Description
I have a question and hope that you can respond to me or point me to a good contact within the Public Works Department. This intersection is particularly dangerous for bicyclists because of the narrow lanes and the lack of a shoulder. Bicyclists currently use the five foot sidewalk, which completely inadequate especially if there is a pedestrian. Is there any consideration to restripe the eastbound road from Ebbetts Pass Road to Sonoma Blvd to eliminate the through lane so there is only a dedicated left and right turn lane? Bicyclists should be able to choose a safe path to turn right (most of them do) or go straight through to the abandoned Walmart (another issue).
Without the benefit of having measured it, there seems to be plenty of room without moving the median. I understand there may have to be some signal loop modifications to do this, but that pavement is in such bad condition, I think it needs to be done anyway. If the median needs to be moved, I think we can also improve the intersection at Ebbetts Pass Road as well. Is two receiving lanes indeed necessary or are there actually plans to add a second left turn lane from northbound Sonoma Blvd onto westbound Meadows Drive?
Expanding further, Meadows drive west of this intersection is very dangerous to bicyclists because of speeding passing traffic. Have you considered a road diet to remove the four lanes and take it down to three (two through and a center left turn)? There would be adequate room for bike lanes next to the parking lanes and it would likely slow down the traffic because people would no longer be able to pass. Now would be the time to do it since the pavement needs to be reconstructed. It is in terrible condition, especially after the waterline project. I would be greatly disappointed to see the City return the same striping configuration to the road after successful road diet projects on Sonoma Blvd through downtown, Oakwood Avenue, and Georgia Street.
I would appreciate a written response or a referral to a real person on this. I will continue to elevate through the city process up through the City Council until I get a response but would prefer to start at the lowest possible level, which is using See Click Fix.
To all my fellow See Click Fix commenters, please add to this post if you agree.
Thank you for taking the time to read this long post.
13 Comments
City of Vallejo (Verified Official)
Long time Vallejo (Registered User)
I can tell you that at some point there will be [supposedly- it's been years waiting] an extension of the Bay Trail that will include from Sonoma Bl to the end of Meadows. It is intended to provide safe and comfortable access to people walking and biking. I've tried to keep in regular contact with city people involved. The last I heard was that this project recently went out for contractor bids. I've never seen a final plan so many unknowns [including if it will ever actually happen]. There IS info online. It's probably best to simply Google "bay trail extension in vallejo". There area several items with information.
JuneG (Registered User)
Craig (Registered User)
Craig (Registered User)
City of Vallejo Maintenance Admin (Verified Official)
Thank you for reporting this issue! We apologize for the delayed response.
This request has been reassigned to our Transportation Manager to address.
If you should have any additional questions, please call Public Works 707-648-4315.
Thank you.
City of Vallejo Maintenance Admin (Verified Official)
Acknowledged M.Helmbrecht (Verified Official)
The City has a fully designed (100% PS&E) Bay Trail/Vine Trail project which we are working to implement which we believe will address your concerns. The project was just recently bid and we are trying to get into construction this Fall with construction continuing through winter and into next summer.
The project implements about 5 miles of Class I, II, and IV trail segments of the Bay Trail and Vine Trail in the northern end of Vallejo. The Bay Trail segment will extend up Sonoma Blvd/SR29 from SR37 to Meadows and then cross over Sonoma and extend all the way to the end of Meadows and then continue back east along Catalina to connect to the jurisdictional boundary with American Canyon (American Canyon will need to continue to the project north). I believe the segments along Meadows are a combination of Class II bike lanes and Class IV cycletrack.
This project will repave Meadows and reallocate space to provide safe cycling facilities and pedestrian crossings. Once we have selected a contractor, the project will go to Council for approval, followed by completion of contracting, preconstruction submittals and then construction. The project is being implemented by our Public Works Engineering team.
Craig (Registered User)
JuneG (Registered User)
Sandra Choyce (Registered User)
Long time Vallejo (Registered User)
Amen. I haven't seen the final plan but using this should give you results to view fairly close to what we can expect to end up with. I wasn't able to produce an exact web result but feel confident this will give you good results.
"CITY OF VALLEJO PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT ENGINEERING DIVISION
BAY TRAIL VINE TRAIL PROJECT"
Craig (Registered User)
Thanks Long Time Vallejo. Mr. Helmbrecht has been very responsive and answered all my questions. It looks like a very nice project is coming soon. Interestingly they had not considered the improvements I suggested at the intersection with Sonoma, but they are now looking into it. I think as long as we have continuous access for bicyclists, and we have the road diet to slow down cars, we will be in good shape.
I noticed JuneG and Sandra both commented about the donuts. That's frustrated me as well, and I actually have a couple ideas about that that I'll pass on to Mr. Helmbrecht. Thank you all for caring about our neighborhood.