October is a great month in Saratoga. The air cools, oaks rustle, and—because this is California—we pretend we have four seasons by switching to light jackets. As the days shorten, a quick safety plug: If you’re walking at dawn or after dusk, carry a small flashlight and wear something reflective. It makes a real difference in how early drivers see you.

A lot of change is headed our way, so I want to talk plainly about traffic—what’s coming, why some streets feel fast and what we can do together.

First, the basics. Saratoga has many wide residential roads with no sidewalks. People don’t just drive the posted limit; they “drive the road.” Wide lanes, long sightlines and few visual cues tend to invite higher speeds. One inexpensive but powerful tool is paint: center lines, edge lines, lane

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