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Council approves $1.4 million city share for Treat Boulevard protected bike lanes amid traffic concerns

October 08, 2025 | Walnut Creek City, Contra Costa County, California


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Council approves $1.4 million city share for Treat Boulevard protected bike lanes amid traffic concerns
The Walnut Creek City Council on Oct. 7 approved a resolution authorizing the city manager to enter the joint exercise of powers agreement with Contra Costa County and to appropriate $1,400,000 toward the Treat Boulevard Corridor improvements, the city’s share of a multiagency project to add protected bikeways across the freeway bridge and through the Contra Costa Center area.

The project will add a Class 4 (physically protected) bikeway in both directions on Treat Boulevard between North Main Street and Jones Road for the corridor segments under city jurisdiction and will convert several existing curbside lanes and free right-turn (slip) movements to buffered bike lanes, new signal phasing and marked conflict zones. Staff described the city portion as roughly a half-mile segment from North Main to Jones Road and said the county’s portion continues east across the bridge and in the Contra Costa Center area.

City staff and the county emphasized safety and network connectivity as primary goals. Brianna Burn, associate traffic engineer for the city, told the council the design will narrow or remove some vehicle lanes where needed to accommodate the protected bikeways and will add conflict markings, buffers and posts where full curb separation is not feasible. Jamar Stamps, principal planner for Contra Costa County, said several slip lanes that currently allow free right turns will be closed; in some locations right-turn capacity will be preserved by converting curb-adjacent lanes into two right-turn lanes with dedicated green-arrow signal phasing to manage pedestrian and bicyclist crossings.

Council members pressed staff on traffic impacts. Staff reported a queuing analysis and said Caltrans reviewed the operations and requested iterative changes—most notably adding double right-turn lanes in one location to keep traffic moving. For one peak movement, staff said the modeled change increased average delay in the morning peak by about 60 seconds; staff also said the methodology used for level-of-service comparisons changed since prior studies and that the difference versus existing conditions is likely smaller than raw LOS numbers suggest. Officials emphasized that Caltrans’ primary constraint is preventing queueing that would reach the freeway.

The county-led project team said it engaged business and community stakeholders during the feasibility and design phases, including the Contra Costa Center Municipal Advisory Council (now dissolved), the Contra Costa Center Business Association and local bicycle groups such as Bike East Bay and Bike Walnut Creek. Council members and staff discussed the temporary-style posts used on other Walnut Creek pilot routes and noted long-term materials would depend on final design and cost.

On funding, staff said the city contribution of $1,400,000 would come from local transportation capital funds, including Measure J/CCTA return-to-source allocations. Staff explained some funds were reprogrammed from another project but said the expectation is that those allocations can be replaced or replenished through normal CCTA programming. The county is leading construction and grant administration for its portions; the city’s vote was to commit the local share for the city-managed segments.

Council action and next steps: the council adopted the resolution authorizing the city manager to execute the JPA and appropriate $1,400,000 for the project. The motion passed with four votes in favor and one abstention. Council members asked staff to press county and Caltrans partners on signal timing and to monitor operations closely after construction; staff committed to ongoing coordination and to returning with operational adjustments if needed.

Why it matters: the corridor connects major employment and transit hubs and fills a network gap for people who bike and for pedestrians accessing BART and nearby destinations. Council members balanced safety and connectivity goals against concerns about vehicle delay and local traffic backups. The county portion will proceed under the county’s schedule and grant conditions, but the city’s funding commitment was approved to secure the city’s segment of the safety improvements.

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