Alameda Transportation Commission Meeting – February 26, 2026
Alameda Transportation Commission Meeting – February 26, 2026
The Alameda Transportation Commission met on February 26, 2026, to review the 2025 annual report and 2026 work plan, hear updates on key transportation projects and safety data, and address public comments on rail preservation, traffic calming, and bike lane enforcement. The commission unanimously endorsed the annual report and work plan.
Consent Calendar
- The draft minutes of the January 28, 2026 meeting were approved with a revision requested by Commissioner Noctigall to clarify a statement about the Otis school and the need for a completed low-stress bike network. The motion passed unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- William Morrison urged the commission to consider preserving rail corridors, noting the high cost of re-establishing rail if removed, and cautioned against focusing exclusively on bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure at the expense of automobiles.
- Jim Strelo criticized the city for overreacting to a small number of traffic incidents, questioning the need for major intersection redesigns and the duration of construction projects. He also called for better public education on traffic safety.
- Christy Cannon reported vehicles frequently driving in bike lanes on the West End (including delivery trucks and a fire truck) and expressed concern about safety for cyclists and pedestrians. She also praised the city's street cleaner for properly using the bike lane.
Staff Communications
- Lisa Foster, Transportation Planning Manager, announced that Gail Payne is leaving the city, reducing transportation planning staffing by one-third. She highlighted the city’s award of gold-level Bicycle Friendly Community status. Upcoming events: Transportation 101 and Clipper Card events on March 6 and April 3. Construction updates: Clement/Tilden project continues; Webster tube closures will be overnight (10 p.m.–5 a.m.) starting April, avoiding single-lane daytime closures; Posey tube closures will require continuous single-lane closures, to be minimized. SF Bay Ferry announced new South San Francisco service.
- Commissioner comments expressed gratitude for Gail Payne’s contributions.
Discussion Items
- 2025 Annual Report and 2026 Work Plan Presentation
- Key 2025 accomplishments: 1.5 miles of all-ages bikeways, 25 curb ramp upgrades, 79 intersection safety improvements, 125,000 water shuttle riders, 225,000 free bus passes for older adults and people with disabilities, first neighborhood greenway segment on Pacific Avenue, citywide mobile parking payment, over 8,000 sidewalk repairs, and the Alameda Bike Festival.
- Safety data: One traffic fatality (pedestrian at Ralph Appezzato Memorial Parkway) and eight severe injuries. Rolling five-year averages show pedestrian trends improving, but bicyclist and motor vehicle severe injuries increased. Alameda’s rate of fatalities and severe injuries is lower than Alameda County and state averages. Police issued 72% more moving violation citations and warnings in 2025 compared to 2024.
- Active transportation measures: 61.3 miles of bikeways total, 41% low-stress. 18 of 18 public schools enrolled in Safe Routes to School. Three bike/ped counters showed 5–14% year-over-year increases in bike counts.
- 2026 priorities: Completion of Central Avenue improvements (spring), Clement/Tilden project, repaving of Fernside and San Jose with interim safety improvements (including buffered bike lanes, painted bulb-outs), 100 new bike racks (200 parking spaces). Oakland Alameda Access Project (OAP) updates: Webster tube work limited to overnight closures; Posey tube single-lane closures planned for 2027; 55-hour weekend full closures of both tubes for superstructure work (avoiding first weekend of each month).
- Equity Priority Areas: Defined using BCDC social vulnerability maps; 30% of city roadways fall within these areas. 11% of intersection safety improvements were in equity areas; no bikeway corridors in 2025, but future projects expected to change that.
- Commissioner Discussion:
- Commissioner Derrick Abrams emphasized the need for hard infrastructure (e.g., metal posts, concrete barriers) to improve safety, citing recent fatal crashes on Ralph Appezzato Parkway. Staff noted a fatal crash response program is underway for that corridor.
- Commissioner Kim asked about normalizing crash data by trip volume; staff explained lack of denominator data but noted qualitative comparisons. Commissioner Gloin questioned the state-level increase in fatalities; staff noted Alameda has been counter-trend.
- Commissioner Noctigall and others discussed bike detection at signalized intersections; Scott Wickstrom explained the city is moving toward video detection and encouraged submitting C Click Fix reports for intersections where bikes are not detected.
- Commissioner Noctigall asked about branding for neighborhood greenways; staff are considering signage to discourage through traffic.
- Commissioner Derrick Abrams raised concerns about bike theft and the need for secure bike lockers; staff noted lockers are 10x more expensive than standard racks but plans to relocate and refurbish existing lockers. 134 locker spaces currently exist.
- Commissioner Gloin asked about the cost difference between bike racks and lockers; staff estimated at least 10 times more for lockers.
- Chair White Sea acknowledged the near-completion of the Cross Alameda Trail and ongoing fine-tuning.
- Commissioner Kim questioned the pipeline of future projects; Scott Wickstrom outlined paving plans for 2027–2028 including Ralph Appezzato Parkway and Atlantic Avenue.
- Commissioner Derrick Abrams urged early planning for north-south corridors (Webster, Park Street) and suggested strategic community conversations.
Key Outcomes
- The commission unanimously endorsed the Transportation 2025 Annual Report and 2026 Work Plan (motion by Chair White Sea, seconded by Commissioner Gloin).
- The commission approved the revised minutes from January 28, 2026.
- No additional commissioner communications.
- Meeting adjourned at 8:19 p.m.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, and welcome to the City of Alameda Transportation Commission meeting for Wednesday, February twenty-fifth, twenty twenty-six. We will begin with roll call. Commissioner Kim. Present. Commissioner Gloin. Present. Chair White Sea. Here. Vice Chair Suth and Fira is absent, and Commissioner Johnson is absent. Commissioner Dara Abrams. Here. Commissioner Noctigall. Here. Seeing that we have a quorum, we will move on to the second item. Second item is agenda changes. Any proposed agenda changes from the commissioners. Seeing none, we'll move on to item number three, staff communications with our own Lisa Foster. Good evening, Chair White Sea. I'm and Transportation Commissioners, I'm Lisa Foster, Transportation Planning Manager. Upcoming public events include a transportation one oh one and clipper cards for seniors event on March sixth and also April third. She has moved on to another position that she's excited to uh do. She did that for quite a few years. And um, just to note with Gail's departure, we're reducing transportation planning staffing. Uh by the third that was of her time that was dedicated to transportation planning, we're reducing that down. So um just because that is necessary for our budget. So the next announcement is that you may have heard we got the we were the City of Alameda was awarded the gold level bicycle friendly community award. Of the 444 communities receiving awards this year, only 32 are at the gold level and three were at the platinum level. And we have been working our way up. We were bronze in 2016 and silver in 2021. And some of the recent commitments that helped get us here that you all reviewed were the active transportation plan, advancing the cross Alameda Trail to near completion, and launching our Oakland Alameda water shuttle. And I always like to remind that you know these initiatives, like all bicycle infrastructure projects in Alameda include safety or access improvements for pedestrians as well as bicyclists. It's in stage one with one southbound lane on Tilden Way closed. And then the next stages are anticipated to begin in late March pending weather. And at that point, there will be a low road closure on Fernside Boulevard approaching Tilden Way with a detour in place. Um expanded weekend hours again, starting early month uh early March, just in time for the Oakland Alameda Access Project to begin construction. And then this is the expanded service along with continuation of the Tuesday service, is paid for by the Alameda CTC grant for 19 months as part of the to cover the specifically the construction period for that project. And speaking of that, um Caltrans and Alameda County Transportation Commission announced that the Webster tube construction, it is starting in a matter of days, I think next week. Um although and that it will be completed in the Webster tube with full closures on weeknights instead of the all-hour single-lane closure that you all reviewed and discussed, which is great news. Um overnight closures won't start until April though. And then just to keep it in mind, posy tube construction cannot be done with just nighttime closures. There will be some period of a continuous single-lane closure, and we will be working with them to try to minimize what that looks like for uh travelers in PoseyTube. And then SF Bay Ferry has announced a new South San Francisco schedule after their South San Francisco study. It's pretty good news for South San Francisco riders, so um uh you can check that out on their web page. And that is all I will break protocol, but I would be remiss if I did not uh highlight Gail Payne moving on. Um I interviewed with her when I first joined this commission, a lovely person who did amazing work for the city. So we're sad to lose her, but wish her well. She she was great. Uh moving on next to please could go ahead. You can break protocols while I've already done it. So I'm a newcomer here, and whenever I've asked questions, oftentimes the answer has been, oh Gail created that project, or even more often, Gail got the funding for that project just to be specific.
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