The proposed new Greenwood Bridge has two 8' shoulders,
no sidewalk, and a new Caltrans railing that lacks grace and character.
The 8' shoulders will give the bridge the appearance of
a high-speed expressway, rather than a scenic bridge on a rural road.
The lack of a sidewalk will endanger local people and
those using the Coastal Trail.
The proposed "ST-20" railing, while less visually opaque than the
originally proposed concrete railing, lacks grace and character, and
ignores the 2001 Commission request to Caltrans to design a railing
incorporating curved and arched elements. The ST-20 modifies
the scenic Noyo Bridge railing by
adding three more horizontal rails to raise the height from 33" to 54".
It is designed to be used without a sidewalk or inner protective railing.
A sidewalk with a protective rail on the inner, traffic
side would be much safer. A
newly designed outer pedestrian rail would be more aesthetic and
less visually obtrusive to motorists and, especially pedestrians and
bicyclists.
Caltrans also plans to build the new bridge
inland from the existing bridge. The new route will require extensive
cuts into hillsides bordering the road. To buttress the cut hillsides, Caltrans proposes to construct
650 feet of concrete retaining walls up to 26' in height. Building the
new bridge over the old bridge in stages (Alternative 2) would eliminate
the need for the concrete retaining walls. The community and commission
staff support Alternative 2.
Fill in the
information below the following letter to
support changes in the Greenwood and other coastal bridge projects.
You can modify the contents of the
letter.
Your comments on the project will be
taken to the hearing on September 15, 2005 and placed in the record.