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City engineer presents one‑ and six‑year street improvement plan; council and public raise priorities and safety concerns
Summary
City Engineer Troy Shaven outlined the 2025 one‑and‑six‑year street improvement plan, explaining it guides priorities rather than authorizes projects; council members pressed on traffic‑signal upgrades, pavement preservation strategies and bike‑lane designs while residents asked that specific paving and drainage projects be reinstated.
Troy Shaven, Fremont’s city engineer, opened the public hearing on the 2025 one‑and‑six‑year street improvement plan and described the document as a required planning tool that does not itself appropriate funds or authorize construction. Shaven said staff develops the plan with input from Public Works and the public and that the council will set final priorities when the council takes action at its Sept. 9 meeting.
Shaven highlighted several items in the first year and carryover projects, including Broad Street rehabilitation and traffic‑signal improvements, and explained how weather and timing affect whether work is budgeted in the current or next fiscal year. He described a new pavement‑condition tool—a vendor vehicle that will video each lane and produce an objective 1–5 priority score to supplement staff judgment.
Council members questioned which projects should be prioritized in years two through six. Shaven said his priority approach favors main corridors (Bell, Broad, Military, 23rd) because improvements there benefit the most people; he also described pavement‑preservation tactics such as two‑inch asphalt overlays, concrete replacement, and a lower‑cost sealant product (about $50,000 per mile) that can extend an overlay’s useful life by roughly five years per application.
The council also discussed bike‑facility plans for 19th Street. Shaven described a “share the road” corridor with an eight‑foot bike area on portions of the north side; staff warned adjacent homeowners that on‑street parking would be reduced and said crossings at major collectors (Bell, Broad) would remain existing uncontrolled crossings unless future signals are added.
Traffic safety was a separate focus: staff told the council that the 23rd and Luther intersection ranks among the city’s top intersections for accidents and serious crashes (2019–2023), and Shaven said upcoming signal upgrades aim to add operational improvements such as four‑way left turns to reduce severe collisions.
The public hearing drew several residents seeking restoration of paving and drainage work for the Clarear Railroad project; speakers said prior commitments and outside engineering reports supported adding paving and storm drainage to the plan. The mayor closed the hearing and reminded the public the council will take final action on Sept. 9.
No vote on the plan occurred Aug. 26; staff will incorporate input and return the one‑and‑six plan for council action at the next meeting.
