Orinda council pauses plan to remove Ivy Drive restriction after residents object; directs more study

The Orinda City Council on July 15 declined to adopt staff's full proposal to remove a longstanding no-left-turn restriction at the north intersection of Ivy Drive and Moraga Way, electing instead to send the item back for more study and public engagement.

City staff and the city's traffic consultant had proposed removing one no-left-turn sign, extending the hours on intermediate no-turn restrictions from 7 a.m.'8 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.' 8:30 a.m., modifying signal timing and adding a new no-right-turn sign on Ardith Drive as a pilot to limit cut-through traffic to Miramonte High School. Director of Public Works Scott Christie told the council the study recommended the changes as a trial, with the option to revert or tweak signage based on monitoring: "The study recommends that that no left turn sign at the north end be removed, and changing those intermediate signs, from 7 to 8AM to 07:30 to 08:30AM, and then to modify our traffic signal timing controls…