A Bridge Too Far

The City Council just adopted an ill-conceived pedestrian bridge concept for the west side of the historic landmark Mission Creek bridge into bucolic Mission Canyon. There was never a bridge here due to private property being in the way. This private parcel remains. Walking here will still mean being at the mercy of vehicular traffic.

This bridge plan mandates that East Los Olivos Street and Mission Canyon Road be moved eastward and widened. By the reservoir the path will be lost so access to the bridge we already have will be lost, according to the city engineers. Rocky Nook Park has to give up land.

This bridge plan does not improve safety because the new road increases speed, according to the traffic engineers. Historic walls certainly are altered by moving two and putting a hole in another. The entry into Mission Canyon will be permanently altered into a wide expanse of pavement, not to mention seeing a new bridge instead of foliage.

What could improve safety without destroying historic resources or aesthetics is reconfiguring the Alameda Padre Serra merge onto East Los Olivos with a freeform T or a triangle-shaped roundabout. Traffic could move smoothly. Pedestrian crosswalks could be put at narrow places, including the planted triangle as a triangle-about would enlarge it. We would still have access to our east-side path and pedestrian bridge.

We need much more community dialog with real solutions not this phony one.