May 1 2016

Road Diet on Grand Avenue: Lanes Reduced and New Bike Lanes Added

Vehicle lanes on Grand Avenue will be reduced to one lane in each direction with a turn lane in the middle.  A new bicycle lane will be installed in both directions.  Curb parking will remain the same. Work will be conducted at night. 

Beginning May 1st, the City of Piedmont will implement a road diet on Grand Avenue between Wildwood and Greenbank Avenues and create a bicycle lane for the full length of Grand Avenue within Piedmont.

On April 18th, the City Council approved a contract with the Chrisp Company to create a bicycle lane on Grand Avenue and implement the road diet called for in the city’s adopted Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan. The cities of Piedmont and Oakland are working closely together to complete this project so that work on both sides of the city limit are completed in a coordinated way and that there is a minimum impact on residents.

The Grand Avenue Road Diet was identified as a high priority project in the Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan because it will improve conditions for both pedestrians and cyclists on Grand Avenue and on common school routes, and because the project has very strong community support. The road diet on Grand Avenue will keep the same physical width of the street, but the street will be restriped from two lanes in each direction to one car lane and one bike lane in each direction, with a turn lane in the middle. The parking lanes will remain as they are. By making intersections simpler to navigate and creating clearer sightlines at crosswalks, road diets have the added benefit of significantly reducing traffic collisions.

The work in Piedmont will begin the night of May 1st and continue through the night of May 11th.

The work related to this project will occur overnight, which is different than the way most projects are handled in Piedmont. The overnight work is necessary to minimize the impact to residents travelling on Grand Avenue, businesses in this commercial corridor, and to coordinate the work with the City of Oakland. Noise from night time work will be minimal and is not expected to be disruptive to residents. On-street parking restrictions will be required during two to three nights of construction between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.. Residents will be notified in advance of parking restrictions, and “no parking” signs will be posted. City staff will work with the contractor and the City of Oakland to monitor the project to ensure it meets project plans and specifications and has minimum impact on residents and businesses.

More information on the project is available by visiting the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan Page of the City’s web site at http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/walkbike

Residents with questions regarding the project should contact Director of Public Works Chester Nakahara at (510) 420-3050.

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