We’ll soon create more opportunity for Berkeleyans to safely get exercise, sunshine and fresh air by limiting car traffic on select streets and reminding local drivers there to slow to 15 mph and better share those roads with pedestrians and bicyclists.
We’ll soon create more opportunity for Berkeleyans to safely get exercise, sunshine and fresh air by limiting car traffic on select streets and reminding local drivers there to slow to 15 mph and better share those roads with pedestrians and bicyclists.
We’ve seen other cities use this time to mimic what Berkeley has built over the past four decades with our 16 miles of bike boulevards: a network of calmed streets. We’re building on that legacy by advising non-local traffic to take other routes.
Our community faces an unprecedented public health emergency from COVID-19. Even as some shelter-in-place restrictions are relaxed and our economy slowly reopens, many of the changes we’ve had to make in our daily lives will be with us for the foreseeable future. Face coverings and social distancing will become even more essential as our in-person interactions increase.
Just as businesses have to adjust their operations to adapt to life during a pandemic, we’ve been rethinking existing resources as a City to collaborate with community groups, like Walk Bike Berkeley, and to find creative ways to support our community. Healthy Streets will provide an additional option for outdoor recreation and safe travel without crowding parks or traveling to far away trails while we are under the shelter in place order.
Healthy Streets is being implemented by City Manager Dee Williams-Ridley under her emergency powers in her capacity as the Director of Emergency Services.
“This pandemic affects our community in so many ways that it’s wonderful to give our community more space to get out even as they shelter in place,” said Mayor Jesse Arreguín. “This is a creative way to re-use public space for the common good.”
Healthy Streets
Healthy Streets will be drawn from our existing bicycle boulevard network and will be recommended for local traffic only, to accommodate people who are already moving off of narrow sidewalks and using traffic lanes to walk, bike, or jog while maintaining a safe six foot distance from one another.
On these segments, we’ll ask everyone to reduce their speeds, share the road, and be courteous to one another. Drivers will need to watch carefully for people on foot or bike and use extra caution when passing. Pedestrians will need to stay conscious of others using the road and move aside when cars need to pass. Parents will need to closely supervise children in the street and stay aware of approaching traffic.
Everyone over 12 using the streets should have a face covering readily available, and put it on anytime others are within 30 feet.
Three segments will be designated “Healthy Streets”:
- 9th street from Hearst to Dwight
- Russell Street from Adeline to Mabel
- Addison Street from Sacramento to Grant
Healthy Streets will be marked with barriers and signs that say “Watch for pedestrians and bikes/ consider other routes” at block entrances along with signs midblock reminding people to slow down, social distance, and cover their nose and mouth.
Building on history
Slow streets aren’t new to Berkeley. We have long been innovators in this area, first introducing traffic calming barriers to protect neighborhood streets in 1975.
All the segments we’ve identified as planned or potential Healthy Streets are part of Berkeley’s existing and proposed bicycle boulevard network, where we have already implemented measures to discourage cut-through car traffic including diverters, traffic circles, and speed humps.
The nearly 30 miles of existing or planned bicycle boulevards in Berkeley’s Bicycle Plan have been identified through a robust community input process and selected for their ability to connect people to destinations such as schools and grocery stores.
Partnership with Walk Bike Berkeley
Given the strain COVID-19 has placed on City resources, the Healthy Streets program would not be possible without the support of community volunteers.
We are partnering with Walk Bike Berkeley to implement this program. The City will post barricades and signs at block entrances and Walk Bike Berkeley will coordinate volunteers to post additional midblock signs on designated streets.
If you want to help, contact Walk Bike Berkeley at info@walkbikeberkeley.org.
