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Albany staff and consultants present Phase 2 draft active-transportation networks; residents push for protected lanes
Summary
City staff and consultants presented Phase 2 of Albany’s Active Transportation Plan on Oct. 20, proposing base and high-comfort pedestrian and bicycle networks and soliciting feedback; public commenters urged protected bike lanes near schools, wider Greenway paths, and San Pablo Avenue inclusion as a high-comfort corridor.
City staff and consultants presented Phase 2 of Albany’s Active Transportation Plan (ATP) Oct. 20, showing draft pedestrian and bicycle networks, heat maps of community comments and proposed quality standards for base and high-comfort corridors.
"We’ve developed the draft active-transportation networks and are now translating them into project priorities," said Justin, a city staff presenter. Consultants from Parametrix and Ferron Piers walked the council through outreach results and technical standards, including National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) guidance for "all ages and abilities" corridors.
Pete Resideo, lead project manager from Parametrix, summarized the public input and maps: "Intersections and crossings were really noted as an area where a lot of improvement is possible," and the consultants displayed heat maps showing concentrated comments along Solano, San Pablo and Marin avenues.
Consultants described a two-tier network: a base network of sidewalks and bike facilities and a smaller high-comfort network where the city would target greater upgrades (wider sidewalks, protected bike lanes, intersection improvements and lighting). They also outlined tools—speed and volume management, curb extensions, protected lanes and signal timing—that could bring corridors up to the desired standards.
Public commenters urged more emphasis on protected facilities, school-zone treatments and widening the Ohlone Greenway. "Engineering is the way to deal with it," said a member of the Transportation Commission during public comment, urging physically separated bike lanes and stronger connections to neighboring cities on San Pablo Avenue. Other residents asked that the plan study specific alignments for crossings over Cerrito Creek and evaluate Carmel as a possible west-side connector to Solano Avenue.
Staff said Phase 3 will convert the networks into a prioritized project list and return to the council with policy language and public feedback. Several council members asked staff to keep segments under study (for example, Portland west of Masonic and Key Route) in order to evaluate trade-offs and costs before removing them from the draft network.
Next steps: staff will finalize the draft document, continue Solano Avenue engagement as a discrete effort and bring the Phase 3 project priortization back to the council for decision.
