The City of Albany Transportation Commission met on March 24th 2022 to discuss bike accessibility and safety projects. The Albany Transportation Commission’s next meeting on Thursday, April 28th, 2022 at 7 PM.
Transportation consultant Corey Peterson presented Albany’s Local Road Safety Plan to the Commission. One of the goals of this initiative is to improve pedestrian, bike and transit rider safety by identifying collision hotspots and proposing countermeasures to the City of Albany. The project is scheduled to be finished in the fall of 2022. To aid in this effort, residents can report unsafe areas for cyclists and pedestrians on the Local Roadway Safety Plan website.
The Commission also unanimously voted to prioritize two projects for state and federal grant funding: the San Pablo and Buchanan Complete Streets Project and the construction of the Pierce Street Park Bikeway. The San Pablo Complete Streets Project specifically aims to improve pedestrian and cyclist crossing safety at major intersections. This initiative is especially important because according to the Alameda County Transportation Commission, pedestrians and cyclists make up 64% of serious injuries and deaths caused by collisions on San Pablo while only accounting for 10% of the total travelers. The Commission will apply for the funding from the Active Transportation Program, One Bay Area Grant Cycle 3, and the Alameda County CTC 2024 Comprehensive Investment Plan to improve bike and pedestrian safety along these corridors.
The Commission is involved in additional San Pablo Avenue improvement efforts like the San Pablo Ave Specific Plan. This plan aims to increase affordable housing developments along San Pablo Ave. while transforming the street into a “walkable, [public] transit-oriented, mixed-use urban boulevard.” The Commission discussed edits to the first draft of the transportation section of the Plan. Commissioner Robert del Rosario recommended that they include mandates for alternative travel support and zero minimum parking requirements while Chair Ken McCroskey recommended that they require all large vehicle parking to be electric charging-ready.
Finally, the Commission voted to recommend to the Albany City Council that $85,000 in city funding be provided to continue a ‘Safe-Routes to School’ bike education program. They also recommended that the Council spend $61,000 on the construction of a bike path through the affordable housing project on the corner of Washington and Cleveland Avenue off Pierce Street. These funds would be allocated from the voter-approved Sugar Sweetened Beverage Tax whose revenues are meant to support the health and wellbeing of Albany’s citizens.
These measures are consistent with the City of Albany’s 2019 Climate Action and Adaption Plan which aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2045. In 2019, 51% of Albany’s CO2 emissions were attributed to the transportation sector.
–Sonja Wooley
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