Albany staff present draft Active Transportation networks; Solano and San Pablo flagged as long-term priorities

City staff and consultants gave the Albany City Council a Phase 2 update on Oct. 20 on the citys Active Transportation Plan (ATP), presenting draft pedestrian and bicycle networks, and the quality standards the city would use to prioritize projects.

Justin, a city staff member leading the project presentation, described the two-tier network: a broad base network of existing sidewalks, paths and bike facilities, and a smaller subset of "high-comfort" corridors intended to be upgraded to facilities suitable for people of all ages and abilities. Consultants from Parametrix — including Jen Schreiber and Angie Chen — reviewed outreach results, collision data and a bicycle level-of-comfort analysis used to draw the draft maps.

The draft pedestrian network identifies priority corridors that serve commercial areas, schools and parks and flags priority intersections for upgrades. The bicycle network shows an extensive base system of on-street and shared-use facilities plus a high-comfort subset where protected or buffered facilities would be targeted. Consultants said the high-comfort network follows NACTO and other national design guidance and that project recommendations will combine street-segment and intersection-level treatments.

Consultants presented examples of how standards would be applied on specific streets. For instance, Jackson Street (Castro to Buchanan) is on the base bike network today but includes a short segment with a high reported comfort concern. Options to improve conditions there include traffic-calming measures, advisory bike-lane treatments, buffered lanes or protected lanes; each option carries tradeoffs such as parking impacts or required speed reductions.

Project staff highlighted Solano Avenue and San Pablo Avenue as special focus corridors. Solano has been the subject of separate council direction and will have a parallel design and engagement process; San Pablo was identified by the Transportation Commission and some public commenters as a long-term, high-comfort regional route that would require coordination with Alameda County and neighboring cities.

Public commenters and council members raised several recurring themes: calls for protected bike lanes on major corridors, improved crossings and intersection treatments near schools, stricter enforcement of traffic laws and better lighting and sidewalk maintenance. Multiple speakers urged widening and reconfiguring the Ohlone Greenway to separate through cyclists from walking and running paths; others asked that the draft network reflect stronger north-south connections across Cerrito Creek.

Council members and residents also suggested additional route alternatives for the city to study, including extending a bike route on Carmel Avenue down to Solano Avenue because of its relatively flat grade and connection to neighboring jurisdictions.

Staff said the next ATP steps are to assemble a project-prioritization list based on the standards presented, finalize policy language and carry out a targeted public outreach round. Solano Avenue design work will proceed on a parallel track and go to the Transportation Commission prior to returning to council for further action. Staff also said project-level engineering and interagency coordination will be required for several high-priority items, such as cross-creek connections and San Pablo Avenue improvements.

No council vote was required; staff sought feedback and direction on the draft networks and standards.