Re: “Election is a testament to UC’s commitment to our community” (Guest editorial, UC/Golden Triangle News, March 23, page 6): Linda Colley is absolutely right when she says, “It is time for University City residents to unite.” While I am gratified that UC residents have spoken up in favor of protecting Rose Canyon and our community’s walkability, these ongoing divisions between pro-bridge and anti-bridge groups merely ensure that all our oxes will eventually be gored. Politicians and developers will use these divisions to drive through whatever massive projects they choose. Instead of constantly fighting each other, let’s look at points on which most residents should be able to agree:
“¢ We are one community. Please don’t try to divide us into east of Genesee vs. west, or north of Rose Canyon vs. south. We all share the impacts of Genesee Avenue, which divides our community right down the middle. (For instance, though our family lives west of Genesee, our children cross Genesee much more frequently than they do Regents.) We should be concerned about the safety of children throughout our community ” those who attend Doyle as well as those who attend Curie. We should be concerned about seniors throughout our community ” those who live along Regents as well as those who live along Genesee.
“¢ Stop overdevelopment. Don’t exceed developments already called for in the Community Plan. The Golden Triangle is already one of the most densely developed areas of the city ” let other neighborhoods absorb their share of greater density. We have a vibrant urban neighborhood and commercial area north of Rose Canyon, and a convenient, very walkable residential neighborhood south of the canyon, with a vital open space resource in between. Let’s work on fine-tuning quality of life issues in our community, rather than overdeveloping it.
“¢ Reduce traffic in the community, don’t increase it. Our neighborhoods should not be through-routes for commuters headed for distant communities. These drivers should be on the freeways. Instead of improving traffic flow on our north-south streets, maybe we should look for ways to slow it down, encouraging those long-distance commuters to stay on the freeways. Del Mar has taken this approach. Isn’t our quality of life as valuable as Del Mar’s?
“¢ Improve “walkability.” Put the needs of pedestrians, many of whom are seniors and children, ahead of the needs of people in cars. Make all intersections safer and more convenient for pedestrians. For example, some sort of pedestrian island at Genesee and Governor would make the intersection safer for pedestrians who have difficulty making it across the intersection on one walk signal. An additional signal-controlled crosswalk on Genesee at UC High would make crossing safer for students.
“¢ Improve emergency services. We can all agree that quicker emergency response is a good thing. But wouldn’t you rather have a nearby and not-too-busy fire station than a distant and overburdened one, no matter how many routes connect it to your house?
“¢ Protect our open spaces. Time and again, majorities in California and San Diego have shown that they care about protecting open space for human recreation and wildlife habitat. The opportunity to experience nature close to home, out of sight of roads and freeways, becomes even more valuable as urban development becomes more dense and suburban development spreads inland.
“¢ Use public funds wisely. FBA funds, intended to mitigate the impacts of development, are limited and there is a long list of projects awaiting funding, not just the bridge. Any project on which FBA funds are spent should deliver a lot of “bang for the buck.”
If you polled 10 randomly selected UC residents, you’d likely find remarkable agreement with these principles. What these residents might not agree on is how best to pursue these goals, and especially whether a bridge on Regents Road achieves any of them. But the point is, we can hurl facts and reasoning (and names such as “NIMBY”) at each other all day. Meanwhile, the developers and their political pals will be laughing all the way to the bank. Both sides will get exactly what they don’t want: the Regents Road Bridge and the Genesee avenue widening and traffic congestion everywhere. Instead, why don’t we unite to oppose the bridge and the widening, and to look for creative alternatives to improve the quality of life for everyone? For instance, we could work with CalTrans to get cars onto the freeways more efficiently, especially at Genesee/I-5 and Nobel and Governor Drives at 805. Together, we have a chance to preserve our quality of life; divided, both sides are bound to fail.
Larry Hogue is a writer who lives in University City.