Residents press Lafayette for traffic calming, safer crossings around Wanaka Landing and Wanaka Lake Park

Multiple residents from the Wanaka Landing subdivision urged Lafayette City Council on Sept. 16 to accelerate traffic‑safety measures on Sandpiper Drive, Wanaka Lake Trail, Pascal Drive and adjacent connector streets, describing repeated near‑misses, high vehicle volumes, and visibility problems at crosswalks.

Rashid Khosrabi, a Sandpiper Drive resident, said the street serves as a shortcut between Highway 42/96 and Baseline Road and described speed and volume measurements the Public Works Department conducted in 2017 and more recently: “A study conducted by the Public Works Department in 2017 showed that an average of 1,000 vehicles passed through our street daily,” he said, adding an updated count last year showed about 1,200 vehicles — roughly a 20% increase.

Neighbors described particular hazards at the pickleball courts on Wanaka Lake Trail. Michael Johan, who lives at 1600 Wanaka Lake Trail, told the council cars, camper vans and trucks often park on both sides of the curve near the courts and said sight lines are blocked when vehicles park on the inside of the curve. He recommended striping roughly 175 feet of curb as “no parking,” installing no‑parking signage at either end of the curve and placing a speed hump on the long straightaway above the courts as a low‑cost fix.

Tom Pringle, a 1995 neighborhood resident and former HOA president, described the same crossing from the perspective of a wheelchair user: parked cars on the inside curb block views for pedestrians and people in mobility devices, making it harder and more dangerous to cross even where crosswalks and ramps exist.

Steve Reynolds and Ken Andrews summarized the neighborhood’s long history of requests. Reynolds said residents presented petitions and had prior meetings with Public Works; he described two speed sensors the city purchased in 2016 for about $15,000 but later removed when those sensors were installed on utility poles. Andrews said Pascal Drive and adjacent streets create “an aggregate safety effect” because of slopes, curves, driveways and parked cars that reduce visibility, and he urged the council to fund a traffic‑safety program similar to nearby municipalities.

Several speakers asked for specific measures: speed cushions (referred to by speakers as “silent police”), permanent speed cushions or humps, re‑installation of sensors, no‑parking striping at the inside curve near the pickleball courts, and additional curb ramps at two crosswalks that currently require pedestrians to detour half a block to access a ramp.

Council did not take immediate policy votes on the neighborhood requests during the meeting. City staff members who work on transportation and public works were present and the public‑comment period ended with the mayor noting staff or council members may follow up directly by phone or email. Residents asked the council to prioritize pedestrian safety, especially for children and older adults, and to consider a citywide traffic‑safety policy and funding mechanism.