Richmond team unveils Barrett Avenue safety plan: protected bike lanes, lighting, and left‑turn pockets

City of Richmond public-works staff and consultants presented the Barrett Avenue bicycle and pedestrian improvements project to the Richmond Rising stakeholder meeting and asked residents for design feedback.

Iman Sylvain of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy introduced the project on behalf of community partners. Hilal Hamdan, senior civil engineer in the city’s public works department, said the project will go to construction in 2026 and will include protected bike lanes, pedestrian-level lighting, improved curb ramps and median refuges.

Vignesh Swaminathan, project manager with Kimley‑Horn (consultant), described the corridor limits as Barrett Avenue from Harbor Way to 25th Street and outlined major elements: a road diet in parts of the corridor to reallocate lane space for protected bike lanes; a two-way center left-turn lane where appropriate; left-turn pockets with their own signal phases at key intersections; median refuges; directional curb ramps; and leading pedestrian intervals at signalized crossings.

Safety rationale: presenters pointed to a history of crashes—particularly near the BART undercrossing and 18th Street—and said the design locates more protection on the east side of the tracks where pedestrian and bicycle crashes have been concentrated.

Lighting and undercrossings: the design includes pedestrian-level lighting along the corridor and new lighting in undercrossings beneath the railroad tracks; the team said it will trim trees that block lights and will field-test luminance levels.

Pilot approach and landscaping: project staff said initial treatments will use paint and flexible posts so the community can experience the changes before permanent curbs or tree plantings are installed; if the trial is accepted the city will seek additional funding for permanent elements including street trees.

Emergency access and maintenance: presenters and the fire chief discussed emergency access. The team will design the protected bike lane so it can serve as an emergency access lane for fire vehicles and will ensure the lane is wide enough for street sweepers and maintenance equipment.

Funding and timeline: staff said funding for the corridor comes from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and local sources; the city allocated roughly $2.5–$3 million for this stretch, and construction is planned for calendar year 2026. The project team offered an online comment tool (QR code) and paper comment boards for residents to mark concerns and suggestions.

Public questions focused on street lighting in dark stretches, space for trees, parking impacts and maintenance. The project team said lighting between the railroad tracks and Harbor Way is part of the current project; trees and permanent curb work would follow pilot evaluation and future funding.

Next steps: the project team will continue outreach, collect online and in-person comments, run a pilot implementation with paint and posts, and finalize designs for construction in 2026.

Sources: Barrett Avenue presentation and Q&A at the Richmond Rising TCC stakeholder meeting (start 00:33:06; community Q&A and pilot details 00:36:35).