City transportation staff presented a package of design alternatives on May 20, 2025, for a proposed Mission Street road diet that would reduce most of the roadway from four travel lanes to two, add a two‑way left‑turn lane, install bike lanes, and create curbside parklets and outdoor dining spaces.

The proposal centers on converting Mission Street to a narrower cross section and performing a slurry seal and restripe rather than full reconstruction. "If we're gonna do this change to Mission Street, it should be towards the idea of doing something permanent," staff member Ted said during the presentation, describing the plan to use rubberized striping and roadway resurfacing as a long‑term demonstration that could be upgraded in a later capital project.

Commissioners and members of the public raised traffic‑flow and safety concerns at several constrained intersections, notably Fremont, Mound and Orange Grove. Staff presented traffic modeling showing modest increases in vehicle delay for several alternatives and described three alternatives for the constrained Fremont–Ferris segment: (1) a full conversion to a two‑lane configuration; (2) a variant that retains some turn pockets to reduce delay; and (3) a version with supplemental right‑turn pockets at selected intersections. The modeling showed level‑of‑service changes in the AM and PM peak hours depending on the alternative; staff emphasized that the project aims to slow traffic and improve pedestrian and bicycle conditions while keeping vehicle delays within acceptable limits.

Staff said the preferred cross section includes a 5‑foot striped bike lane (6 feet where feasible), an 11‑foot parking or travel lane adjacent to parklets, and a 10‑ to 12‑foot travel lane; in tighter spots the through lane width was shown as 10 feet. Commissioners pressed staff on conflict zones where bike lanes drop out for right turns, on relocation of bus stops, on maintaining deliveries and truck access, and on how the design would tie into other future capital projects (for example, the Mission–Pasadena tie‑in and Fremont Avenue work). Staff responded that some items—signal pole relocation, curb bulb rework, and major intersection reconfiguration—are likely to be part of later capital projects and require additional funding and coordination.

Staff gave a preliminary budget range: roughly $270,000 for traffic signal and related work, about $350,000 for a slurry seal covering the project limits, about $250,000 for final design and business outreach, and additional costs for streetscape/parklet finish work. Staff said the assembled estimate for the package as presented would be on the order of $1 million if the city pays for the roadway resurfacing, striping and the market/parklet furnishings. "In entirety, we're talking about a million dollars to really levy this the way it should be," Ted said.

Public commenters and several commissioners urged stronger physical protection for bike lanes (not just green paint), careful sequencing where the diet begins near Orange Grove Park, and early outreach to businesses that would host parklets. Casey Law of South Pass Active told the commission that lowering speeds and adding bike facilities supports city climate and pedestrian safety goals. Parents and neighborhood speakers urged protection for school crossings and better crossing guard distribution, which several commissioners said should be handled via separate neighborhood traffic‑calming or school‑safety processes.

Staff asked the commission for a recommendation that the city include the Mission Street road diet concept in the capital improvement program and pursue funding and detailed design. Commissioners broadly expressed support for the concept as an improvement over the current four‑lane configuration while asking staff to return with refined designs for problematic intersections, clarified parking impacts, and follow‑up community outreach plans. No formal action or vote on the road diet was taken at the May 20 meeting; staff will carry commission comments into the design and budgeting process and return with further refinements.

The commission requested additional analysis of: how the proposed changes might re‑route traffic to nearby east–west streets, more detailed intersection modeling for the Fremont–Ferris and Mound approaches, and options for adding low‑cost parking‑protected bike facilities or vertical delineators at high‑conflict locations. Staff said it would return with those materials as part of the next design phase and related CIP programming.