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Hello,

I am writing this email to request that the following issue be added to your agenda for consideration by the East Palo Alto Public Works Committee:

Speed Bumps and Improved Street Lights for Kavanaugh Drive

On July 28th, my nephew D'Andre Stamper was mowed down and killed by a high-speed driver as he crossed the street in front of his home 1419 Kavanaugh Drive. D'Andre was a graduate of Colgate University and a former student and star basketball player at Eastside Preparatory School. The driver was going so fast and the impact was so bad that D'Andre's internal organs were smashed to the pavement and he literally had to be scraped from the street in front of our home! There is no doubt in our minds that had there been speed bumps the impact to D'Andre could have been far less damaging and possibly not fatal. Over the years, there have been petitions circulated for speed bumps but they were always rejected. I would also like to request historical data on the number of petitions that have been filed for speed bumps on Kavanaugh Drive. I would like to know:

number of petitions

when they were filed

why they weren't granted

The other issue that I would like to submit for consideration is the issue of street lights. Currently there are street lights on every other utility pole. The lighting on the existing street lights is very dim. We are requesting that the Public Works Committee also consider adding street lights to EACH utility pole and we are also requesting that the street light wattage be increased.

As lifelong residents on Kavanaugh Drive, we have been terrorized by drivers for decades. It has gotten increasingly worse in the last 20 years due to increased traffic to Tech businesses that have been built in our community. Day and night, drivers speed through Kavanaugh Drive as they use our street as a cut through between Willow Road and University Avenue. There have been several car accidents on Kavanaugh Drive due to the  high rate of speed of drivers.

The City must address the impact that speeding drivers and insufficient lighting is having on the residents of Kavanaugh Drive. We have the full support of the Menlo Park Fire Protection District, Station 2 Chief and his staff in East Palo Alto. They have assured us that speed bumps will not damage any first responder equipment or vehicles. 

The lighting is so poor, that the San Mateo County Coroner's Office missed hair and teeth from my nephew when they were collecting organic matter from the accident. Although they provided their own lighting, they remarked several times how dimly lit our street is. Imagine how horrific this was for our family to have to collect D'Andre's hair and teeth ourselves! We are addressing this issue with the Coroner's Office as well, however the insufficient lighting is another safety issue for each and every resident on our street. 

We implore your committee and the City of East Palo Alto to grant speed bumps and increased lighting on Kavanaugh Drive! We should not have to circulate petitions when someone has been killed due to the City's negligence to acknowledge the hazards posed by speeding drivers and dimly lit streets. Speed bumps and other traffic control measures have recently been implemented in other parts of the City; why wasn't Kavanaugh Drive listed as a priority when these improvements were being considered? We look forward to attending your next meeting. In your response, please confirm the day and time of your next meeting.

Regards,

Nicole Steward-Crooks

Resident - 1419 Kavanaugh Drive.