From: mjvande@pbhye.PacBell.COM (Mike Vandeman)
Subject: Proposed Transportation Projects for Berkeley
Organization: Pacific * Bell
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 04:43:09 GMT
Followup-To: sci.environment

                Berkeley Transportation Commission
                    1/14/93 Meeting, 7:00 p.m.
     North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave., Berkeley

Proposed Resolution:

The Transportation Commission Recommends to the City Council that
it be the policy of the City to reduce the total amount and speed
of motor vehicle traffic within the City, and not to institute
measures that would tend to increase, encourage, or subsidize any
increase in motor vehicle traffic volume or speed.

Proposed Resolution:

The Transportation Commission Recommends to the City Council that
it be the policy of the City to protect residential areas of the
City as much as possible from motor vehicle traffic, applying
traffic calming techniques wherever feasible to keep motor vehicle
traffic volume and speed within residential neighborhoods at a
minimum.

Capital Improvement Recommendations:

Plan only projects that benefit pedestrians, bicyclists, and public
transit. In particular:

1. Apply for street trees to beautify all the streets of Berkeley,
to counteract the pollution caused by motor vehicles, and to be
used as traffic calming devices (in planters within the street,
e.g. in the center of intersections, to create traffic circles).

2. Plan and build pedestrian paths connecting all of the parks in
the City and along the creeks. Wherever feasible, open up sections
of the undergrounded creeks to create natural areas and wildlife
corridors within the City, e.g. as described in Richard Register's
Ecocity Zoning Map for Berkeley.

3. Plan and build light rail lines within Berkeley as described in
the Bay Link light rail plan for the Bay Bridge and the East Bay
(along San Pablo, University, Shattuck, and Telegraph Avenues).
Plan and build bicycle routes and facilities connecting the major
travel destinations within the City, including all of the transit
stations and hubs.

4. Complete the signing of all street corners, which is necessary
for pedestrians and bicyclists. Complete the system of curb cuts
and sidewalks within the City. Install bicycle detectors where
possible at traffic signals to expedite bicycle travel. Get lots of
bicycle lockers and install them wherever they will get the most
use.

5. Turn as many parking lots and parking structures as possible
into parks, with special attention and priority given to opening up
creeks.

6. Provide better access to the waterfront for pedestrians and
bicyclists, including tunnels and/or bridges at Ashby, University,
and Gilman.

7. Get funds to improve transit in Berkeley, to be administered by
A/C Transit. Use the funds to create transit options to lure people
out of their cars (e.g. to improve BART access, to reduce the need
to provide BART parking). Provide a stop announcement system for
buses, such as exists on Japanese buses (the driver triggers a tape
recording that announces the upcoming stop). Provide bike racks for
buses that pass through Berkeley. Provide traffic signal overrides

for the buses that pass through Berkeley, so that buses never have
to wait long for a red light. Increase bus service in Berkeley,
e.g. by decreasing headways on the major lines and discovering
other needed lines.

8. Create "bus bulbs" at bus stops, so that buses don't have to
pull out of their lane to pick up passengers. Experiment with one
main route first, to see the effect on bus headways and bicyclists.

9. Extend parking fees to the whole city, e.g. by means of the RPP.
Increase parking fees in order to reduce traffic in Berkeley. Use
air quality measurements in Berkeley to find out the desired
maximum level of traffic.

10. Set up experimental telecommuting sites where employees of
companies located outside Berkeley could work at an office within
Berkeley.

11. Give repaving priority to pedestrian, bicycle, and transit
routes. Where feasible, pave with concrete rather than asphalt,
which is a toxic petroleum product.

12. Stop all City parking construction projects, e.g. the Center
Street Garage, Marina Parking lot, Downtown Garage, and West
Berkeley Parking Garage. This is exactly the opposite of what we
should be doing!

13. Plan and implement a system to treat street water runoff. Apply
political pressure for Caltrans to do the same for I-80. (This
comes under the heading of "mitigation".)

14. Investigate and implement a gas tax in Berkeley, with the
proceeds to be used to improve pedestrian, bicycle, rail, and bus
transportation in Berkeley.

Mike Vandeman
510-823-2472
Newsgroups: sci.environment