Councilman Bauters' Letter to Planning Commission Delivers Long Needed Traffic Diverter to Horton Street Bike Boulevard
With a number of major traffic inducing projects coming online for Horton Street, the first major attempt by the City of Emeryville to use provisions of its 10 year old Bike Plan to reduce vehicle traffic for the benefit of bicycling in the form of a full traffic diverter has been secured by Councilman John Bauters the Tattler has learned. Mr Bauters, working behind the scenes and as a private citizen, managed to get the developer of the BioMed project, BioMed Realty to agree to pay for and install a full traffic diverter on Horton and Stanford streets just before a vote of the Planning Commission that would have not required such a traffic calming measure. The diverter will allow bikes and emergency vehicles through but will block all other vehicle traffic on Horton Street, both north bound and south bound.
In a February 24th letter to the Planning Commission, Mr Bauters, who is recused from deciding anything about the BioMed project as a City Council member (owing to his residence proximity to the project), told the Commissioners to require a full diverter as a condition of approval and reassuringly, he informed them that after discussions between himself and company representatives, BioMed was amenable to a full diverter. The Commission voted to make the full diverter at Horton and Stanford Street a condition of approval at their meeting the following evening.
 |
| The BioMed 'Emeryville Center for Innovation' Hollis Street at Stanford looking south. Will bring 4000 new cars but also a long needed traffic diverter to Horton Street. |
The future of Horton Street is a future with lots of cars, in excess of 11,000 per day. The Sherwin Williams residential project, now being built, will add almost 4000 cars per day to the street and the BioMed project will add a 2000 space 11 story parking garage to Horton Street, also netting a total of 4000 vehicle trips per day for a total of almost 8000 more cars per day on the street. Horton Street is a designated bike boulevard that is not allowed to have in excess of 3000 vehicle trips per day, an amount that’s lower than what’s on the street now. This new BioMed diverter promises to significantly lower the number.
The design of the diverter will be built as planned in the City’s Bike Plan drafted 10 years ago and, other than a diverter placed on Doyle Street as a result of the COVID pandemic eight months ago, represents the first time the City has attempted to calm traffic by following the Bike Plan. The diverter might still not be enough to reduce the traffic to the 3000 per day threshold and more could be added at a later time. The Sherwin Williams project is in discussion with the City to possibly add a partial diverter at 40th Street. Up until now, the City has not entertained adding diverters to Horton Street, the premier north/south bike route in town, and the street has been out of compliance with the Bike Plan since its inception. Of the five bike boulevards in Emeryville, only Doyle Street has been in compliance with the traffic volume as delineated by the Bike Plan.
The diverter at Stanford and Horton streets will mean many vehicles will divert over to Hollis Street, likely loading that thoroughfare up with much worse rush hour traffic jams.
The BioMed proposal originally included a traffic calming device at Horton and Stanford but as it was designed, it would only serve as a partial diverter according to Councilman Bauters. The original design would not reduce vehicle traffic enough to meet the required threshold the Councilman told the Commissioners. In his February 24th letter, he showed the Commissioners how the design was substandard both in traffic reduction and in safety. “The current design does not prevent a northbound driver from making a right hand turn, followed by an illegal left or U-turn maneuver at Stanford Street, he said. “Inadequate design at this location, coupled with the location's intersection of the Emeryville Greenway will result in not only drivers colliding with pedestrians and bicyclists, but also with other drivers coming southbound through the new proposed curve.” He also showed how southbound drivers will be encouraged to use a newly opened Chiron Way to cut through the traffic diverter as originally planned. The improved Bauters design will function as a real full diverter, just like how it’s supposed to according the the Bike Plan.
The BioMed project, also called the 'Emeryville Center for Innovation' represents a major expansion of the existing biotech research lab campus at Hollis and Stanford streets, extending south almost to 45th Street along Hollis Street.
Neither the City staff nor the Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee raised any objections to the original pre-Bauters design and in fact both gave their approvals. Interestingly, on the night of the Planning Commission meeting after they received the Councilman's letter, the staff did not object to his revision as presented to the Commission and the BPAC did not lodge any complaints after the unanimous Planning Commission vote to approve the full traffic diverter.
Correction: The City is considering adding one partial traffic diverter at 40th Street and Horton blocking northbound traffic onto Horton. This is the only diverter under consideration to ameliorate the traffic generated by the Sherwin Williams project. We initially reported a second partial diverter was being considered at 45th Street.
 |
| From the City's Bike Plan: Full Traffic Diverter at Horton and Stanford streets. The BioMed diverter uses this exact design. |
