12 (19)1
Susana Barrios
From: Megan Harbert <
Date: September 7, 2023 at 4:35:09 PM PDT
To: Stephen Faessel <SFaessel@anaheim.net>
Cc: Nam Bartash <NBartash@anaheim.net>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Charter School project (DEV2021-00218) 2780 East Wagner
Avenue
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Good Afternoon, Council Member Faessel,
I am writing to express my strong concern about the proposed Charter School project
(DEV2021-00218) by Scholarship Prep at 2780 East Wagner Avenue, the site where
The Cove Church currently stands.
Traffic Congestion: One of the primary concerns I would like to address during my
time is the issue of traffic. The proposed project aims to accommodate up to 480
students, which will result in a substantial increase in traffic during drop-off and pick-up
times. Currently, our neighborhood experiences 202 vehicle trips per day on an average
weekday. However, the proposed project is estimated to increase traffic to 926 vehicle
trips per day, a net increase of 724. This traffic will all be bottlenecked in the morning,
with an estimated 465 more trips occurring in the AM hours. Residents trying to leave
the neighborhood for work, families attempting to drop off their children at the charter
school, and visitors to the Anaheim Coves walking trail will all be impacted and stuck in
this gridlock, Monday through Friday.
Ingress and Egress of Residents: Specifically, the streets that will be most affected by the
increased traffic are any residents near Marjin and Lizbeth. These streets have no back route
for residents to use when leaving their homes; there is only one entry and exit point for all
residents. This means that residents will have to contend with the increased traffic every day,
both during the morning and afternoon hours.
Pedestrian Safety: This intersection of Rio Vista and Wagner is already dangerous.
The addition of a charter school to this area will only make the intersection more
dangerous by putting pedestrians at risk. First, the sightlines are poor. Drivers do not
have a clear view of pedestrians as they are approaching the bend, which makes it easy
for them to miss someone crossing the street. Second, there is no marked crosswalk
anywhere near the vicinity of the school. Below are two links to videos of accidents in
front of and through the building site, but as a resident of the area I imagine you are
familiar with these issues. Clip #1 -accident in PM hours and Clip # 2-accident in AM
hours
2
Issues with Circulation Plan: We recognize that the developers that work with
Scholarship Prep have put forth plans for an on-site circulation map and will station staff
outside with walkie-talkies to usher traffic, but there are serious concerns about the
long-term viability of this plan. The Anaheim General Plan emphasizes the importance
of developments operating harmoniously within their surroundings. However, we fear
that the reality of asking for school staff to stand outside every morning to manage this
increased traffic in the long term will prove unrealistic. We worry these traffic
management measures will become too challenging for 1 or 2 staff to enforce and
undoubtedly will be abandoned over time.
In light of this, I am urging you to please vote against this proposal. The location is not a safe
place for a school.
Sincerely,
Megan Harbert
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