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returning to the pedestrian crossing. This created queues of traffic that built up and <br /> extended back to Willow Road. These queues prevented some vehicles from getting <br /> through the Owens Drive and Willow Road intersection. The inability to get through a <br /> signal in a single cycle will add nearly two minutes of delay to a vehicle driver. <br /> Solutions to Reduce Delay <br /> Signal Operation <br /> Staff made adjustments to the signal operation, increasing the amount of time between <br /> the pedestrian crossing activations (essentially decreasing the responsiveness of the <br /> push button). This alleviated the queues on Owens Drive, but observations of <br /> pedestrian behavior at the crossing found that the pedestrians were impatient and <br /> frequently decided to cross against the red signal indication. Even with the longer time <br /> between pedestrian walk, there were one or two times in the PM peak hour where <br /> vehicles queues were extending back to Willow. <br /> Iron Horse Trail Crossing Modification <br /> In January of 2017 the Iron Horse Trail crossing at Owens Drive was modified to reduce <br /> the 30 second pedestrian crossing to a "two stage crossing" consisting of a 10 second <br /> crossing of the eastbound lane, and a 20 second crossing of the westbound lane. <br /> Separation of these two crossings eliminated the need for eastbound vehicles to wait for <br /> pedestrians to cross the westbound lanes before getting a green light. The shorter <br /> 10 second red for eastbound Owens Drive will minimize the queues and delay at the <br /> Iron Horse Trail Crossing. <br /> Elimination of the delay caused by the 150-200 pedestrian crossings at the Iron Horse <br /> Trail will return the travel time through the corridor to the expected travel times (and <br /> results in safer pedestrian crossing). Many motorists likely noticed the elimination of <br /> any delay at the Iron Horse Trail during the two week construction period at the end of <br /> January. With the signal reactivated eastbound motorists will again receive the red <br /> light to allow pedestrians to cross, but that red will only last 10 seconds. <br /> Complete Streets, & Transit Oriented Development Pedestrian and Bicycle Focus <br /> In December of 2012, the City of Pleasanton adopted a Complete Streets policy and <br /> design approach. The goal of "Complete Streets" is to plan, design, operate and <br /> maintain safe, convenience travel and access for users of all ages and abilities, <br /> regardless of their mode of transportation. Put simply, the goal is to create and <br /> maintain a network that balances the needs of all users. Similarly, a goal of transit <br /> oriented design (TOD) is to promote a safe and comfortable access from mixed use <br /> developments to transit by means of walking and biking. One of the primary concepts of <br /> TOD design is improving the mobility and comfort level of pedestrians and bicyclists to <br /> and from transit. Improvements like shorter crossing distances, increased access, <br /> slower vehicle speeds, marked bike lanes and tighter curb radii are all improvements <br /> reviewed in transit oriented development plans. <br /> Page 7 of 9 <br />