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Published April 23rd, 2014
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Livable Moraga Road Project Takes Shape
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| By Sophie Braccini |
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Protected pedestrian paths, bicycle lanes, landscaped median strips, new crosswalks: Moraga Road could become this dream for all modes of transportation, for all ages. The plan is taking shape one public workshop at a time. After the first brain-storming session, staff proposed three alternatives to a diverse group of 50 or so residents on March 19. After all of the input is analyzed a final public workshop will be conducted in late April to finalize a vision for the Moraga Road of the future.
"At the first workshop you told us what you wanted to see along Moraga Road, and what types of users we needed to accommodate," said senior planner Ellen Clark in her introductory presentation. "From what you said we derived some guiding principles and designed three possible alternatives for the improvement of Moraga Road." Staff defined four different segments that need improvement: the Campolindo segment with the issues revolving around high school traffic; the Rheem segment; the segment from just past Rheem to Corliss; and the last one from Corliss to St. Mary's Road.
The guiding principles that residents brainstormed during the first workshop included improving connectivity for all types of users, enhancing the character and esthetic of the road, maintaining the highest level of safety, and ensuring a smooth flow of traffic.
Following these principles, staff presented three possible concepts for the road. Concept A would leave the road with the same lane configuration, with the modest improvements of continuous single bike and pedestrian paths. Concept B would enhance the pedestrian and bicycle path and would remove one lane southbound in front of the Rheem Center where the median strip could be landscaped. Concept C would create a continuous multi-use trail for families walking and biking, and would include a bike lane for the serious cyclists. Space would be found by removing one lane southbound; this concept also proposed landscaped median strips.
With maps and descriptions of each concept came data such as traffic count and modeling the impact of each concept at different hours of the day. The group broke into two smaller groups that were asked to reach a consensus, if possible, to recommend one of the concepts, possibly a different one for each road segment.
One of the first aspects that was discussed among the residents was the idea of reducing the number of lanes from four to three. Some opposed the idea completely, saying it would slow traffic and create more congestion; the traffic study suggested that would not happen. Others questioned the consultant on his methodology, the time the traffic counts were made, and the period. According to the consultant, the level of service on Moraga Road is good and will stay that way, even if all the development in the plans is built out, with the notable exception of the Campolindo area when school starts and is dismissed.
The modifications proposed by all three concepts for the Campolindo area were not very well received by residents. It proposed the creation of a new drop-off lane along the main campus, a good idea for Lafayette residents, but that would not ease the pain of the Moraga drivers. "We are discussing a very different plan with the high school," said Shawna Brekke-Read, planning director, "but it is not completely finished. We will propose it to this group when it is ready."
Although there was a lot of support for the idea of a family trail and acknowledgment that Concept C comes the closest to meeting the project's goals, there was no a real consensus among participants.
Clark will present a progress report to the Town Council in May and the next Livable Moraga Road workshop will be held in June.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA