Thank you to everyone who has signed and shared the petition to improve pedestrian safety at the Warm Springs Road crossings. We now have over 150 community signatures, which shows how important this issue is to our neighborhood.

I recently received a response from Sonoma County regarding the request. While the county is planning to add zebra striping to the existing crosswalks, which will help with visibility, it unfortunately does not address the larger safety concerns our community has about these crossings.

California law requires drivers to yield to pedestrians in both marked and unmarked crosswalks under Vehicle Code 21950, but this is not consistently happening. During one recent attempt to cross, two vehicles drove past without slowing at all.

Over the past several days I have been documenting conditions at the crossings with photos, video, and measurements. Just yesterday I attempted to cross with three kids on bikes. Traffic did not stop, and once we crossed there was no sidewalk or safe shoulder to continue toward Los Guilicos Road. Cars were passing extremely close and traveling around 45 MPH.

Using a radar gun, I have also been monitoring speeds and the median traffic speed is consistently between 45 and 50 MPH, even though the posted limit is 35 MPH. In many residential areas, especially near places where children cross, speeds are typically reduced to 25 MPH to improve pedestrian safety.

Another concern is accessibility. The shoulder area immediately after the crosswalk does not appear to meet ADA accessibility requirements. In several places the path is less than 38 inches wide and the asphalt is crumbling, making it difficult for pedestrians, strollers, and wheelchairs to safely continue after crossing.

Visibility near crosswalks is also a major factor in pedestrian safety. California recently passed AB 413, the Daylighting to Save Lives law, which improves sight lines around crosswalks by limiting parking near intersections so drivers and pedestrians can see each other clearly.

One additional issue the community has raised is that many people are naturally crossing at Los Guilicos Road near the Kenwood Plaza Park entrance. This area has a marked park entrance and sidewalk, but there is no safe or designated crossing location. As a result, pedestrians are attempting to cross there regularly.

Our community would like to see one of the following improvements considered:

• A designated crosswalk at Los Guilicos Road near the park entrance
• A safe sidewalk connection with protective safety poles from the existing crosswalk to Los Guilicos Road
• Speed reduction and additional traffic calming measures in this area

Our goal is simple. We want pedestrians to be able to safely enter the crosswalk, be visible to drivers, cross at reasonable traffic speeds, and continue onto a safe walking path on the other side.

Thank you again to everyone who has supported this effort. I will continue working with the county and will keep the community updated as conversations progress.

Please keep reaching out to our local decision makers and we will make sure we have a safe place for our community to access Kenwood Plaza Park and our whole Kenwood Community.

Thank you.