Temecula has all the amenities of suburbia except for safe routes for pedestrians and bicyclists. Blogger Rick Peoples and other Patch contributors have presented a false image of Temecula being safe and friendly for the non-motoring public. The reality is that Temecula has been an incorporated city for 23 years and has not completed missing sidewalk and bike lane linkages in all this time.
Money was found to build a $70 million Civic Center, an awesome Children's Museum, a Community Theater, a beautiful library and no less than three dozen parks, but there remains a lack of safe routes for non-motorists to enjoy these amenities. This means children, disabled individuals and the non-driving public must be dependent on others to utilize these facilities or endanger themselves translocating themselves due to a lack of safe routes.
If you feel more should be done to prioritize the safety of your children, friends, family and neighbors in Temecula, you are encouraged to attend the Temecula City Council Budget Workshop at 10:00 a.m. this Wednesday, May 22 at the Civic Center Conference Room and voice your concern.
As a citizen advocate for public safety (and former member of the Temecula Traffic Safety Commission) I have addressed the City Council on this need to no avail, which is why city leaders need to hear from other concerned residents. It is unfortunate this workshop is scheduled at a time when most parents and students will not be able to attend, so I ask fellow Temecula citizens to contact your friends and neighbors to attend this workshop for those who are unable to be there.
At last Tuesday's City Council meeting, a $45,000 expenditure was approved for a consultant to update the trails and bikeways plan the City has largely ignored for decades. This study does not include implementing safe sidewalks paths for pedestrians and the disabled community.
It is tragic that city leadership has ignored the necessity of safe routes for non-vehicular traffic and tragedies have occurred due to this negligence. Taking action to prevent a tragedy is always a better course than responding after somebody close to you has been injured or killed.
For a community to be whole and healthy it must be based on people's love and concern for each other. --Millard Fuller, founder of Habitat for Humanity
