Transportation Commission Meeting - January 15, 2026
Transportation Commission Meeting - January 15, 2026
The Walnut Creek Transportation Commission held a regular meeting on January 15, 2026, at 6:03 PM in the Council Chamber. Commissioners present included Chair Brightman, Commissioner Ash, Commissioner Patch, and Student Commissioner Kirsch. Vice Chair Krelling was absent. The meeting covered two main consideration items: an application for Transportation Development Act (TDA) Article 3 funds for the Newell Avenue Improvements project and an update on the CCTA's Walk N Roll program. Both items received public comment and commission deliberation.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes (November 20, 2025): The commission unanimously approved the minutes from the November 20, 2025 meeting. Roll call: Student Commissioner Kirsch (Aye), Commissioner Ash (Aye), Commissioner Patch (Aye), Vice Chair Krelling (Absent), Chair Brightman (Aye).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Public Communications (non-agenda): Jan Warren from the Woodlands commented on e-bike and cyclist safety, requesting a video demonstration of riding on local streets to highlight challenges. She urged continued improvement.
- Item 4a – Newell Avenue Improvements: Tony Almeida, a resident of Newell Avenue and long-time cyclist, supported the project but noted westbound travel from South Main to California is hazardous. He asked for community involvement beyond engineering perspectives.
- Item 4b – Walk N Roll: No public comments were made.
Discussion Items
- Item 4a – Application for TDA Article 3 Funds for Newell Avenue Improvements: Associate Engineer Rashad Cover presented the project, which aims to improve bicycle safety on Newell Avenue from city limit to Broadway. Proposed improvements include dedicated bike lanes with raised buffers, raised bike lanes at sidewalk elevation, intersection treatments (including a scramble phase at Newell and Broadway), narrowing travel lanes eastbound from two to one lane, and maintaining all on-street parking. The total estimated cost is $180,000 ($145,000 construction, $35,000 design/admin/contingency). Staff requested $100,000 in TDA grant funding, noting the project is fully funded via traffic impact fees but grant funds would free up resources for future projects. Commissioners expressed strong support, noting the project's alignment with multimodal goals and connectivity. Commissioner Ash praised staff's grant success. The commission voted unanimously to recommend City Council submit the grant application. Roll call: all ayes, Vice Chair absent.
- Item 4b – CCTA's Walk N Roll Program Update: Kara DeYoung, representing 511 Contra Costa, presented the school-based active transportation program. The program provides a turnkey weekly encouragement program for elementary schools using barcode scanning tags, charms, and volunteer support. Data from the first year (2024-25) showed over 2,800 participants, 30,000+ walk/roll trips, 1,500 gallons of gas saved, and 417 tons of CO2 reduced. In the current school year (2025-26), 11 schools are enrolled, with over 2,000 children participating. Two Walnut Creek schools – Murwood (starting Jan 23) and Park Mead (starting Feb 4) – are joining. The program is funded by a TFCA grant. Commissioners asked about e-bikes, theft prevention, and future expansion to middle/high schools. They commended the program's impact on community building and attendance. No action was taken; the presentation was received with positive feedback.
Key Outcomes
- The commission approved the November 20, 2025 meeting minutes.
- Unanimous vote to recommend City Council staff submit the Newell Avenue Improvements Project for TDA Article 3 grant funding (motion carried 4-0).
- The Walk N Roll program update was received; commissioners provided suggestions on branding and safety education.
- Commissioner Ash and Chair Brightman thanked staff and fellow commissioners for their service; staff acknowledged contributions.
- The next regular meeting is scheduled for March 19, 2026.
Meeting Transcript
To the January 15th, 2026 regular meeting of the Transportation Commission. Would the secretary please call roll? Commissioner Ash here. Commissioner Patch? Here. Uh Student Commissioner Kirsch here. Vice Chair Krelling. Absent. Chair Brightman. Present. And I want to thank everyone for your patience. We were just having a quick tech glitch as we got ready here, but happy to get the meeting started. Let's move on to item number two on the agenda. That's public communications. This portion of the meeting is reserved for comment on items not on the agenda. Under the Brown Act, the commission cannot act on items raised during public communications, but may respond briefly to statements made or questions posed, request clarification, or refer the item to staff. At this time, I'll open it up for public comment. Do we have any members of the public wishing to comment on items not on the agenda? Looks like there's one. Yes, thank you, but uh Jan Warren from the Woodlands. Uh I want to thank whoever was responsible for the nice uh pictures and uh on the e-bikes and and all the writer and all the information. Uh what I would like to suggest, and I don't know who uh would be in charge of this, but it would be helpful if we actually had someone ride some of these down our streets being videotaped because you know we have kids come out of our neighborhood, wide streets, so they can ride it you know anywhere on the street or uh because there's no you know, markings. They get up to the intersection, there's a marking to cross. Technically, I guess they shouldn't be on the sidewalk, but that's the safest thing. Otherwise, they'd have to be in the left turn lane to turn left. Then there's basically you've got you go from streets that have nothing you can ride to the right or in the middle. Uh if you have a lane you're supposed to ride in the bike lane, and you know it it just you just go from one thing to another, and so the easiest thing to do is just stay in the street because you're changing too many times. And as I'm driving down here, I don't know who goes from uh 20 miles an hour to 28 or 15 miles an hour uh on Ignacio with the cars going forty-45. Uh how you would uh safely do a U-turn on Ignacio. I just think visually it would be really helpful because it's hard enough to distinguish and I don't understand why the E scooters need a permit. They're all wearing helmets, uh, if you're under 18, most of them are under 18 for everything. Uh why they're the ones that need a permit because most of them are driving and don't have old enough to have a license. So anyway, I just um like you all to continue to work on this and improve it because maybe you tweak a little bit. Thank you for being here. Are there any other members of the public who have comments on items not on the agenda? Doesn't look like it. We have no others. All right, great. Um, let's move on to item number three. This is the consent calendar. Um, first approval of the minutes. Um let's um adopt the 2025, November 20, 2025 meeting minutes. Um, is there a motion for approval of these minutes? So moved, seconded. Lovely. Would the secretary please call roll? Student commissioner Kirsch. Aye. Commissioner Ash, aye. Commissioner Patch.
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