Ken Biester is the chairman of the commission. "We act as an interface between city council and citizens who have traffic complaints," he said.

Peggy Guichard, Brigitte Ballingall, Michael Bustamante and Mitch Kane also sit on the commission.

Its role is to investigate, review and analyze traffic issues that the public has brought to the city, and then make recommendations to the city council. Commissioners get feedback from residents, make site visits and meet with the city's traffic engineer, Sohrab Rashid. A recommendation from the Traffic Safety Commission can lead to Public Works director John Cherbone taking action.

"If we get a suggestion that someone wants a sign put in because of a speeding issue, we will look into and see what we can do," Cherbone said. Speed bumps, new signage and parking and pedestrian safety projects have resulted from past recommendations from the commission.

Traffic safety commissioners apply for the position, interview and then are appointed by the city council for four-year terms. Before budget cuts last year, the commission was called the Public Safety Commission and had seven members, but has since been scaled back to five. Its role had been wider, involving law enforcement and fire protection services and bikes and trails issues. The commission had met monthly but started meeting quarterly last year and focusing exclusively on traffic safety.

Ballingall has served for seven years. She decided to get involved after moving to Saratoga from New York. "I had a third-grader and a fourth-grader at the time, and we had to drive them to school," she said. "In New York, kids took the bus. I couldn't understand why a progressive state like California couldn't provide better transportation to schools for its children."

Traffic at schools has traditionally been the No. 1 traffic safety issue in Saratoga. "When parents are picking up and dropping off children, there's a huge amount of traffic," Biester said. "We can't eliminate it, but we can work to smooth it out."

Ballingall has worked extensively with the commission and the city to improve traffic patterns at Saratoga's schools, but doesn't see that issue coming up at the next meeting.

Although smaller than it once was, the commission is still able to handle its workload, Biester and Ballingall said.