Election Focus: Safety for Walkers, Cyclists

Albany Patch recently posed nine questions, about challenges faced by the city, to the four City Council candidates up for election Nov. 2. See our full election guide here. Click each candidate's name to view a general Q&A completed in August. And come out Thursday for the first candidate forum of the election season.

Does Albany need to do more for pedestrian and bike safety? If so, what ideas do you have? (Learn more here about the city's efforts.)

Yes, Albany does need to do more to promote public safety and climate action plan objectives. Albany has had a bicycle master plan for years; work on Marin Avenue has been a key achievement, but much more remains to be done. Grants may help fund additional bike paths on Buchanan and Pierce Street. Finding the funding for additional work is the key challenge.

Another difficult challenge is current city planning code that requires provision for substantial parking, suggesting continuing support for a car-centered transportation network. Grants would need to be the funding sources for a while.

Albany is very fortunate to have talented staff that have applied for and received for the city, grant funds to implement bike and pedestrian paths. I think we are working to be more safe and pedestrian friendly as evidenced by bulb-outs, bike paths coming as part of paving projects, and the many curb-cuts for bikers and the disabled.

The city's Climate Action Plan fits very nicely here, as an important goal is to get people out of their cars and using alternative transportation to cut back on carbon emissions. This will be a challenge, but as an initiating member of a group called Transition Albany, I am working with others to engage the community in ways to address global warming, and transportation is a big part of this effort.

Almost every Albany neighborhood feels that cars are going too fast and not being careful enough. There are neighborhoods with many children and parents are fearful for them. We should do whatever possible to protect the safety of our neighborhoods and I will work with staff and our transportation specialist to try to find new sources of money or grants to mitigate these traffic problems. 

There are basically different groups with different needs that may require different solutions in certain circumstances: children, the elderly and adults.

The single most talked about issue with pedestrian safety is the speed of travel by cars in the blocks that are on either side of Solano and Marin where cars are not using the appropriate speed necessary for a residential neighborhood with children. It is not an automatic decision to slow down when you turn down these blocks when turning off of Solano and Marin.

This is also true west of San Pablo when turning off Solano and Buchanan. Perhaps  better signage at the entrance to the streets and caution/ slow speed warning could be painted on the street surface of every block.

The intersection at Solano and San Pablo includes a transit stop in two directions for two different bus lines. One idea I have is to move the bus stops off the corner during rush hour when the stopping of the bus and the exiting of the passengers creates an extended backup that can stretch for blocks.

We need safe and easy access to Target and the Waterfront for pedestrians and cyclists. This will be expensive and is a long term project that will require obtaining access to private property on the south side of Buchanan, and multiple government grants, to implement a solution.

The design, placement and quantity of bike racks have not been well thought out and implemented. Bike advocates who deal with these issues daily should be more involved so that we use their experience and expertise. What is done is should be done well.

We should continue to implement our city's bicycle and pedestrian plan.

Tomorrow's Question: What's been the biggest success in the city over the past four years?

• Election Focus: Addressing Albany's Projected Budget Deficit
• Election Focus: Development at the Albany Waterfront
• Election Focus: Safeway on Solano
• Election Focus: Pierce Street Park
• Election Focus: Public Campaign Financing