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City hears 30% designs for Telegraph Road widening and Harvard/Telegraph roundabout
Summary
Consultants presented 30% designs to widen Telegraph Road, add sidewalks, protected bike lanes, stormwater features and a roundabout at Harvard Boulevard to improve safety and pedestrian/bicycle connectivity; staff proposed public outreach later this year and design completion mid next year.
City consultants presented early design plans for the Telegraph Road widening and a roundabout at Harvard/Telegraph, describing goals, constraints and next steps.
Sam Potts (M&S Engineers) explained the concept to widen Telegraph Road from two lanes to four in sections, add center turn lanes in places, provide elevated sidewalk‑level bike lanes and install landscaping and stormwater biofiltration. The project is intended to connect downtown with proposed East Area development and to support the under‑construction Red Tail multifamily project.
Designers highlighted constraints: much of the corridor has a 60‑foot right‑of‑way but conceptually requires up to a 92‑foot cross section in places, meaning limited right‑of‑way acquisition and utility pole relocations (estimated impacts to about 20 poles). Staff noted potential use of Rule 20 undergrounding funds as one option, though full underground conversion would be costly.
The Harvard/Telegraph roundabout was presented as a safety and traffic‑calming alternative to a signalized intersection. Consultants described single‑lane circulation, splitter islands as pedestrian refuges, truck aprons and wider shared‑use paths (10 feet) to accommodate bicyclists. They said single‑lane roundabout legs can handle about 800 vehicles per hour and local traffic projections were roughly 300 vehicles per leg per hour.
Councilmembers asked about elevation changes across the creek bridge, truck maneuvering, the number of lanes proposed for a short corridor segment (two lanes each direction plus turn lane vs. one), and funding and schedule. Consultants said the 30% design will be refined, an outreach meeting would be scheduled later this year or early next year, design completion is targeted mid next year and awarding of construction contracts could follow late next year.
Council emphasized the need to present clear functional reasons and cost/benefit messaging to the public, explore a lower‑lane alternative to reduce right‑of‑way needs, and pursue grant and developer fee funding opportunities. Staff indicated utilities would perform necessary relocations at no cost to the city if required for widening, per franchise agreements, and the Rule 20 allocation for other corridors may be reconsidered for this project.
