RES 91023 - Laserfiche WebLink

existing pavement) were desired to be made one lane, this alternative could be modified by widening the on-street bike lane, creating one northbound lane, or by removing some of the innermost lane to increase the landscaped area. This alternative would require acquisition of some of the Kliment property and possibly some others in this area. This option is the staff preferred option except near the Kliment property (see below). Interim Two-Lane ODtiOn - In the area near the Kliment residence, the left-turn lane could be dropped, making the road transition to two lanes plus bike lanes by Mr. Kliment's residence. Such a plan would "trade" the landscaped median for no need to acquire any Kliment property until the road were widened to four lanes. Mr. Kliment and other users of the existing driveway will ultimately be using the approved, but unbuilt, Hempy frontage road. In the meantime, the road and driveway would operate as they do now, with left turns being made from the through lane. Alternatively, left turns could be made illegal. Staff is recommending this two-lane option for this segment. Examples of Different Road Sections Staff prepared the attached Table 1 showing sections of various roads in the East Bay which serve as arterial streets in rural/semi-rural areas. A picture board showing these sections will be available at your meeting. Hopefully, Council members will be familiar with most of these streets. _ Streets were chosen to illustrate the various options available. After looking at these and many, many more, staff more strongly than ever recommends a solution with median landscaping. Even the 36' section (the narrowest 2-lane feasible with bike lanes) appears as a wide expanse of asphalt. With medians, the widest appearance of asphalt is 31' (half of four lanes) or 19' (half of two lanes). The examples show how well landscaping can screen the opposing lanes (even the 4' median in Blackhawk Road screens on-coming lanes). Benefits and Detriments of Staff-Devised Alternatives The strengths and weaknesses of the various alternatives are shown in Table 2. Generally speaking, as the proposed roadwav i8 widened. more trees are lost. hillsides recruire cuts, and riGht-of- way nee~ tO be acquired from non-developinG properties. ~onverselv. the wider the roadway Gets. the Greater is the abilit~ to add lanes for future t=affic volumes, separated bike paths an~/or pedestrian paths, and landscaped roadway "edqes." The optimum plan will seek to reach a balance between the competing demands for safety and convenience of the roadway users and the desire to retain the existing rural ambiance through minimizing tree removal, roadway cuts, and intrusions into existing homeowner yards. SR91:52 14