The growth in bicycling in the East Bay and in particular the increasing popularity of bike racing is affecting the community of Diablo first-hand. On any given sunny weekend, hundreds of bicyclists ride to and from South Gate of Mt. Diablo to climb the mountain, and many choose to avoid the dangerous mile-long stretch of Diablo Rd with no shoulders and high-speed SUV traffic coming from the neighborhoods toward Blackhawk by cutting-thru the community of Diablo along Alameda Diablo Rd. Residents of Diablo have become frustrated with some of these bicyclists who race thru the neighborhood past their homes, not stopping at stop signs or yielding to residents walking along the edge of the sidewalk-free streets. Because of this, they are weighing options to limit traffic into Diablo to ‘local’ trips only.
An opportunity has arisen to address the cause of the problem by getting the Town of Danville to require the developer of the Magee/Summerhill Subdivision Project to study bike lanes on Diablo Rd. The environmental report for the Magee Project essentially ignores issue bike safety.
- A public hearing on the project is scheduled Tuesday, June 18, 7:00-9:00pm at the Danville Community Center, 420 Front Street. Come voice support for studying safe bike lanes on Diablo Rd
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Send an email of support to David Crompton, Principal Planner, (925-324-3349) Town of Danville asking that the Magee/Summerhill Project fully study bike lanes on Diablo Rd.
While we question the legality of the option of limiting traffic to local traffic, EBBC has met with local residents to discuss the issue and explore the best solution for traffic safety, both short-term and long-term, such as neighborhood signage and traffic calming measures within Diablo community and a safer bikeway on Diablo Rd. We will continue this work and if you are interested in helping, please contact EBBC Advocacy Director Dave Campbell.