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Pleasanton city staff and consultant firm Toole Design Group are continuing work to refine preferred options for creating a brand-new bikeway along the city’s major east-west thoroughfare, West Las Positas Boulevard.
As the proposed bicycle and pedestrian corridor improvements near a critical point in the design phase, the city has launched an online survey to gauge resident feedback about key aspects of the project before a conceptual design is advanced to the City Council for final consideration.
“The survey will close on Nov. 15, and all the information will be reviewed and provided at a future Bicycle, Pedestrian and Trails Committee meeting to help determine a preferred design alternative,” city officials said.
West Las Positas has been ranked as the city’s No. 1 priority for bike and pedestrian improvements, eyed for an infrastructure overhaul to provide better usability and safer access for neighborhoods, schools and job centers in northern Pleasanton.
Likely a multimillion-dollar project, construction could be divided into three segments: Foothill to Hopyard roads, Hopyard to Santa Rita roads, and Santa Rita Road to Boardwalk Street.
City staff, consultants and committee members began predesign work in late summer 2018, with nearly four months of analyzing existing conditions and data-gathering.
Then came the draft concept phase, which occurred from January to September of this year. The timeline was extended as they split some design scenarios into lower- and higher-cost options — such as bollards and pavement striping compared to using curbs and landscape barriers.
Now the project team is in the “community feedback and concept refinement” phase, which includes the online survey.
The questionnaire, complete with written and visual descriptions, asks residents to select their preference from seven options among the four concept alternatives: one-way separated bikeways (low or high cost), two-way separated bikeways (low or high cost), hybrid concept (low or high cost) and elevated two-way separated bikeway with landscaping.
It also inquires about favored buffering materials, how to handle intersections and which segment to prioritize first.
Once the survey closes, results compiled and input obtained from other key stakeholders, city staff and the consultants will present a draft conceptual design for public review and City Council approval in the January to March timeframe, setting the stage for further refining of the concept toward final design. A construction schedule would follow.
To take the survey or learn more about the project, visit www.WLPbike.com.
Do we really believe bike lanes will change behavior in kids who ride WLP today in the wrong direction? They scream down the hill from the 680 overpass straight into oncoming E bound traffic. By Hart they ride the north side of the street no matter if they are going E or W. Maybe enforcement first?
LosPo needs a whole redue. It’s 3rd world quality road with dips and bumps all over the place. I avoid it when I can.
Slightly off the topic — I want to remind parents that their young children who ride at night on dark colored bikes, wearing dark clothing, and without front and rear lights run a terrible risk of being hit by a car. I know because now that it’s dark earlier, I almost hit two of them in the past week.
And, the new set of front and rear LED lights for their bikes that you’ve just presented to them is because you love them and want them to return home safely.
All of these so-called “improvements” will be disastrous. Take a close look at each of the options, they all call for the elimination of one lane – from three to two. They cleverly place cars on the illustration to make it appear that it is a drive lane, when in fact it is parking. Note the “P” below the far/curb lane.
This “road diet” has no place in our town. This is going to create bottlenecks and increase the chance of accidents. If they want to create this utopian walk/bike scenario, then crate it from the property that runs along WLP. There are already sidewalks and bike lanes along that route. No accidents or issues that I know of. Leave it alone!!
These improvements are welcome. This is designed to increase the safety and comfort of all users along the route. The bike lanes, where they exist at all, are unprotected and very uncomfortable for the traffic speed that exists.
“increase the chance of accidents”
No, it will not.
“No accidents or issues that I know of.”
I refer you to page 41 of the Pleasanton Bike Master Plan.
I took the survey and most of the options looked good. I can only hope that when they start construction they fix ALL of WLP. It’s a road that most locals avoid even though it involves more miles and time…just not worth it to risk busting and axle and yes, it is that bad. I’m sure that the tree roots along that street have a lot to do with the poor condition of the roadbed. Or maybe they can blame PG&E for not maintaining its underground lines ;>)
John you are very correct, the images are very misleading, especially 1a and 4 where the difference is the elimination of one lane going west altogether.
I also love how cost is pretty much completely avoided. If money is no object why not propose a gold plated road?
What’s the available budget for this? Give me the options that fit the budget.
Don’t try to inflate the required budget by using community input as justification for “this is what the community is demanding “