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f . ¿{ /1- /~- April 26, 2005 Page 2 of 4 dangerous intersections in the Bay Area at Woodside and Broadway. The Post Office traffic already presents a terrible situation with its location right at the Woodside and Broadway intersection. Further, there is substantial truck traffic in this area. This is not a location to which I would feel safe to send my own children. At the public hearing, it was stated that the school would encourage students to ride bicycles to and from school. The TDM Plan mentions that the school will have bicycle parking for 24 bikes. This is not a safe area to ride a bicycle. There are no bicycle lanes and the heavy traffic in the area would make riding a bike to and from school hazardous. Because this facility is in the Industrial Restricted Zoning District, there are nearby properties that have materials that could be unsafe for the students should they mischievously or otherwise come into contact with those materials. For example, at the FP International facility (less than 30 yards away), there is a 5,000 gallon tank containing hydrocarbons. Even though this tank is under the rigid controls of the EP A, we cannot prevent a student from causing harm to himself by some errant behavior. Further, this tank is serviced by huge over-the-road hydrocarbon tankers. The Charter Street entrance to our property is used for entrance and exit of huge 53 , tractor- trailor combinations. Traffic and parking on Charter Street would seriously impede if not endanger our operations. ì There would be too much traffic congestion, thus causing a detrimental impact on those who already work in the neighborhood and on the current businesses. We doubt that many ofthe prospective students would walk to and from school. In addition to the safety issues I mentioned, this would present serious traffic congestion problems. There is (a) very limited access; (b) heavy truck use; (c) Woodside & Broadway problems; (d) Post Office traffic problems; and (e) g~nerally heavy traffic, particularly in the afternoon caused by vehicles accessing the Woodside on-ramps to highway 101, The increased traffic would present severe problems for those already traveling to, from, and through the area. It would also disrupt current businesses that load and unload trucks along Broadway and that otherwise require unrestricted access for their operations. The congestion will be exacerbated as the office buildings further south on Broadway become occupied again. 1v10st of the cars will likely approach the school going south on Broadway from Woodside Road. There is a 4-way stop at Broadway and Charter Street, where the school site is located. There is only one access to the school; drivers will all be turning left onto Charter Street. How will 400+ cars be able to enter and leave during an approximately IS-minute period without negatively impacting others who are trying to get to work or who are trying to deliver products to local businesses? I understand that the school will attempt to re-route some drivers so that more will drop off their kids on the east side of Broadway instead of turning left onto Charter Street. But this does not negate the fact that all wiII be converging at a single spot. J I r , i I " I r The TDM Plan is extremely weak and fails to adequately address the problem. The Plan includes some provisions that suggest the school hopes for carpooling, but there is nothing JFB 4-~6-05