Close the exit!

SFGate reports today that the Mariposa exit off 280S is a hot mess. We already knew that. Drivers have two options there:  stay in the left lane that ends in a T junction at Mariposa, and forget to stop (several cars have gone over the barrier and fallen 25' onto the freeway below) or stay in the right lane that curls around Pennsylvania Garden to spit speeding drivers onto Penn Ave, where customers of Center Hardware are backing in and out of spaces, and pedestrians are crossing the road, often with kids and dogs in tow. Oh, and then those drivers realize they should have gone the other way, so they often do a U turn on Penn Ave and risk lives again.

Our fab neighbor Sage is reported in the article, and did you know several other neighbors have discussed this point over the years too? Ideally I think adding speed bumps and signage to the off ramp to prevent the cars flying over the end of the T junction is great, and then closing the 180 degree right lane curve around Pennsylvania Garden completely.

We'd get more gardening room, and no cars speeding down the street. Win-win! I even talked ot the owner of a semi truck delivering boulders to the 100 block of Penn Ave in recently weeks, and he said the curved lane is not necessary for a big, long truck to exit the freeway - the T junction alone is just fine.

So.... what are we waiting for?