| | Published August 29th, 2012
| Safety Improvements for Two Orinda Traffic Hot Spots
| | Laurie Snyder | | |
Orinda City Council gave the go ahead for one traffic improvement project and directed staff to continue refining plans for another at its lightly attended August 21 meeting.
On a 5-0 vote, Council members awarded a construction contract to low-bidder American Asphalt Repair and Resurfacing, Inc., of Hayward, for the Moraga Way Pedestrian and Pathway Project. Their bid for the project was $218,396.
Expenses for design engineering, construction and City administration and construction management - plus a 10 percent contingency fee - are estimated by City staff at $322,600. Funding will come from park dedication fees ($154,930), a Safe Routes to Schools grant ($166,000), and gas taxes ($20,000).
According to the staff report, in addition to "cold existing asphalt concrete paving of the shoulder and overlaying the shoulder with asphalt concrete for a pedestrian pathway between side street intersections" for roughly 3,300 feet from El Camino Moraga to Ivy Drive, the contractor will install approximately 2,850 feet of hot mix asphalt concrete dike, lay down about 3,300 feet of slurry seal on the street surface, remove and replace thermoplastic striping and other markings, and install "a rectangular rapid flashing beacon at one intersection" and "reflecting pavement markers."
Construction is anticipated to take place from October 8 to December 31, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Lane closures will be prohibited before 9 a.m. and after 4 p.m.
Camino Pablo/Santa Maria/Brookwood Intersections
Following up on its September 6, 2011 report to Council members, Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc., the traffic engineering consultant on the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA)-funded project for improving intersections at Camino Pablo, Santa Maria Way, and Brookwood Road, provided a progress update. Council members, concerned at the earlier meeting about proposed directional signage, had expressed their desire "to retain the current aesthetics of the downtown area by minimizing the number of signs."
Those concerns were heard. A Kimley-Horn representative reported that plans now call for no overhead route signs, as well as an overall reduction in the number of signs used. New pedestrian ramps will be installed at Brookwood, and shared bicycle routes will likely be created by employing "sharrows" rather than full bike lanes.
Staff and consultants hope to submit their updated plans to CCTA for Measure C funding peer review and to Caltrans for encroachment permit review in September. If plans are approved and Council authorizes bidding, construction could begin in spring 2013.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA