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The Pleasanton City Council is set Tuesday to talk about traffic changes along a stretch of Owens Drive after hearing complaints from residents in recent months about a lane reduction and driving delays through the area.
Three eastbound lanes of Owens Drive were reduced to one lane in front of a new four-story apartment building soon to be opened at Owens and Willow Road. Resident complaints ramped up once construction fencing came down around the project area and new curbing and lane closures showed the Owens Drive narrowing was permanent.
The decision to decrease the lanes was made by the council in 2012, and the debate actually dated back to 2010 and 2011 as part of the city’s public consideration the Hacienda Transit Oriented Development Standards and Design Guidelines, according to community development manager Gerry Beaudin.
“The Owens Drive lane modification was made deliberately, with significant community input and was based on sound data, with the comfort and convenience of all road users in mind,” Beaudin wrote in his staff report to the council.
That stretch of Owens Drive is within parameters to operate as a single-lane road based on traffic patterns, according to Beaudin, who noted that wide roadways and vehicle speed are often deterrents for pedestrians and bicyclists.
The lane reduction did result in traffic delays because it takes longer to process eastbound cars through the intersection compared to when it was three lanes, according to Beaudin
But another key factor contributing to driving delays is the signalized Iron Horse Regional Trail crossing at Owens Drive near that area, with a pedestrian button that would stop traffic for 30 seconds each time and cause traffic to back up to Willow Road, Beaudin said.
“This volume of pedestrian/bicycle traffic created a nearly continuous activation of the Iron Horse Trail crossing,” he added.
In response, city officials in January changed the 30-second crossing to a two-stage crossing of 10 seconds for the eastbound lane and 20 seconds for the westbound lanes, having trail-users wait at the median in between if they can’t make it across.
City officials think the adjustment will help reduce driver delays along Owens Drive, Beaudin said, adding, “The shorter 10-second red for eastbound Owens Drive will minimize the queues and delay at the Iron Horse Trail crossing.”
Meanwhile, rebuilding Owens Drive to two or three eastbound lanes would cost an estimated $1 million for construction, according to Beaudin.
Long-range plans call for Owens to be a two-lane roadway, one lane in each direction, between Willow Road and the Kaiser Permanente driveway, he added.
Tuesday’s council meeting is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. in the council chambers in the Pleasanton Civic Center at 200 Old Bernal Ave.
It seems a little late to be discussing this now. The concrete, she has set up!
But perhaps moving the median, so it’s two lanes in each direction inkstand of 1 and 3?
Concrete can be removed. It’s just a bit more difficult than dirt and weeds.
…take the next street over? I get it, humans are averse to change, but there are other options.
The cities traffic engineer who had to sign off on this change should be looking for a new job.
Have they considered that what may have made sense many years ago when the economy was slower doesn’t make sense now? Or are they unwilling to reconsider because that would require changing their minds?
Didn’t you know the job of the city traffic engineer is to engineer traffic jams?
Seriously though, this really smells rotten. They turned 2 lanes of a public thoroughfare into a parking lot right in front of an apartment complex? Anyone know who on city council got the kickback from the developers on that one?