Description
Maitland Drive Traffic Relief
My wife and I have suffered thru yet another collision to our parked vehicles right in front of our home. Our insurance has had to pay out over 90k in property damage to 3 totaled vehicles in the past 27 months. Every car traveling Maitland Drive is SPEEDING! we need 24 hr speed controls. We also need a bike lane on this block it has always been a bike route but is not in compliance with safe access rules.
Shady business deals between the city and developers, and back room agreements with HOA's have kept Island Drive closed to the parkway. Harbor Bay and Bay Farm residents need this opened as was originally intended.
What we got instead is a silly road at the end of harbor bay parkway that connects to Mecartney road that serves no one.
My suggestion to the city before lawsuits begin is the last 2 blocks of Maitland Dr. should be one way outbound, that gives alameda the traffic relief needed in the mornings and safe access compliance for cyclists. This would only cost a few signs and paint.. easily and quickly done. For in bound traffic coming off Ron Cowin Pky we all get a little better look at who's entering alameda's back door by routing them around the golf course or continuing on HB pky to Mecartney Rd. Maitland Drive is just too narrow to support the volume of traffic, there's just no room for error.
6 Comments
City of Alameda (Verified Official)
Marty (Registered User)
Capt Don Owyang (Verified Official)
Marty-
I was just forwarded this today. In reviewing your complaint, first off, I am sorry your vehicles have been struck so many times. APD does speed enforcement in a number of areas around the island daily. As I'm sure you are aware, traffic complaints are one of our biggest concerns with people driving too fast, running stop signs, or violating pedestrian right of ways. We of course take all of them seriously, but cannot be everywhere 24 hrs a day.
With your suggestions, I have forwarded the information to Public Works and Planning who are responsible for the suggestions you make regarding bike lanes, signage, and painted roadway changes.
If I can be of further help, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Don
dowyang@alamedaca.gov
PW - City Engineer SW (Verified Official)
Thank you for bringing your concerns regarding Maitland Drive to our attention. Your concerns are one of several that have been communicated to the City about speeding and the safety of Maitland Drive.
Public Works will evaluate additional traffic calming measures which may be implemented on Maitland Drive. These traffic calming measures, if implemented, would slow traffic and improve the safety of the corridor. While we appreciate your suggestion to open and connect Island Drive to Harbor Bay Parkway, a road extension would require the City to acquire a developed piece of private property and is not a feasible option at this time. Similarly conversion of Maitland to a one-way road would substantially alter the traffic circulation on the entirety of Bay Farm Island, require a comprehensive traffic study, and almost certainly increase travel times for most residents on Bay Farm Island.
Your request for traffic improvements on Maitland drive will be referred to an interdepartmental team called the Transportation Working Group. This group, comprised of Public Works, Police, Fire, and the City’s Transportation Planning Unit, will develop a list of proposed locations in which to devote scarce City resources to traffic calming improvements. The group will be identifying locations for traffic calming measures based on engineering factors (e.g., collision history, vehicle speed, traffic volumes, pedestrian and bicycle volumes, and police citations), projects identified in the Pedestrian Master Plan and Bicycle Master Plan, designated school crossings and/or streets within proximity of a K-12 school, streets designated for resurfacing, and, as is the case here, where members of the public submit suggestions for traffic calming. In winter/spring 2019, a Public Works staff member will share back with you whether Maitland made the list of staff’s proposed traffic calming locations, and further opportunities for you and your neighbors to participate in the finalizing of that list. Ultimately, the locations will be identified in Public Works’ proposed 2019-2021 capital budget with public hearings both at the Transportation Commission and City Council.
This timeline is probably not as fast as you’d like. Please understand that Public Works is dedicating its time and resources to safety improvements in your neighborhood. In fact, a rectangular rapid flashing beacon is being installed at the intersection of Maitland and Island Avenue within the next few months, and three new traffic signals will be constructed along Island and Harbor Bay Parkway in the next six months. These improvements are targeting the streets where the vast majority of crashes at Bay Farm Island occur: Island Drive, Mecartney Road, and Harbor Bay Parkway
JM (Registered User)
Acknowledged City Manager's Office 1 (Verified Official)