Helping the homeless

I am a regular reader of the Uptown News and appreciated your article, “What to do about the homeless?” [Volume 7, Issue 16]

I am a grandmother in my 80s, and have seen and am aware of the increase of the homeless but didn’t realize that San Diego has become “a destination” for them, as police Sgt. Dean Thomas said, because of our weather and reputation for helping indigents. This is sad as well as a serious problem for our communities.

It’s interesting to see how others are helping the homeless. I read an article in the May 2015 issue of Awake! titled “Hope for the homeless and the poor.” I also checked out their website, jw.org, and found it to be very unique in many languages for families and children of all ages.

—Mrs. Joan Keeno, Rolando 

The University Avenue project

Re: “Transforming University Avenue in North Park” [Volume 7, Issue 17]

On the whole, I consider this plan a big improvement over what currently exists. It should slow autos, make it safer and easier for people to cross University, allow for more reliable and faster transit access, and at least provide people on bikes shared space with the bus lanes. Combined with slowing auto traffic, this should be a lot safer for people on bikes.

I wish there was a similar plan for Hillcrest instead of the current one that is auto and parking dominated with no dedicated bus lanes. North Park continues to look more desirable and Hillcrest less so.

—Greg Martin, via Facebook

Re: “Transforming University Avenue in North Park”

This plan was ill conceived and is certainly outdated. This scheme will have a negative impact on the livability we have worked so hard to reestablish in North Park. Bike use, now just treacherous, is doomed with this arrangement and walkability will suffer with no buffer. Medians are a huge mistake and will use 20 percent of the existing narrow roadway — 20 percent that will remain useless and become a physical barrier. Dedicated bus lanes are also dead-wrong — 50 percent of the roadway empty 95 percent of the time.

Consider this: The curb-to-curb street width is only 52 feet along much of this segment, just wide enough for a section like this: 6 feet|10 feet|10 feet|10 feet|10 feet|6 feet (bike|car|car|car|car|bike). The bike lanes are the sidewalk buffer. Restrict left turns. Raised crosswalks at key locations calm traffic and eliminate need for new signals.

This is done elsewhere with spectacular results. The traffic planners and engineers behind this need to travel abroad or even just to Portland, Oregon and see how the rest of the word elegantly deals with cars, bikes and pedestrians. The city of Copenhagen, Denmark, on streets generally this width, put bike lanes where parking was (against the curb/sidewalk), slid parking over into what was the right lane, and left two lanes for traffic, one each way. This began in the 1980s and today 45 percent of the population commutes on bikes.

This plan is incompetent at best and we deserve better.

—Vernon Franck via Facebook

Go slow, save lives. It could be your own next time you’re walking or crossing the street. This will enhance the neighborhood. Better than existing. Love to all the haters.

—Anonymous via Facebook

Oh my God, stop. We don’t want awful hardscape pink-stamped medians all up and down University. What are you trying to do?

Contact a designer to create a beautiful street with landscaping. Please do not do not do this insane one care. This will increase traffic, reduce quality of life. It will suck having to drive down this avenue every day.

I’ll do your design for you. This is what you do. Put palm trees all down the center of University Avenue, put in a couple of crosswalks, put nice trees every 30 feet down University Avenue that spread and build a canopy over the sidewalk. I don’t let the city trim them to death and repair the sidewalks. No charge.

—Max Coates via Facebook

No bike lanes? Yeesh, as if cyclists don’t have it tough enough already. That’s absurd, I already have a difficult enough time trying to not get hit by some of the crazier drivers.

Also what would this do to the bus routes? I can only imagine how terrible the backup traffic would be while this construction is going on.

—Riley J. Gibson via Facebook

This plan is now 13 years out-of-date and has major invalid assumptions and huge disadvantages that would:

1. Create much more traffic on University Avenue for over 90 percent of residents by forcing car traffic into one lane instead of two.
2. Make things more dangerous for bicyclists due to it including no bike lanes (yes the plan really has no bike lanes — take a look at it).
3. Remove an important buffer between traffic lanes and the sidewalk (where parking is removed) thereby reducing pedestrian safety and degrading the aesthetics and neighborhood feel of our sidewalks.
4. Inconvenience local businesses and their customers who depend on pickups and deliveries by removing all parking on University Avenue, which in fact would not be significantly offset in most cases by other parking gained on some side streets.
5. Realize no environmental benefits claimed by supporters, due to adoption rates of zero emissions vehicles already far outpacing state and local goals and estimates used to justify bus-only lanes.
6. Result in ugly medians with no landscaping due to the city being unwilling to budget a miniscule amount for landscaping. (They would likely spend more to put in pavers than landscaping would actually cost.)
7. Fail to comply with the city’s own Climate Action Plan, which requires a minimum tree canopy area to be provided.

As usual, Councilmember Todd Gloria and other bureaucrats have nothing of substance to say other than vapid generalizations that fail to recognize any of the numerous issues. There are indeed some good aspects to the plan, but the above issues need to all be thought through and addressed before we let the city go forward with this disaster.

—David Gleason via Facebook

Save our historical facades

Re: “Pernicano’s buyer still hasn’t closed deal” [Volume 7, Issue 17]

I’m hopeful for something great at this intersection. These properties literally make up the heart of Hillcrest and with the right uses, it could transform the neighborhood into something even more fabulous! I can’t wait to hear what’s in store.

—Benny Cartwright via Facebook

No mention of our VALUABLE HISTORIC RESOURCES? Let us try really hard to make sure the facades of City Deli (Kahn Building) and the Spanish building on Fifth Avenue are restored and preserved. The historic charm of these buildings makes this area of Hillcrest what it is. This is why this area has charm and why people are drawn here. Compliment these buildings and PLEASE work them into any designs for the future of this block!

—Gregory May via Facebook

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