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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHARMONY SAFEWAY MARKETPLACE PUD - PRELIMINARY - 33-94A - CORRESPONDENCE - CITIZEN COMMUNICATION (5)Believe me, there are many, many small children living not only on New Bedford but also on the many small cul-de-sacques feeding into New Bedford. These westerly -oriented cul-de-sacque families already must cope with dangerous traffic on the Lemay side (don't forget the "drunk" who flew over the berm and crashed into two houses on Standish and Norwich Courts). Don't add to this safety burden and worry by allowing large amounts of fast-moving traffic on New Bedford. Don't make the school children cross this traffic at least twice daily. We urge you to consider the suggestions made by Al at the meeting, plus additional traffic deterrents to make the intersection of Lemay and Ticonderoga less attractive to Safeway -commuters, and to extend that concept to New Bedford Drive. These deterrants include street splitters; traffic circles; narrowed streets or narrowed intersections; removing the large street signs from the light poles on Lemay, replacing them with "Caution, Ped Xing" and "No through traffic" signs; and speed bumps and/or drainage dips. In addition, we urge you to make the intersection at Lemay and Wheaton more safe and attractive to Safeway -commuters by installing, at a minimum, a left turn lane, and ideally, a traffic light at Lemay and Wheaton. The bike paths on either side of Lemay could be moved to the sidewalk area near that intersection so that the turn lanes could be added without widening the street, much like the bike lanes on S. Shields between Horsetooth and Drake. This corridor down Wheaton is a more direct, less -densely child -populated route into the new shopping area, and should be maximized. In addition, the Safeway proposal to build an 8-foot sidewalk on the north side of Monte Carlo further ensures the safety of the children living in Golden Meadows. Please don't move this sidewalk to the south side of Monte Carlo, requiring children to cross Monte Carlo twice, as proposed by one lady at the meeting. Never, in our wildest imagination, did we expect, when we purchased our home in 1988, that a site on Harmony Road approximately a half - mile away from our home would eventually generate shopping center traffic through our neighborhood. We feel that, if the city can be responsive to these safety issues, that the proposed Safeway development can fit into the neighborhood without too great an impact. However, the city's continued reluctance to address these safety and traffic issues is not acceptable. Don't wait until someone is killed or injured! Thank you very much. ��///� Janice K. Anderson Do Anderson 1207 Standish Court Fort Collins, Colorado 80525 February 29, 1996 Mr. Ted Shepherd Senior Planner, City of Fort Collins P.O. Box 580 Fort Collins, Colorado 80522 Dear Mr. Shepherd, We attended the neighborhood meeting on Tuesday, February 27, regarding the development of a Safeway Store between Harmony Road and Monte Carlo Drive. We have been watching the progress on the development of this site with great interest, and are relieved that the project has been scaled down considerably from the original King Soopers plan. In fact, the spokeswoman from Safeway seems genuinely interested in making the project compatible with the neighborhood and consistent with the wishes of the neighborhood. However, the overriding feeling we took away from the meeting is that there still are major traffic considerations that need to be addressed and solved before this project is approved. Specifically, the issue of increased traffic through the neighborhoods needs to be addressed. In spite of much vocalization about increased traffic on Ticonderoga, the reality is that almost all traffic seeking a short-cut to the new shopping center will turn off Ticonderoga to proceed down New Bedford Drive, a direct and relatively straight path to Wheaton Drive. Maps of Golden Meadows clearly show the directness and efficiency of this route for anyone wishing to avoid the hazard of a dangerous left turn at Wheaton, where there is no left turn lane in which to wait for a safe opening in quick -moving north -bound traffic on Lemay. In addition, the south bound traffic on Lemay does not typically obey the suggested speed limits, but literally flies around the last curve and quickly barrels down on anyone waiting in the traffic lane to turn left. In spite of the traffic consultant's feelings that this is an "A service" intersection, the reality is that this is a very dangerous intersection. The danger will only increase as the traffic volume increases on Lemay. The traffic is already so dense, that it is difficult and dangerous to turn left onto Lemay from either Wheaton or Whalers. In addition, the deep dip on the west side of Lemay adds to the danger. It seems logical, therefore, to assume that because of this dangerous intersection at Lemay and Wheaton, that many people will choose to make a safe left turn at Ticonderoga and immediately head down New Bedford Drive. Yet, in spite of this current danger and the easily -predictable increasing traffic once Safeway is opened, we are told that nothing will be done about this Wheaton/Lemay intersection.