Berkeley Southside Complete Streets Project

What’s New

The Project Team completed a Preferred Design Recommendations Memorandum, which is accompanied by appendices A-G, linked below.

• Appendix A: Options Analysis Matrix
• Appendix B: Corridor Design Options
• Appendix C: Engagement Takeaways and BFD Comments
• Appendix D: Options Analysis Matrix Results
• Appendix E1: Traffic Analysis Framework
• Appendix E2: Traffic Analysis Summary
• Appendix E3: Traffic Analysis Results
• Appendix F: Transit Analysis
• Appendix G: Person Throughput Analysis

On January 27th, 2022, the Project Team hosted an Online Open House to provide a project update and present the recommended design options for each corridor. After the Open House, the Project Team prepared a summary of community engagement conducted as part of the project.

What is the Southside Complete Streets Project?

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 along Telegraph Avenue, Bancroft Way, Fulton Street, and Dana Street.

Berkeley’s Southside neighborhood has a rich history and a bright future as a community hub that serves many functions. The neighborhood is growing, and more people are walking, biking, taking transit, using rideshare, and having packages delivered. Today, Southside streets provide access to many vibrant local businesses, community and cultural destinations, healthcare, and multi-family and single-family residences. As the main gateway to UC Berkeley’s campus, many students, faculty, and staff rely on the Southside neighborhood for housing, food, and other daily needs.

The Southside Complete Streets Project will apply the vision and goals identified in previous planning efforts to create a cohesive street design. The goals of the project are to improve safety, comfort, and access for all users for decades to come. When implemented, the project will bring improvements for people walking, biking, driving, and taking transit. These improvements will also support economic development and cultural vitality of the district.

Numerous studies, documents, and plans have recommended changes to Southside streets. The City’s Vision Zero Action Plan identifies Bancroft Way as a “High Injury Street” in need of traffic safety improvements, with a history of severe injury and fatality traffic crashes for people walking, biking, and driving. 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.  

The project is funded by Federal Aid grant funding from the Alameda County Transportation Commission and the California Department of Transportation.

Project Goals

• Ensure safety for everyone 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.

Project Timeline

Conceptual Design & Public Engagement
Summer – Fall 2021: Data collection & analysis; begin public engagement
Fall 2021 – Late 2021: Develop and present design alternatives;
Fall 2021 – Late 2021: Ongoing public engagement
Late 2021 – Spring 2022: Finalize alternatives & complete conceptual design; conclude public engagement

Environmental & Detailed Engineering Design
Late 2021-Spring 2022: Environmental analysis and CEQA and NEPA documents
Spring 2022 – Early 2023: Develop detailed engineering design; technical stakeholder engagement; finalize construction plans
2023 – 2024: Construction

Get Involved

We will post updates and materials here as the project progresses. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the City prioritized online engagement for the project.

Past Events

• 2/22/22: Berkeley City Council Meeting (Click here to access council items)
• 1/27/22: Online Open House (Click here to access the meeting slides, click here to access the illustrative concept graphics)
• 1/20/22: Transportation Commission meeting
• 1/13/22: Public Works Commission Special Meeting
• 1/7/22: Institutional Stakeholder Group Meeting
• 12/14/21: Telegraph Business Improvement District (TBID) meeting 
• 12/08/21: Berkeley Commission on Disability meeting
• 12/05/21: East Bay Transit Riders Union (EBTRU) meeting 
• 11/18/21: Berkeley Transportation Commission meeting (Click here to access the meeting slides)
• 11/10/21: Online Open House (Click here to access the meeting slides, and click here to view the video recording)
• 11/03/21: Berkeley Commission on Disability meeting
• 11/01/21: Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC) meeting.
• 10/29/21: Institutional Stakeholder Group meeting. This is a group of internal City of Berkeley departments and transit operators (AC Transit, Bear Transit, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory) who provide technical expertise.
• 10/21/21: Berkeley Transportation Commission meeting (Click here to access the meeting slides)