My written solutions with numerous photos follow. No historic or aesthetic resource is compromised while safer is enhanced.

Transcription

1 Hodosy-McFaul, Anita From: Paulina Conn Sent: Tuesday, September 02, :59 AM To: Hodosy-McFaul, Anita Cc: Villalobos, David; Dyste, Rosie Subject: CHLAC #9, Mission Canyon Corridor Project Follow Up Flag: Flag Status: Follow up Flagged 2612 Foothill Rd. Santa Barbara, CA Re: Agenda Item No. 9 - Mission Canyon Corridor Project Proposal. Proposed changes to the historic areas along E. Los Olivos St. (City jurisdiction) from the Mission ( Laguna St.), over the historic bridge over Mission Creek ( City and County jurisdiction?), past Rocky Nook Park and the Woman s Club,up Mission Canyon Rd. ( County jurisdiction) to Foothill Rd. ( State jurisdiction) will alter the character defining feature of the entry into Mission Canyon. Please reject the project as proposed. Too many historic walls are changed or damaged and the entire ambiance of the entry into Mission Canyon will change from the historic rural, rustic, curving, casual feel to a very formal, paved over, straightened, and sterile feel. Increased safety will not necessarily occur Dear County Historic Landmarks Advisory Commission, Your jurisdiction is likely very limited but the proposed changes on the city side of the historic bridge over Mission Creek, the proposed pedestrian bridge west of this historic Mission Creek bridge and the moving of the stegosaurus wall on the Kay property (west side of MC Rd) will all negatively impact the county side of Mission Canyon Rd. by changing Mission Canyon road into an exceedingly wide, straight, city style street with very wide bike lanes, sidewalks and barriers. The current curving, relatively, narrow, informal, rustic, and natural looking road with a meandering pedestrian trail amongst the trees is historic with little change having occurred in the last half century or longer. The proposed changes will destroy the historic, rustic, casual, ambiance of the entry into Mission Canyon supposedly to make the road safer. There are simpler, less destructive ways to make the road safer. This Project proposal destroys too much and may not create the safety anticipated. Please influence the City to not pursue the moving of the historic18 thick aqueduct wall, the breaking up of the 32 thick historic perpendicular wall at the north perimeter of the Mt. Calvary Monastery for an entry to the proposed free standing pedestrian bridge in the view corridor of the west side of the historic bridge over Mission Creek south of Rocky Nook Park at E. Mountain Dr. and moving the stegosaurus wall that exists just just north west of the bridge and is a continuation of it. I assume all the stegosaurus wall is in the City and not the County. Since the philosophy of safety and aesthetics is so different between city and county, any changes to this corridor are going to be met with vastly different opinions of what is needed or desirable. Please hold fast to saving historic Mission Canyon and its its historic and natural resources including the ambiance that the Chumash living near Rocky Nook Park would have valued. We can have safety and historical resources without sacrificing one for the other. Please deny the realignment, straightening and widening of Mission Canyon Rd ( MC Rd). into the Rocky Nook and Woman s Club space, the removal of trees on the east side of MC Rd at Rocky Nook Park and Woman s Club, and the moving of a large portion of the stegosaurus wall belonging to the Kay property. The unintended consequence besides making the entry to Mission Canyon look like a cityscape, is likely to be speeding up of traffic as the road will be straight and wide rather than curving and narrow. Pedestrian, bicycle, vehicular and the bridge s sandstone wall safety may well become less safe than now. The bridge is the defining width. It is very narrow. Drivers need to slow down for it. The entry onto MC Rd. from E. Mountain Dr. is difficult with visibility very limited. Drivers on MC Rd. need to be going slow not speeding up for this intersection too. My written solutions with numerous photos follow. No historic or aesthetic resource is compromised while safer is enhanced. Pedestrians will be crossing Mission Canyon Rd. whether there is a foot bridge on the west side of MC Rd. or not because the Museum of Natural History is on one side of MC Rd. and Rocky Nook Park is on the other. People will cross at Puesta del Sol or Las Encinas Rd. in the County or at the olive grove/ruins or anywhere along E. Los Olivos in the City. Different place for pedestrian bridge (City jurisdiction). 1

2 I have proposed two different ways of getting a pedestrian bridge on the west side of E. Los Olivos/ MC Rd. which do not damage historic resources. Both my proposals make creek crossing an interesting little adventure not just an expedient, utilitarian way to get from the Mission to Puesta del Sol via the west side of of the bridge one.los Olivos/ MC Rd. One proposal is to go through the gate in the aqueduct wall and up the current path at the perimeter of the Mt. Calvary Monastery. Perhaps the steps up to the gate would have to be made into a ramp. This would deter people from walking on the west side of the bridge. ( See city photo #s 1, 2, 3.). The other proposal is to create a trail and bridge next to the city reservoir that is behind the Mt. Calvary Monastery. ( see city photo # 4 ). Both ideas will need permission to cross private property as I believe the road to the reservoir is private although it does not say so. Both ideas are under City jurisdiction the entire way so not your jurisdiction but it would save the entry to Mission Canyon and save all the historic resources. I have walked on the west side of the bridge. There is adequate space for walking in single file ( 57 from the sandstone wall to the white fog line). If the wisteria were removed from the stegosaurus wall, visibility would be excellent for drivers and pedestrians. See county photo # 4. My ideas for historical preservation under your jurisdiction are below. Photos are included which I hope will help illustrate the problems and possible solutions. A. Protection for our historical walls and the ambiance of Mission Canyon while providing increased safety for pedestrians and bicyclists can be created immediately at almost no cost by the following: 1. Put up 25 MPH signs from Laguna at E. Los Olivos ( City ) along Mission Canyon Rd. (County) to Foothill Rd. (State) as this is a scenic drive with many tourists who slow down, blind driveways and blind private road entrances. 2. Put in a 20 MPH sign at Las Encinas Rd. going south so that drivers will slow down well before the stegosaurus wall and bridge. Put in another at the Museum of Natural History s Director house and be sure both are clearly visible without blockage from overhanging tree branches. (County). See county photo # Narrow Mission Canyon Rd. visually and in actuality with plantings in front of the Museum of Natural History's director s house so drivers will slow down. ( County). See county photo # Remove the wisteria from the stegosaurus wall and move it onto a trellis in the Kay property garden. This will increase visibility of traffic on the bridge (County? City? jurisdiction). See county photo #s 3, Put in a stop sign in both the north and south direction of MC Rd. at Las Encinas Rd. to slow traffic down well before the bridge and make street crossing safer.( County) 5. Close off Puesta del Sol at MC Rd. except for emergency vehicles and possibly a bicycle path and pedestrian access to the Museum of Natural History leaving this area only as a driveway for the carriage house to prevent traffic from entering onto MC Rd. at a dangerous spot. (City? County? jurisdiction). See county photo #s 5, Forbid and prevent parking all along the west side of Mission Canyon Rd. and in the wide area on the east side in front of Rocky Nook Park except for emergency vehicles to make this a safe pedestrian path. (County). See county photo #s 3,4,5,8,9, Visually narrow E.Los Olivos north of the Mission by closing off the south bound APS merge with MC Rd. and making the closed section into an extension of Mission Park to make pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicle crossing safer. (City). See attached schematic in City photo # Put a curb cut in the sidewalk in front of the reservoir on the south side of E. Mountain Dr. at E. Los Olivos to make wheel chair access possible. Historic reservoir wall makes it not possible to move sidewalk. See City photo # 1. B. An adequately wide, safe, and sylvan path already exists from Rocky Nook Park to Foothill Rd. This path can be repaired, maintained and made safer in the following manner: 1. Keep the current path width and style on both the east and west sides of MC Rd as is. It meanders like a trail. It is made of asphalt and is between 42 and 45 wide in most places. This width is ADA compliant. The path does not need to be the six feet width of city sidewalks as proposed. A six foot wide path will destroy the character defining feature of Mission Canyon Rd. and is too wide in places where telephone poles and other obstacles exist. See county photos # 3,4,5,8,9, Repair the asphalt and create new where needed or create a whole new path similar to what is around Shefield Reservoir - stabilized dirt from MC Rd. Asphalt is probably more practical and durable.. 3. Elevate the path slightly where needed so it is less likely to be covered with sand when it rains. See county photo #8. 4. Prevent vehicles from parking on the path by using boulders, plantings of native CA shrubs or grasses, or rustic fencing as barriers between the path and Mission Canyon Rd. This will prevent crumbling of the road s edge and erosion of the shoulder as well as making sure the path is available for pedestrians. If emergency vehicle parking is needed in a spot, the native grass barrier can be the planting or a removable fence could be in place. See county photo #s 3,4,5,8,9 for feasibility. 5. Create the path that used to be in front of the Museum of Natural History s director s house ( west side of MC Rd) between Las Encinas Rd. and Puesta del Sol. Make the road no more than 22 wide ( total for both lanes) and put in shrub plantings between the road and the path or put in an ugly metal guard rail and beautify it by covering in native CA vines. See county photo # 7 for the excessive pavement. 7. If possible, be sure the path is flat everywhere. Currently there are driveway crossings where the path is on a slope. This is awkward for pushing strollers and dangerous for wheel chairs. 2

3 8. Keep the hill at MC Rd. and Glendessary Lane. This is a character defining feature. The hill is wide enough for rest areas if ADA access is part of the path renewal process. Curremtly the actual path is 57 at the top of the hill. See county photo # Keep the current pedestrian bridge attached on the east side of the historic car bridge that crosses Mission Creek just south of Rocky Nook Park. It is historic having been there since 1923 or so. It works. It is fun to cross. Visibility is good so people can wait for each other if need be or stand still while others pass. The width is ADA compliant including the turn around areas at the two ends. Even the planks probably work for wheel chairs as the spaces between are 3/4 inch wide and the planks are 11 wide. See county photo #s 1,2 and city photo #1. C. The aesthetic, rural experience can be improved as follows: 1. Create a trellis over the sewer pipe along the east side of the historic bridge to camouflage it. Allow a native CA vine to creep across. There is partial camouflage currently but not enough. The pipe would be accessible for maintenance crews. The planting already is a barrier to unwanted access. See county photo #1. 2. Repair the historic stone wall at 679 Mission Canyon Rd. See county photo # Put in boulders and shrubs along the east side of MC Rd at Rocky Nook Park and the Woman s Club. Keep the sylvan and rural feel. See county photo #s 3,4,5. 4. Do not realign MC Rd. Keep the narrow, curvy feel at Rocky Nook Park and Puesta del Sol. See county photo#s 5,7. 5. Make MC Rd feel narrow and rural by ensuring that the road is not wider than 22 total for both lanes and/or by planting the shoulders. See county photo # 7 for how much pavement there is just before the curve going south on MC Rd. 6. Minimize the traffic signage needed. This can be done with the barriers to parking and the narrowing of the road. Drivers will know to drive more carefully. D. Drainage is very important during rainstorms because of the mountain run off. Right now, finally, the drainage, when it rains, is excellent. 1. Keep the newer (15 year old?) drainage system near the telephone pole in front of the wide area at Rocky Nook Park. It is near the road and does not block the path. See county photo # 3. the drainage is at the phone pole and pedestrian sign. 2. Keep the rounded road with the center of MC Rd. higher than the edges. The road stays dry in the rain rather than being flooded. The unintended consequence of the Mission Canyon Corridor proposal brought before you today is to flatten the center of the road which may increase flooding, speeding, and skidding of vehicles. 3. Put boulders and native CA grasses and shrubs where the road shoulders are sloped to prevent erosion and to prevent the path from being covered with sand. This is also a barrier to unwanted parking. E. Bicycle paths for bicyclists safety and improved traffic flow can be as follows: 1. A dedicated bike path could be created through Rocky Nook Park for people wanting to bicycle to the Botanic Garden. The northern part of Rocky Nook Park has dirt paths which are good only for dirt bikes. The park ends at Mission Oaks Lane which is idyllic and quiet. Mission Oaks Lane intersects with Foothill Rd. near MC Rd. and the fire station. Perhaps dirt paths in Rocky Nook park would need to be paved preferably with a stabilized dirt so it looks natural but is a hardscape. This path could be similar to what is around Shefield Reservoir ( stabilized dirt) but dark like the dirt in Rocky Nook Park 2. A safe bike route to State St. could be created by going west off MC Rd through the closed off ( my proposal)puesta del Sol, through the Museum Parking lot, through the current dirt path to Las Encinas Rd. to Puesta del Sol, Miradero Dr, to Alamar and State St. Perhaps the current dirt path would need to be paved using a stabilized dirt to look like dirt. Need to get private owner permission for some passage. 3. Or a safe bike route to State St. could be created by going west off MC Rd. at Las Encinas and going to Puesta del Sol, Miradero Dr. Alamar, and State. 4. Or a safe bike route to State St. could be created by going west off MC Rd. at Glendessary Lane and Mission Park Dr.( private roads) to Puesta del Sol, Miradero Dr., Alamar, State St. 5. Or a safe bike route to Foothill Rd. at Alamar could be created by going west off MC Rd. at Glendessary Lane ( private road), building a bike/pedestrian/ emergency vehicle single lane bridge at the end of Glendessary to La Cumbadura and then creating a two way bike path along the south side of Foothill to Alamar. 6. Put in the white fog lines at the edge of the 10 road lanes of MC Rd. and keep them maintained. This shows drivers where the edge of the road is. The distance from the fog line to the stegosuarus wall and bridge wall is 57. See county photo # Improved traffic flow north on Mission Canyon Rd. might occur with a dedicated left hand turn lane at Las Encinas Rd. There is an ad hoc (unmarked) one used now. Keep the south bound lane of MC Rd. narrow. The north bound lane is already wide enough for a left hand turn lane without impacting the pedestrian path on the east side of MC Rd. One must ensure that the bus stop still works on the east side of MC Rd. with the pedestrian path to the east of it and a traffic lane to the west of it. Of course the bus stop has been threatened with closure so a whole new set of public transportation ideas may be forthcoming that uses public transportation funds differently. See county photo # 7. Below are the eleven county jurisdiction photos and seven city jurisdiction photos including the proposed schematic to close the APS / E. Los Olivos St merge at the foot of the triangle. All photos show how my proposals can fix safety issues, save historic resources, and save money or spend it differently( buying easements or property rather than destroying and moving walls and widening and realigning roads). Thank you so much for your time and attention. 3

4 Sincerely, Paulina Conn 43 year resident of Mission Canyon County Photos. County jurisdiction photo #1. IMG_1162.JPG. Photo by Paulina Conn, P.M Historic sandstone bridge at Rocky Nook Park. Mission Canyon Rd E. Los Olivos ( name change between city and county jurisdiction) and Mountain Drive. Looking west from Rocky Nook Park. Keep the pedestrian bridge. It s 42 inch width is ADA compliant. Vines are already growing over the sewer pipe. A proper trellis needs to be made to hold a vine that can then camouflage the pipe as well as be a deterrent to unwanted climbing on the pipe. 4

5 County jurisdiction photo #2. IMG_6448.JPG. Photo by Paulina Conn, Bridge over Mission Creek at Rocky Nook Park. Pedestrian walkway is 43 wide with plank width of 11" and a 3/4" space between boards. 5

6 County jurisdiction photo # 3.IMG_6418.JPG PM. Photo by Paulina Conn. Looking north on Mission Canyon Rd. from the north east side of the Mission Creek bridge. Rocky Nook Park entrance on right. Path is rustic and nice for pedestrians. The stegosaurus wall of the Kay s property is across the street with wisteria on it. Keep this wall where it is. Move the wisteria off the wall and into the yard to increase visibility. The shoulder between the wall and the street is 57 wide, adequate for emergency walking. The sycamore trees in front of Rocky Nook Park are proposed to be moved. Keep them. Mission Canyon Rd. is proposed to be widened, straightened and realigned. Don t. This would change the entire character of Mission Canyon from rustic to formal from country feel to cityscape. Keep this sylvan path. Keep the trees, Add barrier boulders to keep vehicles from parking here. Add native CA plants to enhance the aesthetics. A rustic wooden fence might also be a way to deter parking. 6

7 County jurisdiction photo #4. IMG_6487.JPG Photo by Paulina Conn, , 9:50 AM. view looking south on Mission Canyon rd. from in front of Woman s Club toward bridge and stegosaurus wall with wisteria on it, If the wisteria is moved to inside the wall drivers going south on MC Rd would have better visibility of cars, bikes and pedestrians on the bridge. Note how a nice trail can be created with room for barrier plantings or barrier boulders along the east side of MC Rd. to deter vehicle parking on the pedestrian path. 7

8 County jurisdiction photo # 5. IMG_6439.JPG Photo by Paulina Conn, , 12:30 PM. Path and road at Woman's Club looking south. White car is coming out of Puesta Del Sol. The Project Proposal is to remove the sycamore tree, straighten and widen the road. I recommend leaving the road alignment and trees as they are. I propose to close Puesta del Sol to through traffic. The western side of Mission Canyon Rd. at this point can be narrowed to the maximum of 20 to 22 by putting in a rustic fence or plantings on the west side of MC Rd.in front of the Museum director s house. The path needs to be replaced in front of the Director s house as many people like to walk to the Museum along MC Rd. from Las Encinas Rd. to Puesta del Sol. 8

9 County jurisdiction photo # 6. IMG_6395.JPG Photo by Paulina Conn, :20 P.M Wed. Looking south from the west side of Mission Canyon Rd at the intersection of the one way Puesta del Sol road that fronts the Museum of Natural history. Note driveway to historic carriage house. Note historic stegosaurus walls. The Kay property is towards the left side of this photo. Note the rural feel. The proposed road widening, realignment with dedicated bike and pedestrian paths and barriers would destroy all this aesthetic feel. In my proposal, the south bound lane of MC Rd, would be no more than 10' to 11 wide ( in compliance), the path in front of the director s house would be 42" to 45 wide for pedestrians with plantings between the path and the road. Or a guard rail with native CA vine planted on it could be the barrier. Puesta del Sol could be closed off to traffic here with a removable barrier leaving only a one lane driveway for the carriage house but with emergency access for fire trucks, etc. Puesta del Sol could also become a bike path. 9

10 County jurisdiction photo # 7. IMG_6389.JPG Photo by Paulina Conn, :15 P.M. Wed. Looking south on MC Rd at the Las Encinas intersection. This is a wide intersection. Note pedestrian with dogs. Can put in L turn lane going north and make south bound lane narrower. The 20 MPH sign for the curves and bridge needs to be at this intersection and in front of the Museum director s house so drivers have time to slow down for the corner, the stegosaurus wall, and the bridge. The signs must be readily visible. This intersection could also have a stop sign in both directions to slow traffic. The pedestrian path needs to be continued on the west side here in front of the Museum of Natural History s Director s house between Las Encinas and Puesta del Sol. A path used to be here a generation ago. The pavement on MC Rd. needs to be narrowed and planting put between the edge of the south bound lane and the new path. This will slow traffic down. Currently the bus bench is on the east side of MCRd. just south of the pedestrian and dogs walking in this photo. This is where a left hand turn can be put in the lane going north so cars can turn left onto Las Encinas while other cars go straight north on MC Rd. Currently this is done in an ad hoc fashion. 10

11 County jurisdiction photo # 8. IMG_6387.JPG Photo by Paulina Conn, , 3:10P.M. Wed. Looking south from pedestrian path on MC Rd.This is the southern part of the horseshoe driveway of 715 MC Rd. Path is 46" wide at phone pole. Path is smooth and new black top and elevated from the shoulder of the road. The shoulder could be planted in native California grasses, a lemonade berry hedge, or have boulders placed to protect pedestrians, define the path, narrow the feel of the road, be a barrier to vehicle parking and be aesthetically pleasing. This new wall was created to look similar to the historic walls along Mission Canyon Rd. A stop sign could be put at Las Encinas Rd. just beyond the pedestrian sign to calm traffic before the curve and bridge coming up. 11

12 County jurisdiction photo # 9. IMG_6434.JPG Photo by Paulina Conn, Sat. 12:30PM. Deteriorated wall at 679 MC Rd. (west side of MC Rd.) is easily repaired. Paved path was measured and is 42 to 45 wide. 12

13 County photo # 10. IMG_6383.JPG Photo by Paulina Conn, :40 P.M. Wed. View looking south on MC Rd. Pedestrian path goes up and down a hill along the historic wall of the Glendessary estate. The path itself is 54" wide at the top of the hill. 13

14 County photo # 11. IMG_6401.JPG Photo by Paulina Conn, :30 P.M. Wed. Looking south around the bend on the west side of MC Rd. at the Kay property stegosaurus wall. Fog line to wall is 57" from wall. Bridge over Mission Creek is visible on the left side of the photo. City Photos 14

15 City jurisdiction photo #1. IMG_1087.JPG photo Paulina Conn ,2:30 AM. Historic sand stone bridge over Mission Creek at corner of E. Los Olivos St. and Mountain Dr. No number found on bridge. Looking north towards MC Rd. and entry to Rocky Nook Park. East Mountain Dr. is on right. Historic watering trough with inscription is seen on south east corner of bridge. Left is historic sand stone aqueduct" wall of Mt. Calvary Monastery with new gate. On right is the historic wall of the historic city reservoir which is still in use. Here is the narrowing of the sidewalk which I recommend for a curb cut for strollers and wheel chairs. White fog line that demarcate the edge of the road or bike lane needs to be very visible thus the white lines need to be well maintained. City jurisdiction photo # 2. IMG_6493.JPG Wed. 10AM. Photo by Paulina Conn. view of gate in the historic "aqueduct wall and perpendicular historic perimeter wall at north east side of Mt. Calvary Monastery property and south west of the historic bridge over Mission Creek as seen from across E. Los Olivos St. at East Mountain Drive. The perimeter wall is 32" thick. The aqueduct wall is 18" thick. The butresses I did not measure but they are thicker than the aqueduct wall. The Project proposal is to move the aqueduct wall at least 8 west, dismantle an opening in the perpendicular (32 thick) wall and attach a free standing bridge to the west of the historic car 15

16 bridge. The stegosaurus wall on the north west side of the bridge would be moved 8 west so that the new pedestrian bridge could exit here. Mission Canyon Rd. would become about 60 feet wide at Rocky Nook Park to include bicycle and pedestrian paths and barriers. My proposal #1 is to get a public easement along the north side of the Mt. Calvary Property and use the existing path and gate to get to a new bridge to be built at the north- west end of the property to cross Mission Creek and end somewhere near the Museum of Natural History. No historic wall would be moved or destroyed. City jurisdiction photo #3. IMG_6494.JPG Photo by Paulina Conn AM Wed. Existing walk from the gate in the aqueduct wall up ( west) along the north side of the Calvary Monastery property. If my Proposal #1 worked, this could be a beautiful walk from the Mission along the west side of E. Los Olivos, up this path, to a new bridge over Mission Creek that would end around the Museum of Natural History. There is a large difference in grade between the south and north side of Mission Creek so a trail would zigzag down the hill from the top to a place where the bridge would cross Mission Creek. City jurisdiction photo # 4. IMG_6455.JPG Photo by Paulina Conn :45PM. Path to City reservoir behind (west) of Mt. Calvary Monastery. along private (?) road that goes from E. Los Olivos to Garden St. behind the Mission. Note the path up to the reservoir. My Proposal #2 is to walk up the road and this path and then create a path north between the reservoir fence and the Mt. Calvary Monastery property s western wall to a new foot bridge to cross Mission Creek and end west of the Museum of Natural History. There is at least six feet between the reservoir fence and the western stone wall perimeter of the Monastery property where a pedestrian path could lead to the new foot bridge to behind the Museum of Natural History. This would be a beautiful way to get to the Museum or the west side of Mission Canyon Rd. No historic walls would need to be moved or destroyed. Schematic of Alameda Padre Serra closure proposal. 16

17 City jurisdiction photo # 5.IMG_6591.JPG Schematic and photo by Paulina Conn. Paulina s proposed APS /E. Los Olivos configuration. All roads are two way. The Y at APS and E. Los Olivos is closed. The Mission Historic Park is expanded. All road expansions that are needed are taken from the top of the triangle not from the historic ruins or olive orchard area. It is hoped that the intersection of aps and MC Rd.( E.Los Olivos in the City) will be curved rather than a T to continue the charctaristic features of the area and to allow traffic to flow as smoothly as possible. Note how pedestrians have shorter distances for crossing streets. Note also the elimination of the current crosswalk at the base of the triangle because it is in an unsafe location. Visibility of that crosswalk by drivers in low cars going south on E. Los Olivos is non existent. The crosswalk is in an unexpected (not a conventional intersection) place. Drivers going north on E. Los Olivos are often going too fast. Speed limit from Laguna St. in front of the Mission to Foothill Rd. along E. Los Olivos and Mission Canyon Rd. should be 25 MPH for safety and scenic reasons. 17

18 City jurisdiction photo # 6. IMG_6410.JPG Photo by Paulina Conn. The current planted triangle area and olive grove at APS and E. Los Olivos St. My recommendation is that the pedestrian crosswalk be from the west dirt sidewalk to the olive grove. Visibility is good and the road is relatively narrow. Currently the APS street crossing above the triangle is dangerous because cars going up and down APS are going too fast and visibility for pedestrians is poor. The schematic drawing of closing the south bound APS/ E. Los Olivos merge at the foot of the triangle would eliminate this part of the road and expand the park into what is shown in this photo as the planted triangle. There would no longer need to be an APS street crossing. Pedestrians would cross to and from the olive orchard/ ruins to the Mission Park via the top of the triangle where the visibility is good, the road relatively narrow, and drivers have slowed down. Bicyclists have a safer route with the closed APS/E/Los Olivos merge as there is only one intersection to deal with instead of two. Vehicle traffic should flow easily as well. - THE END - 18