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Residents urge council to rethink Fruitland Avenue traffic-calming plan, cite driveway encroachments and parking loss
Summary
Multiple Fruitland Avenue residents told council the current design places roundabouts and traffic-calming features in front of driveways, removes parking and may reduce property values; one resident proposed redesigns that he said would save roughly $290,000. Several asked for clearer notice and a simpler, lower-cost safety plan.
A stream of Fruitland Avenue residents used the council's public-comment period to urge the Atwater City Council to reconsider planned traffic-calming features, including three roundabouts and 12 smaller traffic-calming elements that residents say will remove parking and obstruct driveways.
Roger Wood, identifying himself as spokesperson for Fruitland East residents, said the current plan "rewarded us with the most expensive Street in Atwater" and asked the council to eliminate three roundabouts and 12 features to save about $290,000. Wood said the redesign would also avoid pruning or removing century-old orange trees and would restore a promised second driveway in one location.
"The savings from my proposed changes of eliminating the three circles and 12 calming features is $240,000 for the circles and $54,000 for the features for a total of approximately $290,000," Wood said. He and other residents said the features remove on-street parking and could reduce property values.
Other residents detailed near-term impacts: a Fruitland resident said a planned circle would sit in the middle of her driveway and that an engineer suggested she "drive up over the traffic circle" to exit, a suggestion she said was unacceptable for households that tow boats or trailers. Several residents said they learned about the plans only from mailed notices and a community meeting with limited advance notice and asked for more transparent outreach.
Anita Lingan Felter Mason, whose family built her house in 1966, said the proposed roundabout would remove part of her circular driveway and expressed concern that children and drivers would not slow for roundabouts the same way they do for raised strips.
Councilmembers acknowledged the volume of concern and said staff and the city manager would follow up with residents. The council did not take immediate action to change the design during this meeting.
Why it matters: the Fruitland Avenue resurfacing project will directly alter neighborhood circulation, parking and front-yard access for many residents; the comments underscore the need for additional design review and direct resident outreach before final approvals.
