SOUTHSIDE COMPLETE STREETS PROJECT

Project Overview 

The Southside Complete Streets project will improve conditions for people walking, biking, riding transit, driving, and delivering goods and services in Berkeley’s Southside neighborhood. 

Project Goals:

• Ensure safety for all persons walking, riding bicycles, riding transit, or driving, consistent with the City of Berkeley Vision Zero traffic safety policy
• Improve transit reliability and travel times consistent with the City of Berkeley General Plan Transportation Element Policy T-4 “Transit-First”
• Support the economic and cultural vitality of Berkeley’s Southside neighborhood consistent with the Economic Development goals of the City of Berkeley Southside Plan 

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For questions about the project or further information, please contact the project manager, Eric Anderson, Senior Planner, eanderson@cityofberkeley.info 

Project Documents    

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Project Background    

 South of the University of California, Berkeley campus, the Southside neighborhood is a thriving residential and commercial area central to Berkeley’s historic cultural legacy. Southside streets provide access to both the UC Berkeley campus and student housing, as well as numerous local businesses, community and cultural destinations, healthcare, and multi-family and single-family residences. The Southside streets in this project include some of the busiest commercial and residential streets in Berkeley. 

Dana Street serves as an important north-south commercial and residential street serving AC Transit buses, with heavy pedestrian and bicycle use via existing Class II Bike Lanes. 

Bancroft Way is a crucial commercial street interface between the Southside neighborhood and the UC Berkeley campus, and serves as a major east-west connection carrying numerous AC Transit, Bear Transit, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory shuttle buses, long distance commuter buses such as FLIXbus, extremely high pedestrian and bicycle activity, and heavy vehicle traffic (including freight vehicles). An existing two-block section of bus-only lane and two-way parking-protected Cycle Track demonstrates what may be possible elsewhere along the Bancroft Way corridor.  

Fulton Street is a busy north-south connection which transitions from commercial to residential and serves vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian uses. The existing southbound-only Fulton Street Cycle Track ends at the Channing Way Bicycle Boulevard.  

Telegraph Avenue is a bustling and vibrant north-south commercial street and historic cultural center in Berkeley, which connects directly to UC Berkeley’s Sproul Plaza and was the location of Berkeley’s first accessible curb ramps in the 1970’s, 20 years before Federal Americans with Disabilities Act legislation. The street carries some of the highest pedestrian volumes in the East Bay, as well as serving AC Transit buses, freight vehicles and commercial loading, and increasing numbers of ride-hailing trips. On-street parking, commercial and passenger loading, and disabled parking are well used and at a premium throughout the project area, particularly on and adjacent to the busy commercial streets of Bancroft Way and Telegraph Avenue. 

Numerous studies, documents, and plans have recommended changes to Southside streets. Among other recommendations, the Southside Area Plan recommended conversion of Bancroft Way, Durant Avenue, and Dana Street from one-way to two-way streets to improve transit reliability and pedestrian and bicycle safety; calm traffic; and improve vehicle circulation. The Berkeley Bicycle Plan recommends continuous Cycle Tracks on Bancroft Way, Dana Street, and Fulton Street to close gaps in the proposed citywide Low Stress Bikeway Vision Network. To address chronic transit delays through the Southside, the AC Transit Major Corridors study recommends a continuous Bus Rapid Transit facility on Telegraph Avenue and Bancroft Way, connecting to Oakland to the south and to Shattuck Avenue/University Avenue to the north. The City of Berkeley’s General Plan Transportation Element Policy T-4 Transit-First Policy gives priority to alternative transportation and transit over single-occupant vehicles on Transit Routes. Policy T-22 seeks to reduce wait times and transfer times for pedestrians taking transit by implementing improvements such as transit-only lanes and traffic signal improvements. Additionally, Policy T-55 designates Bancroft Way, Durant Avenue, and Telegraph Avenue as the “highest priority routes” for transit improvements in the Southside area. The Telegraph Avenue Public Realm Plan recommends a phased approach to improving and increasing pedestrian space along Telegraph Avenue’s relatively narrow existing sidewalks, culminating in a “shared street” configuration; the plan notes that it will need to be updated to include the future possibility of dedicated bus lanes. 

On September 27, 2016, the Berkeley City Council approved the Southside Project Phase I – Bancroft West, which constructed a parking-protected two-way cycle track and bus-only lane on Bancroft Way between Dana Street and Fulton Street.  AC Transit is currently designing and will be constructing the Dana Compete Street Pilot Project, which complements the City’s Southside Complete Streets Project.  The Dana Compete Street Pilot Project will include a two-way cycle track on Dana Street from Dwight Way to Bancroft Way and a bus boarding island on Dana Street at Haste Street. Construction is expected to occur in 2021. Personal security has been a major concern of UC Berkeley students in the Southside neighborhood. The Berkeley Police Department’s Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design has worked closely with the UC Berkeley Police Department and the Telegraph Business Improvement District in order to improve the physical street environment and support increased personal security.    

Funding 

Project funded by Federal Aid grant funding from the Alameda County Transportation Commission and the California Department of Transportation: 

$1,000,000 for Public Engagement, Conceptual Design, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance, and Final Construction Plans 

$7,335,000 for Construction 

Matching funds for the Federal Aid grant are provided by University of California Berkeley Long Range Development Plan settlement funding.