With construction of new pedestrian bulb-outs on Grand Avenue underway, officials remind community members to follow instructions on safety signage and use marked detours.

Pedestrian crossings are temporarily closed at the intersections of Grand Avenue with Linda and Greenbank Avenues while electrical infrastructure is being installed to support flashing safety beacons. Closures will continue until bulb-out construction is complete, expected in June.

This work is part of a $1.5 million roadway improvement and bicycle/pedestrian safety project, funded in part by a $500,000 grant from the Alameda County Transportation Commission. Work currently underway includes:

• pedestrian safety enhancements (bulb-outs, flashing beacons, and high visibility striping) at the Linda and Greenbank intersections
• bicycle safety enhancements (turn box with a flashing beacon push button, crossing markings for bicyclists) at the intersection of Grand and Linda
• ADA compliant curb ramps at all street crossings

Once bulb-outs at Linda and Greenback Avenues are complete, construction will begin at the intersection of Grand and Fairview, where the City is installing:

• permanent bulb-out islands, shortening the pedestrian crossing area
• a landscaped bioswale – the City’s first “green infrastructure” – to improve drainage and support soil filtering of storm water

The final phase of the project, scheduled for August, will re-pave Grand Avenue from Fairview to Greenbank.

Grand Avenue safety upgrades part of Safer Streets Plan implementation

These improvements continue implementation of the City’s 2021 Safer Streets Plan, which identified the Grand/Linda and Grand/Greenbank intersections as two of the top ten priority locations for pedestrian safety improvements citywide.

In recent years, the City has completed similar safety upgrades at several intersections on Oakland Avenue, with bulb outs and flashing beacons added at the Oakland/Howard and Oakland/Sunnyside intersections in 2022 and Oakland/Jerome and Oakland/El Cerrito in 2024.

A grant application is currently pending for pedestrian safety improvements on Moraga, which would add bulb-outs, high visibility crosswalks, and flashing beacons at the intersections of Moraga with Ramona and Mesa, as well as safety enhancements at Highland and Red Rock Road.