January 27, 2021
Alameda County Transportation Commission
1111 Broadway, Suite 800
Oakland CA 94612
Subject: 2022 CIP Proposed Project – Village Greens and Greenways Program – Shared Doyle Street (Phase 3)
Dear Commission:
Bike East Bay is happy to support the City of Emeryville’s proposed Shared Doyle Street (Phase 3) Project for inclusion in Alameda CTC’s 2022 Comprehensive Investment Plan. The project’s goal to create a safe complete street for people walking and bicycling on a critical north-south Greenway route through Emeryville is desirable to the community and active transportation users in this region.
The Shared Doyle Street (Phase 3) Project aims to create safe, complete streets for people walking and bicycling on a critical north-south Greenway route through Emeryville. Doyle Street is a key segment of the City’s bicycle boulevard network that links to the city’s Greenway and provides direct access to key destinations including a park and community garden. Alternative low-stress parallel routes are limited. During shelter-in-place, the City started Phase 1 of this project by installing temporary traffic calming measures along Doyle Street (Ocean Ave – 59th St) to meet increased outdoor recreation demand. These have facilitated increased bicycle and pedestrian use of the corridor. Through ACTC’s COVID-19 Rapid Response Bicycle/Pedestrian Grant Program, the City completed Phase 2 of the project in December 2020/ January 2021.
Phase 2 built upon and formalized many of the Phase 1 temporary improvements using thermoplastic paint and bollards along Doyle Street (Ocean Ave – 61st St).
Phase 3 of the Shared Doyle Street Quick-Build project proposes to extend the limits of the improvements to an additional block on Doyle Street between 61st Street and 59th Street.
Additionally, bicycle/pedestrian improvements would be made on 59th Street to improve safety and connectivity of our north/south greenway pathway. The proposed project countermeasures PO Box 1736, Oakland, CA 94604
510 845 RIDE (7433) • [email protected]
include converting the block from 61st to 59th to one-way automobile traffic and creating a shared street space with the newly allocated street space. This will discourage automobile through-traffic on Doyle Street, which exceeds the City’s recommendations for ADT on a bicycle boulevard.
Additional project countermeasures may include bicycle parking, green-backed sharrow markings, crosswalk enhancements, appropriate wayfinding signage throughout the corridor, and traffic calming elements on the corridor and side street approaches. The project limits for wayfinding signage and traffic calming elements would be along Doyle Street from 59th at the south and Ocean Avenue to the north. The project limits would continue north from there along our dedicated class 1 Greenway path from Ocean Avenue to the northerly City Limits.
The project will calm traffic, discourage cut-through traffic, heighten bicycle and pedestrian visibility, and reduce collision risk on the project corridor. It will build stronger active transportation connections between our Greenway, Doyle Street, local destinations, and regional bicycle networks. The project fulfills recommendations identified in City planning documents while also responding to the social distancing demands of COVID-19. This project will inform permanent hardscape changes to Doyle Street and the design of future active transportation projects in Emeryville.
We hope you will fund this worthy project.
Sincerely,
Dave Campbell
Advocacy Director
Bike East Bay
(510) 701-5971
[email protected]
PO Box 1736, Oakland, CA 94604
510 845 RIDE (7433) • [email protected]