San Leandro council rejects immediate move to study one-way opening of Lake Chabot Road; staff and fire officials urged keeping road closed

San Leandro city staff told the City Council on Feb. 3, 2025, that Lake Chabot Road should remain closed while crews prioritize permanent repairs, and a proposed council motion to hire a geotechnical consultant and proceed with design for a temporary one-way westbound circulation failed on a 3-3 vote with one recusal.

The issue matters to thousands of residents who rely on the hilltop Bayo Vista neighborhood for daily access and would be affected in an emergency: city presentations described an $11 million estimate to repair four damaged slope locations along the road and said interim changes could increase risks to emergency access and neighborhood circulation.

Public Works Director Sheila Marquesas and City Engineer Jason presented technical findings and alternatives, describing a November 2011 geotechnical investigation and follow-ups in 2018–2019 that found embankment fill settlement and downslope creep. Marquesas told the council the project team recommended keeping the road closed “to protect the hillside back in November before the storms” and to focus on permanent repairs and required environmental clearances tied to federal grant funding.

Jason, the city engineer, said staff asked Langan (the geotechnical engineer of record) for a supplemental investigation. Langan’s proposed scope would include a new topographic survey and slope-stability evaluation; the fee shown in the staff report was $89,500 and staff said the study would take roughly 10–12 weeks if approved. Staff separately estimated about $20,000 to design traffic-control measures for an interim one-way pattern but said FHWA grant rules and project budgets would limit which costs were reimbursable and that some items (including this geotechnical study) would be paid from city funds.

The Alameda County Fire Department spoke against a one-way interim opening. “Fire does not support a one-way option for this road due to the fact that if we need to get in in the event of emergency, specifically, a wildfire or major disaster, Lake Chabot Road would be the main artery for our fire apparatus coming up,” said Paige Buie, division chief with the Alameda County Fire Department. Buie and other public-safety staff said a one-way pattern could trap first responders between an advancing wildfire and evacuees or force apparatus onto circuitous local streets, increasing response times.

City staff and consultants outlined additional technical concerns with any one-way westbound plan: errant eastbound vehicles would be forced into adjacent neighborhood streets to turn around, sight lines at some driveways would be compromised where the carriageway would be shifted, and emergency inbound access to some addresses could be restricted depending on where the transition from two-way to one-way traffic was placed. Jason showed computer simulations of delivery trucks, buses and semi‑trailers that would need multi-point turns if eastbound traffic were restricted at several transition options.

Public comment sharply split along safety and access lines. Dozens of residents from Bayo Vista urged the council to reopen the closed stretch to create an additional evacuation route; multiple speakers cited recent wildfires in Los Angeles and said more exit options could save lives. “Twenty‑nine people died in the Los Angeles fires. Please don’t let that happen to us,” said one resident who presented a petition. Opponents — including residents who live on or near Lake Chabot Road — said reopening the road for daily traffic would increase risk, citing visible cracking, subsurface voids and continued slope movement. Several commenters said the current closure should remain while the city completes permanent repairs.

Council debate reflected the split between risk‑averse and access‑focused views. Several council members asked whether the geotechnical work would displace other city projects and how long any study’s findings would be useful in a landscape that staff said is actively moving. Councilmember Simon, a civil engineer, said he supported factual study but wanted clarity about what the study would show and how any interim traffic design would be developed. Mayor Juan Gonzalez recused himself from the item because of a potential property conflict and Vice Mayor Bowen chaired the discussion.

A motion from Councilmember Viveiros Walton to proceed with the supplemental geotechnical investigation and, if it concluded a one‑way westbound opening was safe, to proceed with one‑way design was seconded but later amended in discussion. When the final vote was taken, councilmembers split and the motion failed by a 3–3 vote with the mayor recused. No council authorization to contract the $89,500 investigation was approved that night.

Staff emphasized that work already under way — including design contracts and environmental permitting required by the city’s federal grant — would continue. Director Marquesas reiterated that the city’s recommendation from staff, police and fire remained to keep the road closed “as configured” while focusing on the structural repairs that staff say are necessary to restore long‑term stability.

The council did not take a separate formal vote to change the road closure status during the meeting. Staff said they would return with further recommendations and that construction windows are restricted by environmental and creek‑restoration timelines, with major repair work likely to occur in a summer construction season after required clearances.

Ending: The Lake Chabot Road discussion concluded without a council directive to hire the supplemental geotechnical consultant; staff will next report back with additional information about repair funding, grant reimbursement eligibility and scheduling options for design and construction.