeb for attorney fees and court costs on either lawsuit? Why? Who in the hell knows! The city attorney is just another meter setting attorney.
The city is up shit creek with no paddles.
1220 There were clues in the judge's findings, and in other similar cases, that costs were not recoverable, but more public funds could certainly be spent trying to do so if any fool wanted to waste the court's time.
Can anyone point me to some actual data about traffic and safety on this stretch of road? I'd like to understand the situation from a data point of view as well as opinion.
Thanks.
Drive it during the commute and you'll be the data.
For data, see the Final Environmental Impact Report.
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