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San Leandro Council Adopts 2024 Bicycle & Pedestrian Master Plan Update, Citing Vision Zero Goals
Summary
Council approved a focused update to the city’s 2018 Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan that prioritizes safety (Vision 0), separated bikeways, and pedestrian improvements; the plan includes a $200 million estimate for 14 high-priority bike corridors and $11 million for 15 pedestrian projects and passed 6-0.
The San Leandro City Council unanimously approved the 2024 update to the city’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan, endorsing a revised network of separated bikeways, pedestrian priority areas and a Vision Zero–style approach to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries.
The plan update, presented by Public Works senior engineer Nicole Castellino and consultants from Fair and Pierson, reflects more than a year of outreach and technical updates and was adopted by a 6-0 vote with Council member Bowen absent.
City staff described the update as a focused five-year work plan that reprioritizes projects and includes both design guidance and funding strategies. The document recommends roughly 14 high-priority bicycle corridors (estimated cost of high-priority bike projects: about $200 million) and 15 high-priority pedestrian intersection projects (estimated cost about $11 million). The plan favors separated bikeways—facilities that create physical space between people bicycling and motor vehicles—and lays out pedestrian priority areas that emphasize access to schools, parks, transit hubs and commercial districts.
“Vision 0 is a policy that aims to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries,” consultant Carrie Modi told the council, describing the safe-system approach that informed project choices.
Council members and members of the public discussed implementation questions, maintenance costs and neighborhood impacts. Several residents who spoke during public comment voiced support for safer, protected bike infrastructure; others raised concerns about driveway access, parking and maintenance responsibilities for new facilities.
Debbie Canning, a resident of Bancroft, asked how proposed changes would affect driveway access and parking on her block: “Where are they supposed to go?” she asked, urging staff to respond to curb and driveway details before design and construction.
Staff acknowledged those concerns and said the master plan is conceptual at the citywide level; design details, maintenance plans and emergency-access coordination would be resolved during project-level design. City engineers also said they would consult Fire and Police Departments and other agencies about emergency access when designing shared-use paths and separated facilities.
Other public commenters urged the council to prioritize protected lanes because of safety evidence and slow pace of separated-bike construction since 2018. An online commenter highlighted the plan’s recommendation that streets with speed limits above 26 mph or high traffic volumes should receive protected facilities.
Council members requested clearer lifecycle and maintenance cost estimates to support future budget decisions and to identify “rapid wins” where low-cost interventions—improved intersection lighting or targeted pedestrian devices—could reduce severe injuries quickly.
The council asked staff to use the plan to guide future grant applications and capital projects and to return with clearer estimates of maintenance needs. With adoption, staff said they will finalize the plan documents and integrate priority corridors into the city’s capital planning and grant-seeking efforts.
Next steps: staff to post the adopted plan, prioritize near-term projects for funding, and report back to council as projects move into design and implementation.
