Orinda council approves several traffic changes, delays Ivy Drive pilot after resident safety concerns

Orinda City Council on April 7 approved a package of traffic and timing changes intended to reduce cut-through traffic in the Ivy/Coral neighborhood, but the council decided not to remove the north-end no-left-turn restriction on Ivy Drive pending further safety measures and data. The split vote came after residents described recent crashes and said removing the sign before sidewalks and other protections would endanger children who walk to local schools.

The city engineer, identified in the meeting as SA, presented a one-year pilot that would remove the existing no-left-turn at the north end of Ivy Drive, add or retime several other restricted-turn signs (including changes on Moraga Way and Eastwood), adjust signal timing to prioritize Moraga Way, and implement Coral Drive safety measures such as striping and a new four-way stop at Coral and Ardith. SA said staff expects the pilot’s primary data-collection window to be the school period between August and December, with consultant counts and analysis returned to council around February. "We are proposing this as a pilot program and asking that this be approved for…