Comments by Brian Dantes

Caltrans gives HMB a chance to discuss traffic light

Keyhan Moghbel of Caltrans stated at the May 26th HMB City Council meeting that their traffic engineer had determined over several days that the main choke point for the SR1 southbound traffic was the intersection with SR92. While he did not offer the gory details, he did say that their data showed that the merge with the northbound SR1 traffic was part of the problem.

He also said they would monitor the effect of the lights and disable them if they did not have an overall net improvement on the congestion.

Given the immediacy of the problem, I felt like that was enough substance to justify the attempt. It is so frustrating to have any action regardless of the issue in this area be bogged down in red tape. Things take forever and a day to get done—it seems like one needs 100 signatures just to blow your nose.

And yes, I would support fair traffic mitigation on SR1 should that ever become necessary.

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Caltrans gives HMB a chance to discuss traffic light

Mr. Bogner,

The intent and tenor of your note is much appreciated. I mean that sincerely. I wholeheartedly agree with many of your points - most particularly that some of these issues would be moot if law enforcement were out actively doing traffic control as they should be. Metering lights and road closures would be completely unnecessary if CHP and the County Sheriff were helping rather than sitting in their cars shouting through their bullhorns.

Nevertheless…

From a legal perspective, I remain unconvinced that Caltrans does not have the authority to do just what they have done. It makes no sense to me that a city government would have any say-so whatsoever over state resources.

And from an ethical standpoint, I feel the same way. SR1 and SR92 and their intersections are shared transportation resources amongst all our communities. No single community should have exclusive control over a shared resource.

I’d be willing to bet we’d be seeing the same level of resistance from HMB even if the metering lights were “temporary.” The bottom line to me is that Caltrans was trying to mitigate the situation in the name of fairness and promised in front of a room full of witnesses that they would disable it if it didn’t have an overall improvement - and still the HMB through up blockades. Even should it turn out that there is some bureaucratic insanity that allows them to do this, it was wrong of them to do so.

I also would like to see some coming together over all of these infrastructure crises of late. My hope is that this will serve as a wake-up call to all of the Coastside communities that hobbling infrastructure only hurts those already living here. The proper way to limit growth (which I support by the way) is through legislation and enforcement thereof. Now that I have been educated by some regarding the lack of the latter, particularly in the unincorporated areas, I will support efforts to fix that.

But in the meantime, my votes at the polling booth and the marketplace will go to leaders and businesses who support fairness and improved roads and utilities for all of us.

Mr. Bogner, thanks again and I hope dialogue can take place like this for all of us. I hope you will encourage your City Council to do what’s right - regardless of any perception of bureaucratic paperwork that wasn’t properly filled out.

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Caltrans gives HMB a chance to discuss traffic light

Mr. Keyhan Moghbel indicated to me that the metering lights issue would be discussed by the HMB City Council at a meeting tonight (Tues, 5/22). But I think he may have been confused into thinking that the Council meets every Tuesday night. It is my understanding that the HMB Council does not meet again until June 5th. Is that correct? If not, could someone please post here when the meeting is to be?

But if so, it is infuriating that HMB will have succeeded in delaying these metering lights for three weeks just with bureaucratic procedure alone.

I have written letters to Caltrans asking them to move forward immediately with these metering lights - and I encourage all other mid-Coasters to do the same.

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Caltrans gives HMB a chance to discuss traffic light

Ms. Slater-Carter,

I think many (including myself) felt as you. However, Mr. Keyhan Moghbel of Caltrans explained at the HMB City Council meeting last week why these are not options.

Mr. Moghbel said that Caltrans data showed that the SR1/SR92 was the main chokepoint that had a ripple effect all the way north.

He also said that the cranes being used on Devil’s Slide to make the repairs were too wide to allow traffic through. But then he later said that the tunnel construction traffic was still using Devil’s Slide - so there is an inconsistency there.

I’m not sure which I’d rather have, frankly. A faster repair with no access at all, or a slower repair with partial access.

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Caltrans gives HMB a chance to discuss traffic light

Mr. Lansing,

It is still not clear (to me at least) that what Caltrans did was “illegal, pure and simple” for all the reasons that I have listed in previous posts. I do not by any means claim to be an expert on the maze of bureaucratic laws in this area, but my readings and conversations with others have led me to believe that Caltrans has the authority to do what they did. I believe the only reason they have delayed is because of the intimidation of a wasteful lawsuit (despite the fact they would eventually win). If I were in Mr. Sartipi’s shoes, I’d be pretty fed up with trying to help communities that seemed to have so much infighting. But it’s probably par for the course, unfortunately.

And I certainly don’t find an agency’s attempt to mitigate the traffic situation quickly “unconscionable.” I do, however, find unconscionable the efforts of some HMB officials residents to bias an already bad situation in their favor.

I am curious, sir - do you object to the metering lights only because of the procedure you believe was not properly followed? Or do you object to them on their merits? If the former, I find that pretty specious. If the latter, I’m at a loss to understand your reasoning on the simple principles of fairness - particularly in light of the fact that Mr. Moghbel committed to disabling the lights if they did not help the overall situation.

Now that all said - morning traffic onto SR92 from southbound SR1 (all the way from El Granada) hasn’t been bad since last Wednesday) - at least when I typically hit it between 830am and 9am. Anyone know why? Has the argument about the metering lights become moot for another reason?

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Caltrans gives HMB a chance to discuss traffic light

Mr. Lansing,

While there may be some substance to the points you make, I am highly dubious that they form the real basis of yours and others’ objections to these metering lights.

Regardless, the sources of the northbound SR1 traffic are immaterial. In the simple name of fairness, the congestion at that intersection should be evenly spread among the cars coming at it from all directions.

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Caltrans gives HMB a chance to discuss traffic light

Ms. Carlson,

I can’t fault your logic, unfortunately. I would hope, however, that HMB Council members will be wise enough to realize that alienating their neighbors hurts them long-term. As of today, no one in my house is patronizing any local HMB businesses, particularly on Main Street, until such time as is perceived these attitudes change.

I’ve just received an email from Mr. Moghbel from Caltrans:

> The Department is working closely with all our
> local partners to respond to all issues raised. 
> As you have mentioned The City is going to
> discuss the signal light issue at the next
> council meeting set for next Tuesday, at which
> time citizens can have their input.  Please
> check with the city for the time and the place.
> Our District Director, Mr. Sartipi could be
> contacted at
>
> KEYHAN MOGHBEL, Chief
> Project Development South - Peninsula
> Tel.  (510) 286-7189
> fax (510) 286-4897

So at a minimum, HMB has succeeded in delaying the metering lights for another week or more.

Please Mid-Coasters, email and call Mr. Moghbel and Mr. Sartipi and ask them to turn on the metering lights immediately as they originally planned. Go ahead and discuss it fine—but give the solution a chance to see if it helps. Don’t let one selfish group bog it down in red tape.

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Caltrans gives HMB a chance to discuss traffic light

What the heck is wrong with trying them out and seeing if they help, just like Mr. Moghbel said at the council meeting?

So the HMB folks have succeeded in intimidating Caltrans or misrepresenting that they have a weightier say or a majority opinion. Mr. Moghbel specifically stated that the lights would be turned on in a matter of days once the flashing yellow software updates were complete. So now they reversed course - Councilman Gorn and Mr. Lansing must be happy.

Starting immediately and until such time as HMB officials start displaying a more inclusive attitude towards this common resource, I think the rest of the coastal communities should boycott local HMB businesses.

Brian Dantes
El Granada

HMB Review waves its petard about, with predictable results

Mr. Parr,

This reader deeply appreciates and values the service you provide. You provided faster and more through information when the fiber optic cable was cut—and for details about Devil’s Slide. The reader commentary ability is also great—I actually wish the comments could get posted faster (although I understand the need to have you moderate it).

Now this is not to say that I don’t like the HMB Review. For example, I thought their 10-item front-page FAQ this past Wednesday was great. I think the review largely fills a different role than your web site - so I am grateful for both.

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Caltrans may end “free” right turns onto Hwy 92 for HMB commuters

Mr. Lansing,

You told me outside the hall Sunday night when I objected to these ludicrous attempts to block a *trial basis only* attempt to make the traffic flow more equitable for a shared resource that I should go live somewhere with no laws.

But when laws serve only to cripple any action whatsoever and bias the use of a common resource on the behalf of one party, those laws are unjust and unsound. Until I hear it from some objective party outside HMB, I refuse to believe that HMB City Council has any jurisdiction over state resources. Frankly, as I said in another post, I think Caltrans is either intimidated or mislead into believing that HMB represents a majority opinion. Or perhaps they are just bending over backwards to be perceived as courteous and attentive. Regardless, I have sent an email to Mr. Moghbel and encourage others to do the same:

Keyhan Moghbel <keyhan_moghbel@dot.ca.gov>

Regardless, I call on the HMB City Council to please lay down any objection you have to these lights (whether they have legal merit or not) and let Caltrans try the lights right away to see if they help the overall picture. If they don’t work, Caltrans can turn them off, just as Mr. Moghbel promised they would. Please don’t bog down things in bureaucratic nonsense like so often happens with anything around here.

Please stop the spread of this perception that HMB is interested only in HMB’s access to SR1 and SR92. This attitude is turning this neighbor into an enemy - and I’d much rather feel like we’re in this together instead of every man for himself.

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Caltrans may end “free” right turns onto Hwy 92 for HMB commuters

Mr. Ferreira and Mr. Lansing,

If Caltrans was careful to go through the permitting process for these other lights, then it seems to me that they must have a legal opinion that such permitting was not required in this case. Perhaps because no actual road construction was necessary? I don’t know what would be involved with the Terrace light, but the Coronado light definitely required a good deal of construction beyond just the lights themselves. So perhaps these metering lights for temporary traffic mitigation don’t rise to the definition of “development” in the LCP—or maybe there’s some other state regulation that allows Caltrans to institute temporary measures as it sees fit on state roads.

Regardless, it seems quite difficult to believe that Caltrans would simply forget or ignore any permitting process required by law.

On a more practical note, I certainly hope that no one in HMB intends to press the issue in any kind of a legal fashion with Caltrans. Mr. Moghbel already committed to working with the community on a voluntary basis - so please let’s just see if the approach actually helps the overall situation. Frankly, I found the argument of “sharing the pain” compelling and fair - and I would feel that way even if I weren’t in the southbound traffic. I think other voices in this thread have echoed that. If the lights don’t have a measurable positive effect on the overall flow, then we can all ask Caltrans to take them out.

If the HMB council or citizens fight even an attempt to see if the lights help on such specious grounds, I for one will view that as yet another selfish gesture similar to the Main Street merchants objecting to the road closure during peak traffic hours (when no one on 92 would wants to get off and shop anyway).

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Caltrans may end “free” right turns onto Hwy 92 for HMB commuters

Ms. Felgentreff,

“That said, installing that stoplight to curtail the right-hand turn seems like really the wrong thing to do.  The real bottlenecks are taking place at the turn from 1 south onto 92...”

Exactly - which is why the signal was placed on the traffic going from SR1 northbound onto SR92 west - to lessen their interference with southbound people trying to turn left and merge with them.

-Brian

Caltrans may end “free” right turns onto Hwy 92 for HMB commuters

I was at the HMB council meeting when Mr. Moghbel from Caltrans announced this metering light.

While I certainly was not thrilled with all of the responses Mr. Moghbel gave (particular in response to Vince William’s great points about the Devil’s Slide repair), I applaud this particular effort. I was very frustrated to see again the efforts of HMB representatives and citizens to impose their own views to the exclusion of the rest of the community.

Councilman Gordon went on *and* on about the lack of public notice and how he was against the light. In all fairness, I think his points about timeliness of the notice were well taken, and Mr. Moghbel did give conflicting answers about when the light was getting activated (bottom line from my understanding is in a couple of days). But one citizen speaker did ask before the council and directly to Mr. Moghbel and another Caltrans representative outside how Caltrans could impose a traffic light at that intersection without a permit from the city of HMB. Give me a break!

As Mr. Parr pointed out in his post, this is an intersection of two *state* highways - and as I understand it, that gives Caltrans the authority. I thought both Mr. Moghbel and his associate were quite reasonable (and gracious beyond the call of duty, frankly) in stating *repeatedly* that their interest was in working with the community and trying things to see what works and what doesn’t. They already compromised with Mayor Fraser apparently to limit the light to 5am-9am weekdays only and to turn it off if it made the overall problem worse not better. But apparently that commitment wasn’t enough for some people. The last thing I want is for any attempted solutions to get bogged down in the maniacal web of bureaucracy around here. I am grateful that Caltrans is taking immediate actions tempered with the attitude of listening to community input and willing to reverse course if and when a mistake is realized.

The reality is that SR1 and SR92 are shared arteries that serve the entire Coastside community. I am very tired of this attitude from HMB that they somehow *own* that intersection. Frankly, the traffic is still terrible at 9am - I think Caltrans and CHP should extend their traffic mitigations to 930am or 10am.

CHP should be out directing traffic rather than sitting in their cars blocking turns and blowing into bullhorns. (Rather than helping me and others coming out of the north Strawflower Village exit to get onto southbound SR1 to turn left on 92, a CHP across the street—and blocking the entrance into Strawflower Village to boot—used his bullhorn to tell me that no one was going to let me in and to go to Kelly and U-turn.)

The modifications to the traffic signals, the northbound metering lights, and the Main street and south Stawflower Village entrance closures are really helping I think. But I think they could be taken up even another notch.

I’d also like to see Hwy 1 between Moss Beach and HMB restriped to 3 lanes with an alternating commuter lane.

I think the light/intersection at Main Street and SR92 should be completely *closed* (except for right turn entrance and exit) from 5am-*10*am and 5pm-8pm weekdays. This effort of the Main Street merchants to fight such action I consider selfish in the extreme. No one is in the mood to shop during those times anyway, who are they kidding? At least in my case, their attitude does nothing to help their business and only serves to alienate me. Frankly, if I continue to see these types of attitudes from HMB regarding this shared resource, I will and encourage others to boycott HMB local businesses. However, I’d much prefer a perception that we’re all in this together (an attitude which I *did* hear thankfully from Mayor Fraser of HMB).

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Devil’s Slide will be open in late September, says Caltrans

Vince Williams or someone else absolutely needs to show up with Vince’s excellent comments and questions at the Caltrans presentation at the HMB City Council tonight. Are there plans to do so? I am going to attempt to make it - but I’m not sure I’ll be able to.

No one wants to compromise safety - but I think Vince raises critical questions. If Caltrans claims that their design is the only safe design in any timeframe, then so be it. But I think they should have to justify why a shorter repair cannot be done.

If it is true that a much faster repair can be done that will last with reasonable periodic patching until the tunnel opens, then our communities should demand *LOUDLY* that be done instead.

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Caltrans plans to announce schedule Tuesday

Mr. Hoffman,

I tried several attempts to respond to your missive in a reasoned manner. But I realize that such extreme black and white views (despite the fact that there is likely some shared sentiments between us) are not to be argued with.

I am thankful that your vote only impacts us on a statewide and federal level - and not the county or the immediate communities.

When Devil’s Slide does reopen, given your strong feelings, I trust you will not be contributing your pollution to our air and clogging up the roads with the other tourists. You will not be missed.

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Caltrans plans to announce schedule Tuesday

Mr. Hoffman,

Your attitude that we who are living Coastside are simply whining about an inconvenience is not only ignorant but also insensitive and rude. As I shouldn’t have to point out to someone living in San Francisco, it is no easy thing to dictate where you will find both an acceptable home to raise your children and where you will find gainful employment to sustain them. It used to be that property this side of the hill was actually *cheaper* than elsewhere (and may be so again is my guess)—and it is certainly safer to raise a family here than in the more urban areas.

I am luckier than some—I am able to shift my job to telecommuting to some degree during this infrastructure crisis. But my employment and thus the livelihood of my family is threatened by this infrastructure crisis. And we feel abandoned by our governments - from the local level all the way to the top.

None of us are asking to “pave paradise with a parking lot” as it were—but to accuse us of selfishness for wanting basic lifeline infrastructure needs met is frustrating to say the least. Please educate yourself further before making such comments.

I certainly do agree with planning for the long-term to encourage preservation and restoration of this planet we call home. But that has to be balanced with the immediacy of the needs of everyday life. It is simply naive to tell people to get new jobs or move or ride bikes everywhere if they don’t like the roads.

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Opinion:  Foothill Bypass, Part II: A legal (and literal) quagmire

Timothy,

“There are smaller roads parallel to HW1 from El Granada to Montara and the coastal trail serves nicely as a bike highway to HMB.”

What roads would those be? If you’re including Airport and Sunshine Valley in one segment, I don’t think that counts because it involves crossing Hwy 1 twice. And also, doesn’t the bike trail fall apart and force bikers out onto Hwy 1 in several places?

I really feel there should be a parallel artery east of Hwy 1 running from Montara all the way to HMB. It is crazy that all the communities are extended cul-de-sacs off of Hwy 1. When there is a real emergency, we might as well all stay put - because the roads aren’t going to let us go anywhere.

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Coastsider endorses Measure S

All of the arguments back and forth do confuse the reader.

I do find Measure S laudable in its general goals but greatly flawed in that it is:

1) not specific enough in exactly how the money will be spent,

2) not *nearly* specific enough how CUSD will be held to account for the expenditure of the money,

3) lacking in justification in light of recently restored state funds,

4) no progressive provisions for linking performance with compensation and funding levels,

5) no provision for busing—which while not a direct benefit to the education of our children, would directly benefit our community with its infrastructure crises. Helping parents keep their jobs helps their children.

6) unfair in the provision of an exemption for seniors,

7) not nearly enough public review—which perhaps could have avoided many of the problems above.

Despite all this, I finally voted for the measure. If the measure fails today, I won’t be surprised and will lay that failure completely at the feet of CUSD in making it so difficult to support. If I, a parent with two children in the district, find it hard to support this measure - think how others with no children are going to feel.

And if the measure does pass, this voter will definitely be watching the CUSD board to see that they remain true to the spirit of the measure. My eye will particularly be on those up for reeelection in November. CUSD please don’t let us down - voting for this was definitely a leap of faith for this voter.

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Coastsider endorses Measure S

Mr. Olson,

“For me, this is a measure started by the community, pushed for by the community and so I honestly feel if you are not voting for S then you are not supporting our community.”

Equating questioning of Measure S with lack of support for the community feels an awful lot like equating questioning of the Patriot Act with lack of patriotism.

I have one child in Farallone (and will have two next year) - and thus I have a personal and vested interest in the success of our schools and our community. It saddens me deeply that these measures supporting our schools have been so flawed that I have been unable to vote for them. I fault CUSD for not providing adequate information and oversight to voters as they should.

Just as with my charitable contributions, as a voter I will not write a blank check to fix a problem, particularly to an organization that has displayed a propensity for lack of accountability and mismanagement of money. If I can be shown a clear focus for my tax dollars and a system of checks that will ensure it actually gets spent that way, and I agree with those expenditures - then I will vote for it. Measure S has laudable overall goals stated in an emotional way, but it offers only broad generalizations at best in terms of checks and balances.

If I could earmark Measure S funds specifically for the pockets of some of the teachers with whom I have personal experience at Farallone, I would do so in a NY minute. At the risk of embarrassing her, I’ll single out Mrs. Mary Balciunas, my son’s kindergarten teacher. If we had a merit-based system that rewarded teachers such as she, I would enthusiastically vote to fund it.

I think the authors of Measure S (and all the flawed attempts that have gone before) and CUSD are the ones not supporting our community. Please give us a measure with accountability, oversight and fair distribution of funds to help our schools.

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Coastsider endorses Measure S

Ms. Ascher,

To put all those who question the efficacy of the specifics of Measure S into a category of disingenuous “negative thinkers” is a bit unfair. There are of those like myself who want to support our teachers and the schools to be improved but don’t want to throw money if the money is not being spent prudently or with accountability. I have a vested interest in our school system—my two children are in it. The school board and other proponents of other Measure S have not done a good enough job informing at least this one voter on how the money will be spent wisely or how accountability will be provided.

I may still yet vote for the measure, but I think it would have passed resoundingly (and long before now) if CUSD had ever adequately addressed the concerns which have come up over and over again.

Is Measure S even needed with the same urgency now that a lot of state funds have been restored? Why is there a senior exemption rather than one based on income level? Why aren’t some of the funds earmarked for busing? What oversight is there for the expenditure of these funds? These are all fair and relevant questions—so please don’t apply such offensive labels as “disingenuous” as those of us who dare to ask them.

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Page 3 of 4 pages « First  <  1 2 3 4 >