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CAC weighs multiple traffic and streetscape fixes — roundabouts, sidewalks and a Main‑Street option
Summary
Urban Field Studio presented alternatives for Woodside Road and two key intersections (Kenyatta and Whiskey Hill) including minor crosswalk upgrades, three‑way stops, mini‑roundabouts, frontage road or a full Main‑Street redesign; CAC members split on roundabouts, prioritized safety and asked for design visuals and Caltrans coordination.
The CAC discussed a wide range of circulation options for the town center after a presentation by Urban Field Studio. Consultants framed four broad approaches for each focal area: leave conditions unchanged; make minor pedestrian and crosswalk upgrades; pursue a comprehensive redesign (including changes to parking and slip lanes); or test a roundabout (often a mini roundabout where space allows).
Consultants said roundabouts can reduce crossing distance and improve pedestrian visibility in many contexts, but CAC members raised concerns specific to Woodside: horses, schoolchildren, horse trailers and trucks are frequent users, and some members recalled litigation and divisive experience with prior parking‑district proposals. "It's been tried and it failed," one member said of earlier frontage‑parking proposals; another said a roundabout could be “a terrible idea” for the Kenyatta intersection with safety trade‑offs for pedestrians and equestrians.
Participants urged a measured technical analysis: feasibility studies that show travel‑time impacts, truck and horse trailer accommodation, sight‑distance constraints (Caltrans standards were cited), and community education on how a roundabout would work in a mixed‑use equestrian town. Consultants agreed to return with diagrams, travel‑time and safety analyses, and to coordinate early with Caltrans.
CAC members repeatedly emphasized sequencing and dependencies: most speakers said parking and access must be addressed before or alongside any plaza or gathering proposals.
