DANGEROUS PATCH OF ROAD
Letter to the Editor
Healdsburg Tribune – 9/19/2013
There is a stretch of road at the north end of Healdsburg that could just be the worst patch of asphalt in the entire county. It’s about a third of a mile long and it’s in between Simi Winery and Alexander Valley Road. The southbound lane is particularly hazardous to cyclist. As the road crests right at the Healdsburg City Limits sign it begins a deceptive decent. As a cyclist picks up speed he/she swerves to miss the hazardous road conditions looking for the smooth patches to prevent tearing up tires and being thrown to the ground. At the same time southbound traffic is also picking up speed and since the road is substandard with no shoulder it becomes very dangerous for the cycles trying to get out of the way of traffic.
The county has just paved the first two miles of W. Dry Creek Rd., two miles of Litton Springs and the two mile entrance to Geyserville. The River Rock Casino has repaved much of Hwy 128 but this little patch of road remains untouched. I think the reason that it hasn’t been resurfaced is that the city is waiting for the Saggio Hills development to repave the road however that development could be ten years away.
I was thinking that if one of the City council members is a cyclist they could ride the road to see how really bad the situation is but because of the city’s potential liability maybe the city attorney should to ride it.
I’m a fiscal conservative and I think the city should save money where it can but this stretch of road is a serious threat to cyclists. I think the city could wait for the Saggio Hills development to upgrade and repave the road if they would just put, say, a two foot wide strip of asphalt on the south bound shoulder of the road. The north bound lane is also a mess but because the cyclist is pulling a grade it is not as dangerous. So please, please, please help us cyclist and motorist out and Healdsburg just may get that “Cyclist Friendly” designation that was denied us.