Rumrill Blvd. Complete Green Streets Project

 

Location

Rumrill Blvd. in San Pablo between Costa Ave. and San Pablo Ave.

City or County Responsible for Project

San Pablo

Category

Complete Streets Projects

Description

The City of San Pablo’s Rumrill Boulevard Complete Green Streets Project (the Project) is an overhaul of 1.67 miles of Rumrill Blvd. with elements that calm traffic, improve safety, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve stormwater quality. Specific improvements constructed as part of the Project include Class IV cycle tracks, street trees, green stormwater infrastructure (GSI), pavement striping, sidewalks, ADA curb ramps, flashing beacons, new traffic signal, signal interconnect cable technology, additional lighting, and improved transit stops.
Rumrill Blvd. was previously negatively impacted by connectivity gaps and appropriate pedestrian, bicycle and stormwater infrastructure. These unsafe conditions hindered residents from accessing necessary services in both the cities of San Pablo and Richmond. Prior to this Project the street had two wide lanes of traffic in each direction, which encouraged most drivers to travel at speeds much faster than the posted 35 mph speed limit, this caused significant traffic incidents in the City.
To address all of these issues the City embarked on an intensive community-based design process that focused on transforming the street into a safe and welcoming place for people and businesses by improving conditions for walking, bicycling, and transit. Through partnerships and outreach, the community chose the preferred alternative design, which resulted in the final Project. The community preferred a design that included a road diet, reducing the number of traffic lanes from two northbound and two southbound, to a single-vehicle lane in each direction. Additionally, the Project narrowed each of the travel lanes from 12-feet to 11-feet, which, together with the road diet, provides significant traffic calming. The Project also improves sight distance and visibility through the addition of new mid-block crossings, lighting improvements and rectangular rapid flashing beacons (RRFBs) at crosswalks. Also included in this Project are multi-benefit landscape buffers between cyclists/pedestrians and motor vehicles. These multi-benefit landscaped areas are not only a safety buffer but also provide infiltration for stormwater, shade to reduce the urban island heat effect and improved visual aesthetics to balance the surrounding urbanized environment. In the many areas of the Project, these landscaped buffers are GSI, which provide the added benefit of pollution treatment. The environmental benefits are particularly important to this disadvantaged community that is already plagued with poor air quality and significant stormwater pollutants. The Project planted over 250 street trees, 3,500 shrubs/grasses and treats over 9 acres of drainage area. Finally, San Pablo is a disadvantaged community so City staff used 10 different funding sources (EPA, CNRA, SCC/Prop 1, HUTA, RMRA, local, SB1), most of them grants, to make this project a reality for the residents.