Subject: April 28, 2026 City Council MeeƟng Item 7.B HIGHWAY 116/WEST COTATI AVENUE
INTERSECTION SAFETY IMPROVEMENT UPDATE
Dear Mayor Lemus, Vice Mayor Harvey and Councilmembers Ford and Savage The safety improvements, and specifically the challenging task of creaƟng a safe Pedestrian Crossing of Caltrans Hwy 116, have been a subject of discussion since 2019. Despite many City ResoluƟons regarding pedestrian and low-speed wheels safety, the hard work of safely engineering oŌen only becomes visible when the design details reach a stage where they can be meaningfully reviewed.
I recommend that this revised roundabout design be sent to the Planning Commission for comment—specifically regarding how this juncƟon is part of route in CotaƟ’s pedestrian network, as described in the CotaƟ AcƟve TransportaƟon Plan (June, 2024) – shown here The current iteraƟon of the roundabout design before you—stated to be at 65% design—is being presented as a superficial landscape design. (Project Exhibit 260410). The technical details of this 65% stage are not being published at this Ɵme. Consequently, it is not clear how safe this crossing will be for pedestrians (including children) walking to the new housing planned for Northwest CotaƟ.
In the past, when public roads improvements have come to the City Council at 100% compleƟon with “shovel ready” construcƟon quotes, any Council comments made on the design have been met by staff explaining – We Can’t change the design as then that will need to have it requoted.
I believe at the 65% design phase, public facing improvements – such as new signage, changes in pedestrian pavement – are much more likely to be accommodated.
I would like to thank the City Staff for making the design process transparent via the ClearGov portal hƩps://cleargov.com/california/sonoma/city/cotaƟ/projects/6149/a-highway-116-westcotaƟ-avenue-intersecƟon-safety-improvements It has been an effecƟve tool for tracking design progress and significant changes are:
June 27, 2025 – the design changed to a roundabout , in my opinion, a posiƟve change for this newly urbanizing porƟon of CotaƟ and well-aligned with safety goals.
August 2025 Council approved the design
About March 2026 the Roundabout landscape design was published on Cleargov and then subsequently the “Roundabout Concept” schemaƟc was published.
March 25th On Cleargov I asked a quesƟon on the pedestrian safe crossing detail – no answer April 13th I reposted the quesƟon - no answer
AŌer escalaƟng the quesƟon, I received this answer on April 23:
“The spliƩer islands at the pedestrian crossing vary in width due to the curvature of the approach/exit to the roundabout. However, based on measurements from the 65% design, the width of the pedestrian crossing through the west spliƩer island on Highway 116 varies between 8' to about 13' in width and about 11' to 18' in width on the east spliƩer. ” It seems to me that for fast-moving traffic approaching CotaƟ from the west - which includes large commercial vehicles - an 8-foot pedestrian refuge will not feel safe. Pedestrians must cross all of Highway 116, but they do so one lane at a Ɵme; they require a safe refuge between lanes, especially during peak traffic hours. At this level of design detail, it seems obvious that this juncƟon has not been designed with the safety of pedestrians in mind.
One soluƟon may be to direct pedestrians to cross on the east side of the juncƟon, where traffic leaving CotaƟ is likely to be slower and the pedestrian refuge is esƟmated at 11 feet. However, these are only preliminary aƩempts to esƟmate potenƟal safety. Considering the significant cost of this project, it is appropriate to require that specific pedestrian safety dimensions be included in the formal plans.
On March 25th, a "Know before you grow" forum in Petaluma featured a presentaƟon Ɵtled "Improved Traffic Safety through BeƩer Street Design PracƟces," with a speaker from Fehr & Peers / Toole Design.
The presentaƟon noted that construcƟon documents must account for "as-built" variances to allow for potenƟal measurement errors. They cited a safe pedestrian refuge width of "a minimum 10feet per the AASHTO Bike Guide when room is available." To ensure pedestrian safety in this roundabout design, the esƟmated 11-foot refuge must be clearly marked on the plans to ensure it is actually built with that degree of safety.
I hope you will direct this plan be sent to the Planning Commission for a thorough review. As highlighted in the book Killed by a Traffic Engineer, (Wes Marshal published June 2024) it is vital that we move beyond "standard" designs and ensure that safety engineering is held to the highest possible standard for our community.
To visualize these concerns, I’ve added these specific details to the landscape plan Sincerely,
Neil Hancock.