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City recommends Alternative 3 for Route 237/Middlefield safety project; $24.8M concept advances to council
Summary
Staff recommended Alternative 3 for the Route 237/Middlefield Road interchange improvements, a concept that adds traffic calming, Class 4 bikeways, widened sidewalks, protected intersections and signal timing changes; project PA/ED is expected to finish this year, final design through 2028 and construction thereafter, at an estimated total cost of $24.8 million funded largely by VTA Measure B and city funds.
City staff updated the Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee on the Route 237/Middlefield Road interchange improvement project and recommended Alternative 3 — a concept combining technology improvements with physical changes to slow vehicle speeds and improve pedestrian and bicycle safety.
Joey Hton, senior civil engineer, said the corridor of closely spaced signals between Log Avenue and the eastbound 237 off‑ramp produces a high rate of broadside collisions. Staff described Alternative 3’s main elements: traffic calming and raised medians on the westbound frontage road; Class 4 bikeways and wider sidewalks on Middlefield and the westbound frontage road; protected intersection geometry at key ramps; and signal interconnect and timing that could add separate phases for bicycles and pedestrians.
Hton said the project is in the project approval and environmental document (PA/ED) phase, expected to be completed by year‑end, with final design beginning next year and scheduled to finish in summer 2028. Construction was described as a two‑year phase following design. The staff cost estimate for the recommended alternative is $24.8 million; the project is funded through a combination of VTA Measure B highway program funds and city community benefit funds, and staff said the funding is sufficient to support final design and construction.
Committee members asked whether refuge islands and no‑right‑on‑red signage were being considered and whether the high number of red‑light running collisions could be addressed by signal timing and enforcement. Staff said refuge islands and pedestrian‑phase timing are part of design considerations and highlighted that many intersections in the corridor are on Caltrans right‑of‑way, so key changes require Caltrans approval. Staff also clarified earlier cost differences: a prior ‘technology‑only’ estimate was much smaller, but Alternative 3 was refined to include bikeway and frontage‑road construction, driving the higher construction estimate.
The City Transportation Commission recommended approval of the staff‑recommended design concept at a recent hearing, and staff will forward a recommendation to City Council in fall 2026 to approve the recommended alternative and advance the project into final design.
