An Open Letter To CalTrans

August 11, 2001

As the Mission Street/Hwy. 1 widening project is moving along in Santa Cruz I am wondering what Caltrans is planning to do to help pedestrians safely get across the soon-to-be 4 travel lanes street. As you well know, Deputy Directive 64 issued by Tony Harris requires that walking (and bicycling) be considered in all aspects of Department operation and decision-making.

In addition, the data from the STPP, Sept. 2000 report, "Dangerous by Design, Pedestrian Safety in California," documents that California spends only 4 cents/capita of Federal Transportation funds on pedestrian safety (1997-98) placing it 50th of the 50 states in spending per capita on pedestrian safety. Table 7 of that STPP report ranks California second in the percentage of traffic deaths that were pedestrians. "Roughly 20% of all traffic-related fatalities in California are pedestrian, even though only 8% of all trips are made on foot. Yet California spends less than one percent of its federal traffic safety money on pedestrians."

The landmark Zegeer study of November 2000, "Safety Effects of Marked and Unmarked Crosswalks at Uncontrolled Locations" delineates the question: "What are the most effective measures that can be used to help pedestrians safety cross the street?" As you know, the "multiple threat" pedestrian crash is more probable now that there will be 4 travel lanes on Mission Street. The distance between signalized intersections on Mission Street is considerable. The distance between the signals at Bay and Younglove/Almar is 1/3 of a mile. The distance between the signals at Younglove/Almar and Swift is also 1/3 of a mile! Many pedestrians, particularly the elderly, the physically unfit, and the disabled, will not walk or are unable to walk long distances to a signal and then walk back.

Another safety issue which will be exacerbated when the 4 travel lanes are completed is the lack of four legs for pedestrian crossings on Mission Street. The current situation exposes pedestrians to two crossings THEY DO NOT WISH TO MAKE when they are trying to get to a destination such as Safeway or beachgoers walking up Bay Street on their way to a home on the east side of Bay.

I know Caltrans takes safety issues seriously. I am looking forward to learning about increased safety measures for pedestrians on Mission Street.

Sincerely yours,

Debbie Bulger