 | | | Supporters of the traffic signals on Reliez Station Road gathered at a Lafayette City Council meeting. Photo Cathy Tyson | | | | | | Who knew there would be so much controversy in the name of safety over a pair of traffic signals on Reliez Station Road?
After three public workshops, two public walking tours and reviews by the Circulation Committee and the Design Review Committee, the matter was discussed before the Lafayette City Council on March 28 with both supporters and opponents in the audience. Residents most immediately affected by the signals voiced their concerns and were thrilled that stop lights for two intersections on Reliez Station Road were approved, despite the roundabout fashion the solution came to pass.
"The arguments for the light are so compelling - this seems to be the only reasonable solution," said Council Member Brandt Andersson, recognizing the threat of cars and trucks stopped on the steep hill rolling backwards already exists now. The balance of the council agreed, so the stop lights were approved, along with an okay to purchase some of the necessary equipment ahead of time.
Although there was public outreach on the Olympic Boulevard and Reliez Station Road corridor that started with an initial opinion survey in May and June of 2014, some residents still felt frustrated with the process, and criticized a lack of transparency and adequate notice of meetings. Still other opponents are troubled by the steep slope at the location of the light that will be at the corner of Las Trampas and Reliez and the relatively small number of car trips generated by the 72 homes on those streets.
"Does it make sense to endanger upwards of 15,000 cars a day to save time for a few hundred cars?" asked Silloo Tarapore in a letter to the city council.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA