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BACKGROUND <br /> The City of Pleasanton was awarded the Bicycle Friendly Community Bronze <br /> designation from the League of American Bicyclists. Identified in the designation were <br /> recommendations that would be necessary to move up to a Silver designation. The two <br /> main recommendations were to improve connections and remove barriers created by <br /> freeways. <br /> One of the main goals of the Pleasanton Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan is to make <br /> the city as pedestrian and bicycle friendly as possible, and to encourage people of all <br /> ages, abilities and means to walk and/or bike. Since the Master Plan was adopted in <br /> 2010, and updated in 2017, a number of bicycle and pedestrian facilities have been <br /> constructed and/or extended approaching Interstate 580. However, there are significant <br /> gaps in the pedestrian and bicycle network that exist at the 1-580 overcrossings. <br /> Improving these overcrossing locations will result in a more desirable experience for <br /> both pedestrians and bicyclists. <br /> The 1-580 overcrossings were designed primarily for auto-oriented uses, which in turn <br /> consists of higher vehicle speeds, vehicular congestion, and limited bicycle and <br /> pedestrian facilities. The City contracted with Fehr and Peers Transportation <br /> Consultants to complete near-term and far-term design concepts that would illustrate <br /> the improvements to the overcrossings to better accommodate bicyclists and <br /> pedestrians. <br /> DISCUSSION <br /> The 1-580 Overcrossings Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvement Plan consists primarily of <br /> short-term striping improvements that can be implemented with minimal cost (see <br /> Attachment). The designs, while focusing on the short-term, also incorporate the long- <br /> term vision with most of the pavement striping/buffered bike area being replaced by <br /> physical islands to fully separate bicyclists from vehicles. <br /> The majority of the pedestrian amenities are already in place with the exception of a <br /> concrete sidewalk on the west side of Hopyard Road and some narrowing of <br /> intersections to improve crossing distance. The western side of the Hopyard <br /> overcrossing will require working with land owners in both Dublin and Pleasanton, as <br /> currently, insufficient right of way exists to complete a sidewalk at this time. <br /> With the design complete, the plans can be forwarded to Caltrans for review and <br /> comment. Upon approval by Caltrans, the improvements can be scheduled for funding <br /> consideration as outlined in the Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan, which allows <br /> projects that are not in the top-ranked corridor to compete for use of the funds that are <br /> not allocated to the top corridor (20% of all bicycle and pedestrian funds received). <br /> Page 2 of 3 <br />