Community Corner

Left-Hand Turn Lane Into Sam's Chowder House May Help Traffic

Owners of the Half Moon Bay restaurant are working on improving safety and traffic issues with a new left-hand turn lane on Highway 1.

A few weeks ago, Half Moon Bay Patch posted an article that mapped your picks for the worst intersections and roads on the Coast. On that map, readers marked Highway 1 in front of Sam’s Chowder House as one of the most dangerous pullouts in the area.

A recent topic on Half Moon Bay Review’s TalkAbout serves as another reminder that an accident is just waiting to happen on this stretch of Highway 1 in front of Sam's.

LocalFriend wrote into the Review:  “Does anyone else think they need to do something about the turning situation in front of Sam's restaurant? For example, put in a turning lane or just make it a double yellow- too many times I am forced to slam on my breaks for people making last minute decisions to turn there. I’ve had too many close calls with people who clearly aren’t sure where they are going, and then just flat out stopping in the middle of the highway.”

Many residents commented on this topic, including Paul and Julie Shenkman, owners of Sam's Chowder House. Here's what they emailed the Review in response: “We have been planning to fund and build a left-hand turn lane in front of Sam's for quite some time. The design and implementation has been in the works for a while to help improve safety and traffic issues outside the restaurant. The work on this project started five months ago, and we hope to begin construction any day now. The last step is that we are waiting for our final permit from Caltrans so that we may begin. We ask for your patience for a little longer during the actual construction of the left-hand turn lane, as it will result in better safety and traffic flow. We apologize in advance for the inconvenience.”

Still, even though the turn lane will help, many are still concerned, calling the traffic situation there “the biggest roadblock north of Half Moon Bay" and another commenter, John Gruver of Moss Beach, describing it as "a heavily-congested vehicle conveyance (really vehicle non-conveyance)."  

It's "inadequate parking" and pedestrians crossing that stretch of highway that many on the Review thread say remain as big issues when it comes to safety. On a busy weekend day, it’s not to uncommon to find cars overflowing onto Highway 1, parking on both the west and east side of the highway, and people walking out into traffic to cross. 

So what’s the solution? Make people park at the harbor and walk? Ban parking on Highway 1? Install protected center medians for pedestrians so they can much more easily safely cross without a signal? Ban all left turns onto the highway if there's no merge lane? And who should be held accountable to remedy this? City and County officials, the business owners or both?

Tell us what you think in the comments.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here