1 To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jennifer Ott, City Manager
Date: March 14, 2025
Supplemental Memo Regarding Agenda Item 7B: Recommendation to Endorse Design Concepts for the Fernside Traffic Calming and Bikeways Project.
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
This memo is being provided to supplement the staff report already published for the March 18, 2025 City Council meeting, and lays out an updated recommendation to expedite the process for implementing safety improvements at the intersection of Fernside Blvd/High St /Gibbons Dr (Fernside/High/Gibbons), specifically at Gibbons and High.
BACKGROUND
The Fernside/High/Gibbons intersection is a skewed, 5 -way gateway intersection with long pedestrian crossings and a layout that encourages high vehicle speeds. Community input indicated difficulties for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers, highlighting the need safety improvements. In 2025, the City is already planning the following improvements in this area:
• New pedestrian crossing signs and striping at Buena Vista Ave/Northwood Dr. • Create a design that s implifies and improves safety at the Versailles Ave/Central Ave/Gibbons Dr intersection as part of the Versailles Neighborhood Greenway, after public engagement, which will be constructed in 2026.
While developing the Fernside Project in anticipation of including this corridor in the City’s annual pavement management program in 2026, staff and the consultant team identified an opportunity to potentially also add near-term safety enhancements at this intersection, despite it initially not being in the Project’s near -term scope . The proposed design simplifies the south leg of the intersection at Gibbons Dr. and High St. by removing its fifth leg and limiting eastbound Gibbons traffic to right -turn only onto High St reet. This change aims to simplify the intersection, shorten pedestrian crossings, reduce vehicle speeds on Gibbons, and reduce traffic signal wait times.
Due to the time sensitivity associated with implementing the pavement management program on- time, staff quickly sought community input. More than 50 people attended an on -site pop-up event, and approximately 180 people filled out an online survey. Feedback predominantly included significant concerns, particularly about spillover traffic onto nearby streets. Due to the time sensitive and opportunistic nature of the outreach, staff did not yet have a completed traffic study to fully address these concerns or answer questions about spillover traffic. Therefore, staff recommended further public engagement after a traffic study, which extended the timeline beyond the Fernside Project’s near-term scope as part of the City’s 2026 pavement management project.
This recommendation was communicated via email newsletter , the project webpage, and Transportation Commission agenda, clearly outlining the decision -making process in the materials prepared for the November 20, 2024 Transportation Commission meeting. The agenda included a summary of initial public input as shown here. In this scenario, the full intersection was proposed to be improved with the long-term Fernside Project, as described below:
2 Full Intersection with Long-Term Fernside Project (2030)
Description Actions Benefits Tradeoffs New Funding
Required
Year
Construct updates to
the full intersection as
part of the long-term
Fernside Project.
Pending traffic study,
includes proposed
changes at both the
north and south legs of
the intersection.
Conduct traffic
study, public
outreach, and
design for
proposed
updates to the
full intersection,
and construct
with the full
project.
Increases safety at
full intersection.
Allows traffic study
and public
engagement for all
proposed changes
at the same time.
No safety
improvements
in near term,
with existing
conditions in
place for at
least 5 years.
Pending grant
funding. Full
intersection
improvements
would be
included in
grant efforts for
larger Fernside
Project.
2030
depending
on funding
availability
DISCUSSION
Since then, additional community members have expressed support for implementing the design update sooner. Given that the Fernside Project’s long-term implementation is at least five years away and these intersection improvements focus on important near-term safety measures, staff recommends that the City Council consider a revised recommendation to include near term safety improvements at Gibbons Dr. and High St. consistent with staff’s proposal shared at the November 2024 Pop-up Event. The remaining northeast part of the intersection would be completed with the long-term project:
Near Term Gibbons Dr. and High St. Safety Improvements (2026)
Staff will communicate this updated staff recommendation to the Fernside neighborhood today.
NEXT STEPS
Should the City Council approve the revised staff recommendation, staff will prepare a budget proposal for the additional $350,000 needed to implement the Gibbons Dr. and High St. safety improvements as part of the FY2026-2027 biennial budget.
Respectfully submitted,
Allen Tai, Planning, Building, and Transportation Director
By:
Description Actions Benefits Tradeoffs New
Funding
Required
Year
Pending results of a
traffic study, construct
safety improvements at
Gibbons and High
(south leg of Fernside
intersection) with the
near-term Fernside
Project.
Conduct traffic
study and return
to City Council
for final
direction.
Brings safety
improvements more
quickly for
pedestrians and
decrease speeds
on Gibbons.
Coordinates with
long-term concept.
Level of spillover
on nearby
streets to be
determined in
traffic study.
Delay grant
applications for
full Fernside
Project due to
limited staffing.
$350,000
from
General
Fund
Begin 2026
3 Lisa Foster, Transportation Planning Manager
Exhibit:
1. November 2024 Pop-Up Event Flyer with Staff Annotations Exhibit 1
Revised staff
recommendation to include
Gibbons/High safety
improvements as part of
Near-Term Fernside Project
2026