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The Bruns Court Bridge pedestrian overcrossing replacement project needs action now!
The Bruns Court Bridge pedestrian overcrossing replacement project needs action now!
CalTrans has to tear down the old pedestrian bridge over Hwy 13 / Moraga, and has various designs in consideration that affect the surrounding neighborhood.
BACKGROUND & OVERVIEW
The pedestrian bridge that connects Bruns Court on the west side of Hwy 13 to Montclair Park on the east side of Hwy 13 and Moraga Avenue was built by Caltrans* in 1956. It has reached the end of its lifespan and must be decommissioned.
*The state agency that manages, among other things, highways throughout the state.
Over the last few years, Caltrans has been developing options for the replacement of this bridge. The old bridge predates requirements for accessibility, which are now federally mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act, and therefore had a smaller footprint with a staircase than the minimum structure that could be built today with a ramp.
Caltrans recently published a study of the Bruns Court Pedestrian Overcrossing Project that looks at its potential environmental effects. The study not only looks at traditionally-understood aspects of the environment, like impact on air and water, but also the impacts of the project on the human environment, including how the finished project would look in the streetscape and how it would affect transportation in the neighborhood.
PROVIDE YOUR INPUT
Caltrans needs your input on the environmental study.
» Attend online community meeting September 26, 6–7:30pm.
» Submitt written comments online or via email to Caltrans between NOW – October 8.
Caltrans is particularly interested in the community’s opinions about the environmental impacts of this project. This is an opportunity to express your opinion about the various options.
Unfortunately, the documents that have been released are long and technical. Thankfully, Thornhill Community Corridor has reviewed these documents and summarized the project options for you below.
You are welcome to use our analysis and template public comment to provide input to Caltrans or submit your own thoughts to the agency. The most important thing is that you participate and help shape this infrastructure project that will be in place for probably another 70 years!
Caltrans is currently considering 4 options (aka “alternatives”). Below we share our reccomendations and sense of the pros and cons from the perspective of making our community safer for people walking, biking, rolling, and driving.
We recommend that Caltrans demolish the old bridge and not replace (Build Alternative 4). We also want the agency to invest in the Moraga Avenue “road diet” that is discussed in (Build Alternative 3b), which will help satisfy the overall project’s goals of safely bringing people walking, biking, and rolling from the west side of Hwy 13 into Montclair Park. Moraga Avenue is a dangerous road for everyone and its current design with four car travel lanes encourages speeding.
Improving the La Salle, La Salle/Moraga intersection and Moraga Ave. is both simpler and beneficial to a larger set of users and address a long-standing dangerous corridor.
What is Caltrans proposing and how would it affect neighborhood travel and the streetscape?
BUILD ALTERNATIVE 2
Replace the current bridge with a new ADA-compliant bridge from Bruns Court to the space between Hwy 13 and Moraga Ave. (west side of Moraga). The structure on the Moraga side would be a switchback ramp. A mid-block crosswalk with traffic control device would be installed to connect the end of the ramp to Montclair Park.
PROS
» Does not disrupt sidewalk on east side of Moraga
» Adds some pedestrian crossing infrastructure to Moraga Avenue
CONS
» Large concrete structure will be built along Moraga Avenue that is completely out of scale with the street environment
» Mid-block crosswalk could actually be more dangerous for pedestrians due to high traffic speeds and width of Moraga
» Bicyclists using bridge are dumped onto Moraga with no bike lanes or other protection (Moraga does not currently have a bike lane)
BUILD ALTERNATIVE 3A
Replace the current bridge with a new ADA-compliant bridge from Bruns Court to the east side of Moraga Avenue. The structure on the Moraga side would be a long ramp that is more than a football field long. The ramp would be placed where the current parking is alongside the park, removing 20 parking spaces.
PROS
» Brings bridge users to the Montclair Park side of Moraga
CONS
» Large concrete structure will be built between Moraga Avenue and Montclair Park that is completely out of scale with the street environment
» The structure will create an extremely unpleasant walking environment with large concrete posts and overhead concrete structure immediately adjacent to the sidewalk and park
» Safe parking spots that don’t require crossing Moraga Avenue to access Montclair Park will be removed
BUILD ALTERNATIVE 3B
Replace the current bridge with a new ADA-compliant bridge from Bruns Court to the east side of Moraga Avenue. The structure on the Moraga side would be a long ramp that is more than a football field long. Moraga Avenue would get a so-called “road diet” between LaSalle Avenue and Thornhill Drive, which means that it would be reduced to one car lane in each direction and have a bike lane added. The road diet would create enough space for the ramp without removing parking. Parking, the bike lane, and the sidewalk would be on the west side of the ramp, while Montclair Park would be on the east side.
PROS
» Brings bridge users to the Montclair Park side of Moraga Avenue
» Includes a much-needed road diet for Moraga Avenue
» Creates new bike lane for Moraga Avenue
CONS
» Large concrete structure will be built between Moraga Avenue and Montclair Park that is completely out of scale with the street environment
» The structure will create an extremely unpleasant walking environment with large concrete posts and overhead concrete structure immediately adjacent to the sidewalk and park
» With the road diet and streetscape improvements, the bridge over Moraga Avenue and even Highway 13 is arguably no longer necessary because people walking and biking from the west side of Highway 13 can now more safely travel on La Salle to access Montclair Village and the park
BUILD ALTERNATIVE 4
Removes the old bridge, but does not replace it. Caltrans and the City of Oakland would work together to improve the safety of the La Salle Avenue and Moraga Avenue intersection to make it safer for people walking, biking, rolling, and driving.
PROS
» Does not include placing a massive concrete structure on Moraga Avenue
» Preserves the visual and walking environment of Montclair Park and Moraga Avenue
» Includes much-needed intersection improvements for La Salle and Moraga
CONS
» Does not include a “road diet” for Moraga Avenue overall or new bicycle lanes for Moraga Avenue, which would be needed to truly make Moraga a safer space for everyone
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