See below the message that was delivered to Mayor Safford and the rest of the City Council on Septmber 13, 2025. We thank DPW Commissioner Chuck Marshall for his continued support of this important project!
Dear Mayor and Commissioners,
Our citizen advocacy group, Saratoga Safer Streets, has been urging increased pedestrian, bike, driver and homeowner safety measures on Grand Avenue, West of West Avenue, for the past four and a half years.
We left the meeting with Commissioner Marshall and the Department of Public Works on September 10, 2025 with a positive outlook that a consensus has finally been reached regarding the urgently needed infrastructure to be installed on Grand Avenue from West Avenue to Rowland Street/City Limit.
While this project has taken many twists and turns over the past 4.5+ years and three administrations, it was encouraging to see the City, Saratoga Safer Streets members (125+ members), and other neighbors with differing viewpoints, come to a clear compromise and conclusion. The plans as they now stand — with a 5-foot sidewalk as the primary infrastructure — represent the broadest agreement possible. We strongly encourage that these plans be finalized and put out to bid for construction without further delay.
At the meeting, neighbors and other citizens who had previously supported a multi-use trail came to understand the substantial impact it would have had on adjacent homeowners. The City received a petition from 50+ Grand Avenue homeowners whose properties would have been significantly diminished by a 10-foot (later reduced to 8-foot) multi-use trail plus a 4-foot road boundary. For many, losing more than 12 feet of front yard was an unacceptable burden. Importantly, these homeowners have agreed to support the sidewalk solution as a fair compromise for the greater good of the community.
We want to emphasize that while our group continues to support bike-first infrastructure such as multi-use trails and bike lanes in appropriate areas of the city, the ONLY common-sense solution on Grand Avenue is sidewalks.
Thank you for your continued commitment to bringing this long-awaited project to completion. Please let us know if you have any questions or require further input.
Sincerely,
Sheila Cowieson
Joe Ogden
Rebecca Oppenneer
Rachel Rosan
Saratoga Safer Streets