Junction Hollow

Boundary Street bike/ped safety improvements

Project summary: Boundary Street between Joncaire and Neville is a vital connector between North and Central Oakland, and between Oakland and the Eliza Furnace Trail. It's heavily used by cars, bicycles, and pedestrians -- but it's an unsafe passage for all of them, with no sidewalk, no trail, no shoulder, and poor visibility. The Oakland Bike/Ped Committee studied this corridor in 2016, and made recommendations about possible safety improvements that are outlined in detail in this report (below). In 2018 the city allocated $50,000 in its capital budget to establish a bike lane on Neville between Boundary and Fifth Avenue, and OPDC is working with planners in the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure to follow through on this plan and to encourage the city to build a dedicated and protected connection for bicyclists and pedestrians through the entirety of the corridor.

DOMI installed speed humps fall 2019, which has reduced through-speed, and has improved pedestrian safety somewhat. Plans for dedicated at-grade segregated bicycle and pedestrian trail between Joncaire and Neville are currently being developed by DOMI as part of the Mon-Oakland Mobility Project; we're currently waiting for their preliminary plan drawings to be made public so we can share them.

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Mon-Oakland Mobility Plan

Developer: City of Pittsburgh

Project summary: PWSA’s 4 Mile Run Watershed Restoration project will daylight Four Mile Run and alter the grading in Junction Hollow, necessitating the reconstruction of trails that currently traverse Junction Hollow. The city’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure is currently investigating options for supporting mobility through this area, including a pedestrian and bicycle path and the possibility of a trail that could carry light transit between Fifth Avenue and Hazelwood.

At a public meeting on June 20, 2019, DOMI and PWSA presented preliminary ideas for two distinct trails: 1) a mobility corridor that is publicly controlled and accessible to cyclists, small electric shuttles, and users of devises like e-scooters/e-bikes and 2) a trail to support non-motorized transportation for pedestrian and casual cyclists use. No specific design details are currently available for review.

Updates were shared at another meeting on November 21, 2019. Currently, construction is planned to begin in the fall of 2020. The Mon-Oakland Mobility Project website has been updated with current information, as well as links to past meeting notes.

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