Mark Talks about Livability: Pedestrian Safety and Traffic Concerns

Submitted By: MarkForCouncil2022@gmail.com – Click to email about this post
I’m Mark Kuestner (KEST-ner) and I’m running for City Council. I’ve been going door-to-door to find out what’s on the minds of Manzanita voters. One of the most commonly voiced issues is concern for street safety for pedestrians and how many bad drivers there are!

Manzanita is a community that loves to walk! We walk with our spouses, with our neighbors, alone, and with our dogs. We meet friends as we walk on our beautiful beach, we get our daily steps in by using the wonderful bike/pedestrian path in our state park, or—for the more adventurous of us—we hike on the new hiking trail that connects to Neahkahnie Mountain.

But I’ve been noticing that there is much more vehicle traffic in the residential parts of town. Many of those drivers are going too fast and driving unsafely around blind curves. We witnessed this in every neighborhood where we were canvassing. Often, the voter we were meeting would express their dismay and frustration as someone whizzed by. Some wished speed limit signs were posted, others wished for speed bumps or stop signs. Many talked about their safety fears for their pets or grandchildren.

It seems to me that it’s time to discuss the very real need to address pedestrian safety. Let’s consider speed bumps, new traffic patterns, and sidewalks. These things will keep our own livability factor high while accommodating the growing numbers of people who share our community at various times during the year.

Visit my website www.MarkForCouncil2022.com for more information about how I will bring ideas and action to our City’s government. You can also watch a brief video where I talk about these concerns at https://youtu.be/loz-WQGOrcg.

If you support my campaign, please submit your endorsement on my website. Thank you!