City of Pleasant Hill Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan Hearing
Where: City Council Chambers, City Hall, at 100 Gregory Lane, Pleasant Hill
When: 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM on Tuesday, January 23, 2024
At this meeting Pleasant Hill’s Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the final draft for the city’s first-ever Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan (document here).
This plan will be used to direct funding and installation of future bicycle and pedestrian facility improvements. It was previously reviewed by the Planning Commission in January 2023, at which time community members and Bike East Bay raised concerns that it was not adequate due to the lack of a low-stress and all-ages bikeway network made up of trails, protected bikeways, and traffic calmed neighborhood streets. As a result the city held a community meeting in the spring for additional input, which is now reflected in the revised draft plan.
We are very happy to see that this new draft now includes over 12 miles of recommended protected bikeways as well as more than 17 miles of traffic-calmed, neighborhood bike routes (aka bike boulevards), up from zero in the previous draft.
Bike East Bay encourages meeting participants to support this plan update, with the following additions:
- Include a standalone map of the proposed “low stress bikeway network” in Pleasant Hill showing only the trails, protected bikeways, and neighborhood bike routes to clearly illustrate how complete the network is and where there might still be gaps.
- Make it clear that the outcomes of the four “study corridors”, included in the plan without specific infrastructure recommendations, should be based on what best completes the city’s low-stress bikeway network. The design outcomes need to prioritize safety and access for bike riders, not preserving car parking or driving speeds.
- Include the full text and chart of NACTO’s recommendations for car speed and volume goals on bicycle boulevards, from their document Contextual Guidance for Selecting All Ages and Abilities Bikeways, March 2014, replacing the simplified description found in the current Pleasant Hill draft plan. Include a recommendation for the city to develop a minimum design standard for bicycle boulevards, to apply routinely with capital project opportunities.
- Update the “recommended programs” section with more current descriptions and costs for Bike East Bay classes and other program activities.
For more information, please call or email Ryan McClain at (925) 671-5203 or rmcclain@pleasanthillca.org