Total Aggravation over Loma Alta

Regarding the closure of Loma Alta Drive: This is a terribly unfortunate decision. I understand the safety concerns that the hillside could pose a dangerous mudslide situation if or when we get heavy rains, but this extreme and early closure presents major problems:

• This is a main artery for SBCC students and staff who will lose direct access to campus, and instead create further congestion along other access routes;
• A huge inconvenience for the parents, students and staff of McKinley Elementary School, many of which are low income and will need to now drive around to Castillo and Cliff Drive, adding further traffic;
• An unnecessary hassle to many of thousands of commuters who live and work on the Mesa;
• Imagine the amount of extra driving time, fuel burned, and pollution increased as we all are forced to drive a longer distance and sit it traffic created by this mess for the next four-six months?

This appears to have been a unilateral decision by…someone, without the least amount of effort to solicit the input from the above invested and inconvenienced parties.

There are other approaches to this problem. To name a few:
• Why hasn’t something been done to mitigate this danger over the past two years? Terracing the hillside above or even putting down jute and seeding?
• Why not rethink where the barriers are placed, like along the sidewalk, leaving the street open for traffic at least until the rains begin?
• How about taking the extreme measure of allowing half the road to be used for one way traffic at least until we get 0.25” of rain?

This decision, without apparent input or regard for the above groups is extremely aggravating and creates animosity by the general public towards elected officials and city managers who impose their will on us without any public participation or due process. Please explain to us why this decision has been made again now or at least postpone this foolishness until the need is apparent.