Albany Transportation Commission backs draft active-transportation networks, urges long-term plan for San Pablo Avenue

The Albany Transportation Commission on June 26 recommended that the City Council approve the draft active transportation networks developed in phase 2 of the city's Active Transportation Plan, while adding several clarifications and priorities, including treating San Pablo Avenue as a long‑term high‑comfort corridor and advancing parallel high‑comfort routes.

The recommendation follows a presentation from the city's consultants on the plan's network-development work and roughly three weeks of online public feedback. Pete Russitti of Parametrics briefed the commission on the project approach and draft maps, and Angie Chan, a subconsultant, described the plan's “nested” approach: a full network and a smaller set of pedestrian and bicycle corridors identified for higher comfort and priority treatments. Ben (staff member) and Justin (staff member) represented city staff during the briefing.

The commission's action matters because the networks set the “bones” of future design, project prioritization and capital improvement planning. The consultants said the plan is intentionally outcome‑driven at this stage — identifying where the city wants “all ages and abilities” (AAA) experiences rather than prescribing final facilities for every street — so corridor‑level design and cost estimates will come in phase 3.

Consultants described how they compiled the draft networks from the 2012 Albany plan, updated design guidance from NACTO and Alameda CTC, traffic counts and collision history. ‘‘This was really the network development phase,’’ Russitti said, describing phase 2 as the step that fills gaps and updates the city's earlier map to reflect current…