Street Safety Improvements Coming to the Bay Area

Safety improvements are coming to a major street in Oakland, California, reports Kristin J. Bender in The Mercury News, after 18 or more pedestrians were killed on International Boulevard in the last two years. “Improvements are being funded by a $400,000 grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and $1.8 million from the city of Oakland, officials said.”

The project joins other efforts to make Bay Area streets safer and more connected for pedestrians, transit users, and cyclists. In San Mateo County, the local transportation authority plans to improve sidewalk crossings and bike and pedestrian routes that connect to Caltrain, BART, and other public transit. “That could include building pathways over or under the elevated Caltrain tracks and adjacent Highway 101 corridor to better connect the downtown area to the city’s job center and biotech hub in its former industrial core to the east.”  

Bender notes that “last week, the Regional Network Management Council, a coalition of Bay Area transit agencies, earmarked more than $18 million for eight projects under the Bus Accelerated Infrastructure Delivery program, commonly known as ‘BusAID.’” The program is designed to improve bus speed and reliability and make key transit corridors safer for all users.