Dwight Way/California Street Intersection Project

The purpose of this project is to increase safety at the Dwight Way/California Street intersection, particularly for pedestrians and bicyclists. There has been a history of collisions and near-collisions at this intersection.

The project originated as a Council Referral in October 2017 to improve the safety of the intersection, particularly for pedestrians and bicyclists. The project was budgeted in late 2018, and City staff prepared a conceptual design in 2019.

Design concepts were developed by City traffic engineering staff in 2019 but stopped shy of detailed design due to staffing shortages. In response to recent increasing public interest to advance this project in an expedited manner, City staff restarted the design in April 2021 by utilizing a limited window of staff availability and by reprioritizing project commitments.

Community Outreach

Safety issues and proposed work at the Dwight/California intersection were discussed at events with the public and nearby residents and in Transportation Commission meetings in 2018 and 2019.

The City hosted an online community meeting May 12, 2021.  Two design alternatives were presented, and City staff proceeded with the design of Alternative 1, which includes a median refuge island on Dwight Way. Construction of project elements will be phased as follows: (1) pedestrian improvements, consisting of sidewalk extensions, directional curb ramps, a relocated western crosswalk, and intersection striping; (2) a temporary, “quick build” median refuge island on Dwight Way and evaluation of traffic data to determine if additional traffic controls are warranted; and (3) construction of a more permanent median refuge island, which is dependent on the results of the traffic evaluation, and repaving the intersection roadway, applying a pavement coating on a portion of California Street north of the intersection, reconfiguring the southbound bike lane to improve safety, and installing new pavement markings.

PROJECT PHASES

Phase 1:  The City completed Phase 1, which included pedestrian improvements, in December 2021.

Phase 2:  The City completed Phase 2, which included a temporary median refuge island and associated pavement marking and signage improvements, in March 2022.  Staff have evaluated resulting traffic data and will present the findings in the community meeting on June 1, 2022.

Phase 3:  City staff are working to address community comments on the temporary median, including size and shape.  Once these comments are addressed, the City will construct a more permanent median refuge island, repave the intersection roadway, apply a pavement coating on a portion of California Street north of the intersection, reconfigure the southbound bike lane to improve safety, and install new pavement markings.  

Project Schedule

• Construction of Phase 1, Pedestrian Improvements: September – December 2021
• Construction of Phase 2, Temporary Median Refuge Island: March 2022 and Traffic Analysis:  May 2022
• Construction of Phase 3, Median Refuge Island and Repaving: Summer 2022Roadway Characteristics

ROADWAY CHARACTERISTICS

Dwight Way is a two-way, two-lane arterial street with high traffic volumes, including AC Transit buses.  California Street is a two-way, two-lane collector street and is part of City’s low-stress bikeway network; in particular, it is used by pedestrians and cyclists traveling to/from Longfellow Middle School.