Thanks to everyone who has been emailing the Transportation Commission and CC'ing Alameda's City Council, Alameda's City Manager, and the Caltrans D4 Director. Your letters are being read and your concerns being heard.

Here is a late-breaking email update from city staff:

Tonight's Caltrans presentation on their State Route 61 Otis Dr/Doolittle Dr/Broadway pavement maintenance (CAPM) project will include updated information. 

At a meeting requested by Mayor Ezzy Ashcraft, yesterday Caltrans said they are now working to incorporate the following City-requested pedestrian safety elements into the four-lane Otis Dr CAPM project design, which is slated for construction in 2026-2027:

▪️ Pedestrian median islands at Otis/Mound and Otis/Versailles, with the planned flashing beacons at both legs of the crosswalks

▪️ Quick-build bulb-outs at Otis/Bayview

Caltrans has also clarified that the final designs for Doolittle Dr bike lanes show a minimum 5' width throughout the project. 

To address other community and City staff feedback, Caltrans is planning a future traffic calming project for Otis Dr from the Bay Farm Bridge to Broadway. They have determined that the agency can fund this project to begin planning/design work in 2028, with construction expected in the early 2030s.

Thank you to city staff and city leaders who have been working diligently to lobby Caltrans for these improvements.

Still, the project has brightened previously, only to backslide when the bureaucracies of Caltrans D4 and the California Transportation Commission slip back into auto-oriented autopilot mode. So there's much value in continuing to pay attention and keep on demanding that this state-led project align with our local priorities for traffic safety (not to mention state-level policies for complete streets).

I'm genuinely curious to see what will be in this newly updated presentation by Caltrans D4 staff at this evening's Transportation Commission meeting.

You're invited to join in person at Alameda City Hall or by Zoom at 6:30 p.m.