219 replies to this topic

[Sibley Resident]

Orangetj:

Thanks for the update. The traffic volume on this side is still more than what I would hope for, but it is a 1000 times better. The city told our committee that things would be difficult for us the first few weeks. They said Sutter/Coloma/Scott was a hornets nest for their first 2 to 3 weeks. There will still be the people that were on vacation this last week that we will be dealing with next week and so on. On this side we are still having a problem with the people flat out ignoring the no left hand turn sign from Riley onto Bidwell. That is where we are pulling our traffic from. This is one of the reasons they told us in our traffic calming meetings that restricting peoples driving habits simply by signs would not work. They ignore them. We all ready knew that since we have some in the neighborhood the commuters ignored all the time but I was hopeful that because this one was on Riley that they wouldn't try it there, but I should have known not to put anything past them. I was still hoping our commuters would learn a little faster than the Sutter/Scott/Coloma ones but at this rate I think it might take them twice as long. Sorry this has been difficult for your side, I really hope things clear up over their as anticipated over the next few weeks, for you and us.

[Lembi Resident]

Like OrangeTJ, I am very pleased that residents of Sibley and other streets north of the barricade are enjoying some relief. It is well-deserved.

Regarding the eastbound/westbound traffic on Lembi, it is apparent that drivers are still learning that they need to find a new route. Although traffic is still heavy on Lembi, the eastbound traffic between 4:00 & 7:00 pm is much lighter than it was on Mon. & Tues. Does this mean that more drivers are using Glenn?!

As OrangeTJ noted, westbound traffic on Lembi is still quite heavy. Traffic was a little heavier today during the late afternoon/early evening period. That is typical on Fridays. Today, however, I noted that the northbound traffic on Riley was backed-up a little further than usual (up to Red Robin). This might have encouraged drivers to turn left onto Lembi, looking for a shortcut. (Note: There was an large invitational track meet this afternoon at the middle school, which might account for the increased traffic during the 5:00 hour.)

I am still hopeful that the situation will improve.

Has anyone heard about the traffic on Bidwell?

[tony]

I've heard reports that there is much more traffic on Glenn, with up to 25 cars waiting to turn right onto Folsom Blvd. There also seems to be more traffic on Natoma and it has been harder to make the left from Sibley onto Natoma because of it. I'm also happy to report that the bike access through the closure has impoved incrementally as the week progressed. They seem to have found a solution that directs bikes to the sidewalk while more effectively discouraging rogue motorists from also trying to use the sidewalk. Thanks go to Councilman Morin for his efforts, and to whomever else might have had some influence on getting these small changes made.

[bordercolliefan]

Sorry for this delayed response.

My usual route is down Sibley, right turn on Natoma.

A couple times this week I tried going down Riley. The time difference is not that great -- maybe an added 2 minutes. However, I will say that this is taking Riley to E. Bidwell to Coloma -- and then down onto Natoma.

It's not a bad route, but notice that it effectively trades traffic on one semi-residential street (Sibley) for traffic on another semi-residential street (Coloma, between E. Bidwell and Natoma). Not sure how the Coloma folks feel about that.

If I stayed on Riley the whole time, I would really get trapped in the junior high and bridge traffic, and it would probably add another 5 minutes -- precious time trying to get preschoolers to an 8:15 a.m. class!

[bordercolliefan]

Tony,

I absolutely agree with you about the downward spiral of everyone deciding to drive their kids to school. I should have said, "If I were a parent living close enough to the school, I would walk WITH my kids to school to make sure they are safe." --I don't think my stress level could endure letting the kids bike or skateboard on that route!

In my own case, I am hopeful I will be able to WALK my kindergartner to her elementary school in the fall (about 15 min. walk), rather than drive her down. I will say, however, that like many parents, I will face the issue of schools with 2 different starting times -- so I may have to simply drive a circuit to get both my kindergartner and preschooler to their schools on time. We'll have to see how the timing works.

As an aside, I have to assume that the decrease in stay-at-home parents is a big part of the decrease in kids walking to school -- the parents don't have time to walk with them. You may say, "Abduction is rare... we have to get away from this obsession with escorting the kids to school!" but I say (a) maybe abduction is rare BECAUSE parents escort their kids everywhere and (b) I simply won't take a chance with my girls.

As for middle school (Sutter) and high school, both of them seem too far from Natoma Station that I could walk the kids to school. This touches on another issue you have raised: as the crow flies, the high school would be a fairly easy walk from our house, but because of the way the development is laid out, it requires walking all the way down to Turnpike, to Blue Ravine, and up Prairie City -- at least a 40 min. walk.

Philosophically, I am a strong believer in walking kids to school rather than driving them, but then looking at the specifics, it seems like there are many different obstacles to doing so. I find this extremely frustrating.

[nlove4ever]

I am sorry, but I think this whole rode closure is ridiculous. I live on Montrose and the traffic is horrible, but that is where I chose to live. People speed up and down our streets at 40-50 MPH. My neighborhood is full of young children and I have 3 children myself. I don't like it and sometimes I even find myself yelling at people that speed by, but closing it is not the answer. No matter where you go there is going to be issues with traffic especially with the popluation growing as it is. By closing all of these streets, the traffic is getting worse in other places. People are going to find a alternate route regardless and then someone else is going to be upset because of all of the traffic and speeders. What I think they need to do is utilize the Folsom PD to start cracking down on these speeders. Maybe they should run a sting operations or something. I just dont feel that closing all of these roads is the answer. All that traffic has to go somewhere.

[Terry]

QUOTE (nlove4ever @ Apr 26 2004, 10:13 AM)

What I think they need to do is utilize the Folsom PD to start cracking down on these speeders.  Maybe they should run a sting operations or something.  I just dont feel that closing all of these roads is the answer.

During the process of evaluating possible solutions for the Sibley/Lembi problems, it was clearly pointed out that Folsom PD cannot dedicate traffic officers to specific areas of town. While Folsom PD is going to be getting more traffic officers very soon, they still can't be everywhere they need to be just to deal with traffic issues. Believe it or not, there are other crimes being committed in Folsom.

The solution for the Sibley/Lembi was evaluated by the city, with information, committment, and dedication of the area residents, and the City ultimately determined that the temporary part-time closure of Sibley at Lembi (Monday through Friday from 4 to 7 PM) was worth a trial. At the end of the trial period, the results will be evaluated.

You may want to get your neighbors organized and deal with your traffic issues by getting the City involved with your own proposals. It takes times and dedication but WE the residents have to be part of the solution and not just give the responsibility to our local police. We need to contribute to the concept of community policing.

[Sibley Resident]

Bordercolliefan:

Prior to the 3 hr trial closure of Sibley you had stated:

QUOTE

Moreover, while I personally can live with a 3 hour a day closure (since I generally don't use Sibley during those hours), I fear this a first step toward arguing for a total closure.

You continued on another asking us if that is what we would do. I explained at the time that I wanted to give it an honest try to see how it worked prior to deciding if I would pursue anything further. I feel that this is probably premature to state this since we are only a week into the trial period but this is how I’m feeling right now regarding this.

Prior to the trial, I was considerably angry and frustrated the majority of the time. There is a considerable amount of traffic throughout the whole day but it is most significant between the hours of 3:00pm – 7:00pm. With the anticipation of what was going to happen to us on a daily basis, it made me angry every time a car past the house. Even when a car past through at midnight or at 2:00 in the morning, It made me mad. That is what the traffic issues have done to myself, my family and many others in this neighborhood. Our entire day was intolerable. I felt that only a full closure every day all day would be acceptable because I was so frustrated with all of the traffic.

After setting those feelings a side to give this an honest try to see if it would make a difference to me, I can honestly say, it has. Now instead of being angry all day with the traffic and knowing what was going to happen to us in just a few hours, I now have an entirely different attitude. Instead of dreading what is happening to us and knowing as the day progresses it will only get worse, I now have a time to look forward to. Somehow having this time to look forward to makes the rest of the day tolerable, knowing that there is a time that it will be reduced and not increasing.

My daughter gets up from her nap around 3:00pm and now at 4:00p.m. when the gate shuts, we have been going outside. We had some really warm weather yesterday and instead of having my home completely closed up, windows, door, blinds, I was able to leave it all open without the intrusion and violation I felt in my own home just a little over a week ago. For the first time in at least a year, maybe a year & half, I took my daughter for a walk in the neighborhood after dinner around 5:45p.m., something just over a week ago I would not have even dreamed of doing.

Do I feel like this is perfect, NO. Do I wish people would just stay out when they are not going to or from a location here, YES. Is this an invitation to drive through here during the hours it is open, Absolutely Not. Has this brought it to a tolerable level for me (I can’t speak for anyone else),Yes. I would prefer the city to change it to the recommended 3:00p.m. to 7:00p.m. instead of the modified 4:00p.m. to 7:00p.m. for many reasons but one of them is because we still receive some bumper to bumper traffic between those hours that diverts traffic onto some of the side streets, just as the children in the neighborhood are walking home. I of course would prefer that not to happen.

If the traffic clears up on Lembi as anticipated and the city allows us to keep this closure, I doubt, I would need to continue pursuing volume control for my section at this point. However, I’m concerned that if the traffic continues to increase as it has over the past two years or so that it might be necessary to come back to the city in the future. I would hate to have to go through this process all over again. I am hoping that maybe between now and the time this might happen the city may have some of the other fixes in place that might prevent it from being necessary. As you are concerned that this may be extended to a full permanent closure, I'm concerned, that how it is set up, that it would be to easy to take away from us, that is a significant concern of mine. I’m not sure about other areas of the neighborhood though since I have not had the opportunity to speak with several of the committee members, so I’m not sure how they are feeling about all of this. If we can keep it I will still be pursuing speed control, which is still an issue and has not been addressed. If we loose it, I will continue to try and get volume and speed control for our neighborhood.

That is my feelings at this time.

Thank you

[mtnhiker]

I like the results, but I still think there is way too
much cut thru traffic on Lembi.
A lot of this is occurring on the weekends from 10- 6p and are
people going across the folsom bridge or to downtown and so on and choose to use Lembi as a cut thru to get there.
I would like to see this closure extended the last couple weeks
to include these times as well.
We also need to find a solution for these sob's that go 60+ on
their harleys on this street.

[Orangetj]

QUOTE (mtnhiker @ May 6 2004, 12:30 PM)

I like the results, but I still think there is way too much cut thru traffic on Lembi. A lot of this is occurring on the weekends from 10- 6p and are people going across the folsom bridge or to downtown and so on and choose to use Lembi as a cut thru to get there. I would like to see this closure extended the last couple weeks to include these times as well. We also need to find a solution for these sob's that go 60+ on their harleys on this street.

My sentiments exactly. Something needs to be done to discourage cut through traffic on Lembi, as there is a lot of it. On top of that, the speeds people drive are absurd.

[s0479]

I must say that I understand why the Sibley residents were upset....but for the first time since the road closure I had to get to old town for a meeting at 6:15, man am I glad I don't have to do that route daily I'd go crazy....it took me forever to get to oldtown!!

[john]

Traffic is most definitely worse now with the road closure. Glenn Road is a mess every day. It's probably added 15 minutes to getting over the river... a 15-minute drive to the other side of the river (with the dam road closure) is now a half an hour.

[Sibley Resident]

John,

Prior to living here in the Historic District, I lived in Gold River located between Sunrise and Hazel. In 1998 when I first moved there I worked here in Folsom. I would leave Folsom and go home exiting Sunrise or Hazel and could make it home in around 10min. By the time we left there in 2002 that same drive could take me around 25 min. In the 4 years I lived there I saw a natural progression of increased traffic happening just because of the fact that Sacramento County, Placer County and Eldorado County were and are, still growing. We are receiving businesses that are moving out of the Bay area and our cities have done an excellent job bringing those businesses to us. However, with the increased jobs, increased housing and increased people moving here we have also been given the increased traffic that goes with it. Now leaving Folsom and trying to exit on either Sunrise or Hazel can take a half hour just to get off the off ramp. Now crossing Sunrise from 50 to 80, once you are finally on Sunrise can take 45min, this use to take me no more than 20 min. Watt, Howe, Sunrise, Hazel, Folsom Blvd, Hwy 50, Hwy 80 and many more have all been significantly impacted by this increased traffic and yes some of our neighborhoods. Folsom on top of all of this has now had to deal with the Dam Closure and just the basic geographics of the area.

My point is that there is a natural progression of increased traffic. You made a statement about the mess that is on a main arterial road, Glenn, a portion of that mess was in our neighborhood on residential streets. I'm not sure what your statement meant. Are you stating that you would rather have that mess back in our neighborhood so that Glenn may receive at most, a few months before it will look exactly as it does now due to the natural progression of increasing traffic. Are you saying you would prefer to allow that progression to happen in a neighborhood that 2 years ago did not even have bumper to bumper traffic but prior to our closure had it for 2 ½ to 3 hrs a day. Persifer St who was not even receiving cut through traffic now receives a constant flow of it etc... etc.... Imagine what our neighborhood will look like in another 2 years when the 600,000 sq ft mall is built on Iron Point road or when Prairie City connects over 50 to the new development that will be happening over there, as the Mayor said not if the development happens but when. Does everyone really believe that what takes you 15 min to get somewhere now will still take you 15 min 6 months from now or a year from now. Does everyone really believe that sacrificing a neighborhood with the smallest residential streets in the city located in the Historic District is the all important difference if this city's arterial system works or not and that the traffic will never increase in here as it does on the arterial system and that somehow it will magically remain the cities (perceived) short cut. Currently their are already times that people end up waiting longer in our neighborhood than they would have on an arterial road.

Or are you asking the city to fix what is wrong with some of their arterial streets like Glenn.

I'm asking the city to remove that traffic from the neighborhood and put it on the arterial system now, and allow that natural progression to happen on the arterials. This would move what is a significant amount of traffic from the neighborhood to what is not a significant additional amount to an arterial. I'm asking them not to wait until the neighborhood goes from 4000-8000 cars a day to what Sutter/Coloma/Scott had 16000-18000 a day and then try to do something about it. I'm asking them to do it now (pro-active instead of re-active) and allow that natural progression to happen on the arterial system, than waiting until they have caused complete devestation to the neighborhood, not benefiting anyone or try and deal with the fire storm of moving 16000 - 18000 out or more at a latter time.

[mtnhiker]

QUOTE (john @ May 8 2004, 09:23 PM)

Traffic is most definitely worse now with the road closure. Glenn Road is a mess every day. It's probably added 15 minutes to getting over the river... a 15-minute drive to the other side of the river (with the dam road closure) is now a half an hour.

hi John,

What your post means basically that you used to save 15 miniutes
of your time by cutting through residential neighborhoods.
This is exactly the type of thinking by drivers
we are trying to correct.
Be that as it may you must bite the bullet now or later as traffic
will get worse and soon your same trip across that river will be 1hr.
This is not because of closing Sibley or putting in no left turns ,etc. but
due to people buying houses in empire ranch,el-dorado hills and any
other new houses or apts. in Folsom,El-dorado being built. You
see these people buy the house where they want to live, but forget,
don't care or fail to see that they are joining the traffic train. Maybe they
figure at least on Friday, "I'll up and away from it all" Fine do that , but
don't (censored) when your commute takes 15min more each year.
There are more commuters , but Folsom Blvd is not any wider each yr-
mathematically means it will take more time.

[Pacoloco]

Ditto to Sibley Resident and mtnhiker. John, you mentioned Glenn Dr. is a mess????? My daily commute ultimately gets me to Folsom Blvd, either by Blue Ravine or Glenn Dr, to get to Natoma and then home. I have *never* seen congestion or problems on Glenn Dr. The Glenn Dr. 4-way stop at Sibley is painful, but not worse than it was 4 weeks ago. And I get onto Folsom Blvd in no time, rarely waiting at the light. If I hit the lights just right, I get down Folsom Blvd fairly quickly. When I don't, doesn't take me more than 3-5 minutes than it did 4 weeks ago. I would be interested in knowing how Glenn Dr. is a mess, and how it adds 15 minutes to your schedule.