Public Comment submitted for the February 2, 2021 meeting:
We are approaching the anniversary, 2/3/2019, of my neighbor Arvind’s near miss by a speeding car. It was 8 pm and he and his elderly canine Mottu were in the crosswalk, under a street light, crossing Wetlands Edge Road at the Bluebell intersection. As the speeding car approached, Arvind managed to jump out of the way but Mottu was killed upon impact. The driver did not stop, and, as far as I know, no arrests were made.
Residents have complained for years about the speeding problem on Wetlands Edge Road. This near-miss spurred us to collect speed data. In 2020, we had a successful traffic calming pilot approved for Wetlands Edge Road. A speed study was done and radar enforcement of speeding limits is now available. We are waiting patiently for the permanent traffic calming barriers to be installed on the 500-block.
For it to be fully effective, we need traffic calming along the entire length of Wetlands Edge Road. I encourage city staff to finish the project that Steve Hartwig (Public Works director for City of American Canyon) started with us — traffic calming begins with the 500 block, and then continues for the remainder of Wetlands Edge Road.
I encourage Council Members and city staff to look into Vision Zero, which has a goal of zero fatalities and serious injury accidents involving road traffic. It is a necessary extension to fully implement Complete Streets, which the City of American Canyon has already adopted.
There is already significant pedestrian and bicyclist traffic on Wetlands Edge Road. And there will be additional traffic once the new Napa Junction school opens. It would enhance the safety of our neighborhood and our families walking and bicycling to school if we implement the safety measure that California Assembly Bill 321 provides.
AB 321 allows us – through an ordinance or resolution – to extend the 25 mph prima facie speed limit in school zones from 500 feet to 1,000 feet from the school grounds and to reduce the speed limit to 15 or 20 mph up to 500 feet from the school grounds.
The objective is to reduce the risk of serious injury. When a vehicle collides with a child, impact at a slower speed will generally result in a less severe injury or the avoidance of a death.
With two schools located on Wetlands Edge Road, restricting school speed limit to 15 mph would be a significant improvement for safety. Many California cities have already reduced school speed limits including Sacramento, San Jose, San Francisco, Palo Alto, Los Altos, Walnut Creek and Mountain View.
Let us drive the solution to safety proactively, instead of waiting for another near-miss or fatality to spur us to action. In that vein, I am glad to see sidewalks being added on James; it’s a great addition for pedestrian safety.
