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BACKGROUND Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Funding (CMAQ) was made available to Alameda County through the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. Under the program, a total of $3,683,000 was available to Alameda County jurisdictions to fund bicycle improvement projects. The City of Pleasanton was successful in obtaining $708,000 in grant funding for the Foothill Road at 1 -580 interchange project. The overall project will reconstruct the eastbound freeway ramps at the interchange in order to improve traffic flow and to improve safety and access for bicyclists and pedestrians. The Foothill Interchange and bike lane project is eligible for the CMAQ funds because it is a capital project that is identified in the Alameda County Bicycle Plan as a high priority project. DISCUSSION The recently completed Pleasanton Pedestrian & Bicycle Master Plan identified freeway interchanges as an area of concern for bicyclists and pedestrians. The lack of continuous bike lanes and controlled crossings discourages bicycle and pedestrian travel between Pleasanton and Dublin. In addition to the pedestrian and bicycle improvement, this project will eliminate the short weave section that exists between the two existing loop ramps (weaving section under the Foothill overpass). The project will also eliminate the multiple -lane crossing by vehicles that exit 1 -580 eastbound and cut across the three southbound lanes on Foothill Road to get into the left turn lane to Stoneridge Mall. The project will construct a new signalized intersection approximately 900 feet north of the Foothill Road / Canyon Way / Dublin Canyon Road intersection to provide controlled access to Foothill Road and the Stoneridge Mall entrance at Canyon Way. Project design is underway with an anticipated design completion in the summer of 2010 with the construction phase of the project to begin in the fall of 2011. Page 2 of 3