Freeport Blvd. and 21st Street get the
go-ahead to convert to two-way traffic   

By Dan Murphy
Viewpoint Staff Writer

On April 12, the Freeport Boulevard/21st Street two-way conversion project leaped the final regulatory hurdle that had been holding up its implementation. On that day, the California Public Utilities Commission issued its opinion granting necessary approval for two-way traffic operations across the railroad and light rail tracks at Fourth Avenue and 21st Street.

The PUC worked with the city on the proposed design to improve safety at the crossing. A 150-foot long raised median island will be installed on the north side of the crossing. A "NO LEFT TURN" sign will be posted on the south end of the raised median to warn and deter southbound drivers from making an illegal left turn onto Fourth Avenue.

At the 21st Street/Fourth Avenue/Portola Way intersection north of the crossing, the city will install two new raised median islands and modify the existing raised median island to better channelize motorists and to deter illegal turns. The two northbound lanes of 21st Street will not merge into one lane until approximately 700 feet north of the crossing. A "no parking zone" will be created for 100 feet along the northwest side of 21st Street north from the crossing. "SKEWED CROSSING" advanced warnings signs will be installed in both traffic directions.

The raised median islands at the 21st Street/Fourth Avenue/Portola Way intersection are

significant with respect to the proposed Curtis Park Village development. The original design had extended the traffic island on Fourth Avenue to physically block access to northbound 21st Street from Portola Way and the prospective access road at the northwest corner of the CPV subdivision. The PUC design instead shortens the traffic island and creates a lane for legal access to northbound 21st Street. Some of the traffic coming out of the Curtis Park Village development could exit in this manner, lessening the additional traffic load on 24th Street north of Donner Way.

The full PUC decision, including a diagram showing the new configuration at Fourth Avenue and 21st Street is available on the SCNA website (www.Sierra2.org) through the Neighborhood Concerns page. Also posted is a summary of questions and comments about the project at the community meeting of April 6, 2006 and the response of the city to some of the questions raised.

Kristy Day of the Hoyt Company, the city's community outreach consultant, said the project design is being finalized by city staff, who hope to put the project out to bid in June. The bid would then be taken to the City Council in July, with the construction anticipated to begin in late summer with completion this fall, weather permitting.

The SCNA Neighborhood Concerns Committee will have considered the design at its May meeting and decided whether to request any additional pedestrian and traffic safety measures.

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