Comments by Stephen Lowens

Coastsider adds current traffic conditions

My question is, what percentage of the people on the Coastside have Fastrak transponders? My recollection of the period several years ago when Devil's Slide was closed and Caltrans posted travel times on Highway 1 is that the travel times were badly out of sync with real conditions, because there were so few transponders to sample. If there are still very few transponders, the data will continue to be our of sync, behind the times, as it were. And unfortunately, I don't know where to get that data.…

Pacifica examines widening part of Hwy 1 to six lanes

A few comments on the proposal to widen Highway 1 through Pacifica: Personal qualifications for these comments: A) 47 years of experience as a traffic engineer; licensed since 1975. B) Attendance at a seminar in El Granada on March 13, 2010, presented by Ken Sides, a professional traffic engineer whose specialty is roundabouts. The seminar presented the latest knowledge and design concepts for roundabouts. C) Review of current US Department of Transportation methodology for determining capacity of…

Pacifica examines widening part of Hwy 1 to six lanes

I attended a scoping meeting in Pacifica on exactly this topic on April 29, 2004. An EIR was prepared and made its way through some various governmental channels, and suddenly, here we are back at exactly the same place. Can anyone explain what happened to the first EIR? Is anyone benefiting from this other than EIR consultants? Steve Lowens

Letter: House exceeds height limit in Montara

Two comments, Joel: There is a similar-sounding problem going on at 715 George Street. You might want to get in touch with Deborah Lardie who has been fighting the County on this - Deborah is next doors to 715 George. If you e-mail me off-line at [email protected], I can give you her e-mail address. I am particularly concerned about the drainage issues, as I am now on an official County committee that is supposed to start studying this problem if we can ever get a meeting going. There is supposed…

Letter: What can be done about power outages in Montara?

Jill, Yes, I am one of those people who have the "Old fashioned" phones that don't plug into the power grid. I think every home should have one - and phones are cheap enough that you can have one-or-more portable phones too. Actually, I still have a couple phones that have those old-fashioned dial things! No, we don't get cell phone service where I live. And I actually consider that a benefit of living here. And, Kevin, thanks for pointing to the flooding article. That's my main project right now,…

Letter: What can be done about power outages in Montara?

Anita, Can't help much with our basic problem, but I can save you from driving around the community to talk to the guy in the truck every time. PG&E has a phone number to report and to get info on outages. They usually have a 2 hour window in which they predict the power coming back on. The number is 800-743-5002. I'll report back when I get a reply to my official complaint to the PUC. Steve Lowens Montara

LCP charts Coastside commute times

I suspect the reason the times are so eratic is that they are trapping Fastrak transponders to determine the travel times. There aren't very many transponders, and so they probably have a very poor sample size. Plus, what happens if someone pulls into the shopping center for donuts? Stephen Lowens