Reprinted from the Rockridge News.

>>Updated: Meeting presentation available here

City of Oakland staff and their consultants are finished sifting through over 100 written comments received during the six-week-long public comment period and dozens more received at public meetings in October and November. Staff and consultants will present a summary of these comments and how they will influence the Caldecott-funded projects at the RCPC Town Hall meeting on Thursday, January 16, 2014. The revised list may be found here.

In the following cases, estimated costs may come down from those reported in October.

• Project #1 (Tunnel Road/Hiller Drive/SR-13 Intersection Improvements) Staff is recommending a redesign that improves safety for bicyclists and accommodates pedestrians, at a lower cost than was most recently reported.
• Project #3 (Bicycle Facilities on Caldecott Lane/Tunnel Road) By reducing the bike lanes from six-feet-wide to five in limited locations, staff has reduced the amount of retaining wall needed to construct this project. A Caltrans design exception is needed and is expected to be granted.
• Project #6 (Jogging/walking path on Broadway from Golden Gate to Lake Temescal) After reviewing comments and meeting with neighbors, staff has re-envisioned this project to accomplish its goal of improving walking conditions to Lake Temescal in a way that is considerably less expensive than the original design.

In addition, staff has pledged to look for outside funding opportunities to fill gaps in the existing continuous sidewalk on Broadway between the Kay Overcrossing and Lake Temescal.

• Projects #10, 11, 15 and 20 (College/Keith and College/Miles Intersection Improvements, Bike Route Signage at Rockridge BART and Rockridge BART Bicycle Parking). A Safe Routes to Transit grant has been recommended for these projects, which significantly reduces the amount of Caldecott funds needed to fund the four projects.

• Projects #12 and 13 (Intersection Improvements at Broadway/Ocean View and Broadway/Lawton, respectively). A preliminary design concept for these projects was presented to a group of over 50 residents at a public meeting in November. Feedback was generally quite favorable for the projects, which are being designed in conjunction with intersection improvements at Broadway/Taft, Broadway/Kales and Broadway/Ada, and a proposed lane reconfiguration on Broadway between Broadway Terrace and Keith, all of which will be funded from other sources.

Beyond these changes, the result of the soundwall study petition process will determine if the combined $1.5 million studies will move forward or if this funding will instead be used for capital projects further down the list. Not including this potential change, the net effect of the changes listed above is that six more projects are expected to be funded than was reported in the December issue of The Rockridge News. As always, the exact projects that will be funded with Settlement Agreement funds will not be known for certain until projects are fully designed and the city has obtained construction bids.

For more information, please contact the city’s Caldecott projects consultant, Victoria Eisen, at victoria@eisenletunic.com or 510/525-0220.