It is quite clear to me traffic congestion and issues concerning traffic have increased during the past four decades since the first residents started arriving in our town to live. At one point in time East Hillsdale and Foster City Blvd. was an intersection controlled only by four stop signs. There were no signal lights in town. As the town grew so did the amount of traffic and the need for traffic control.
Today we face far more congestion than the first generation of residents and it is often times both irritating and frustrating. The obvious cause is we now live in a town of 30,000 people with many families owning 2 or more vehicles and we have a sizeable business community we must share our roads with. If that’s not enough, we must share both our egress and ingress routes to work with other cities that have also grown in larger proportion.
This is an issue our city’s officials and planners continuously weigh and examine all the while seeking answers to ease the various traffic issues which confront us. One of the ways we work to address traffic issues is by utilizing the Traffic Review Committee. The Traffic Review Committee is one of the advisory committees to the City Council which I am proud to be the council liaison to. It is perhaps lesser known than the other advisory committees although the role it plays is equally important. It is also the only committee whose members are all City staff with the exception of one public citizen member, Mr. Douglas Lower.
The Traffic Review Committee is established by the Municipal Code “to receive and review appeals or requests from citizens or staff regarding traffic matters and to make recommendations to the City Council.” Most matters brought before the Committee are fielded and first reviewed by Stan Workman our City’s traffic engineer. Stan first examines the issue to see whether the request is feasible or practical. If it appears there is merit to the proposal it is placed on the agenda and Stan prepares a report. The Traffic Review committee then meets to discuss the matter. If the issue is passed by a majority vote then the matter goes before the City Council for approval.
The advantage to the Traffic Review Committee is anyone can call and report a traffic issue for review. Some of the best ideas have emanated from concerned community members who identified a problem and provided a great suggestion on how to correct it. Most recent has been a concerned mother who lives on Polaris Street who asked me if we could erect signage warning motorists of the impending school crosswalk that exists mid-street and leads to Foster City School. This great idea was so effective the committee opted to expand upon it to other schools. The City Council concurred and today our children are a little safer crossing the street.
I urge you to use this important resource. No problem is too small or insignificant. There is no guarantee your suggestion will be approved however your idea may be the very one which saves a life or prevents a serious accident. You can forward your suggestions or ideas to Stan Workman at 650-286-3285 or e-mail him at sworkman@fostercity.org.
I hope to see you at my Sunday meetings between 3:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M at the Council Chambers. You can stop by and ask question or voice concerns or discuss any matter you have on your mind. If you have any questions or remarks you wish heard before then please feel free to call me at 650-286-3504 or e-mail me at jkiramis@fostercity.org.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve you.
print 