Safer Streets We Can Build

Add a Bikes OK Sign at Milton Avenue and San Miguel Drive

Clarify that people biking may legally use the existing gap where cars are banned from turning from San Miguel Drive onto Milton Avenue.

Responsible agency

Contra Costa County

Estimated cost*

$500

There is a sign banning cars from turning from San Miguel onto Milton. While a wide gap exists for pedestrians and cyclists, no signage indicates it is a legal turn. As a result, Google Maps and other tools encourage cyclists to take Rudgear, which has more traffic and higher vehicle speeds.

County staff indicated they could not put a sign here, but California MUTCD section 9B.02 indicates that an EXCEPT BICYCLES sign can be placed underneath DO NOT ENTER signage.

Build a Two-Way Protected Bike Lane on Rudgear Road

Create a low-stress route from Broadway to Vanderslice for people traveling between San Miguel, Walnut Heights, and the Iron Horse Trail.

Responsible agencies

City of Walnut Creek, Caltrans

Estimated cost*

$600,000

Rudgear is a key connection for anyone who lives in the San Miguel CDP and wants to reach the Iron Horse Trail. Today, the route forces riders into stressful crossings, curb gaps, and fast turning traffic.

• There is no curb cut at Bishop Lane for sidewalk riders.
• Cars turning left from Rudgear onto side streets often travel at high speeds.
• Eastbound riders have to cross at the park and ride, then cross back across three lanes of traffic.

Rudgear Road is very wide. One possible configuration keeps four driving and turning lanes, a parking lane, and two bike lanes within 72 feet of right-of-way; the road itself is roughly 75 to 80 feet wide.

Add Red Light Cameras at Ygnacio Valley Road and Walnut Boulevard

Reduce red-light running next to one of Walnut Creek's largest middle school campuses.

Responsible agency

City of Walnut Creek

Estimated cost*

$300-500k

This intersection is directly adjacent to Walnut Creek Intermediate. Impatient drivers frequently run the red light, putting students, families, district staff, and other bystanders at risk.

Join the Statewide Speed Camera Pilot Program

Use automated speed enforcement to reduce dangerous speeding on Walnut Creek's deadliest streets.

Responsible agency

California Legislature

Estimated cost*

$0

Speed cameras are legal in six California cities and have resulted in massive reductions in excessive speed. SFMTA reported speeding is down 79% at intersections covered by the pilot program in April 2026.

Ygnacio Valley Road is an exceptionally deadly corridor, and several of the incidents may have been linked to excessive speed. Manual enforcement of speed limits takes police resources away from other enforcement priorities and introduces the risk of bias. Speed cameras work 24 hours a day and can help reduce speeds and keep pedestrians and cyclists alive.

Build a Sidewalk on San Miguel Drive Between Milton and Margaret

Fill the most dangerous gap between the San Miguel CDP, Murwood, and the Iron Horse Trail.

Responsible agency

Contra Costa County

Estimated cost*

$350,000

This stretch has no shoulder, frequent car traffic, and blind corners at either end. A continuous sidewalk would make a basic neighborhood trip feel possible on foot.

All of the people who live in the red area would use this sidewalk to get to Murwood Elementary or downtown.

Add Automatic Bike and Pedestrian Detection at Iron Horse Trail and Mt. Diablo Boulevard

Give trail users an automatic call phase at one of the busiest trail crossings in Walnut Creek.

Responsible agencies

City of Walnut Creek, East Bay Regional Park District

Estimated cost*

$12,000

Walnut Creek already uses automatic detection for approaching pedestrians and bicyclists at Walden Road and Hillgrade Avenue. The same treatment would be useful at Mt. Diablo Boulevard.

The center median used to have a pedestrian crossing sign, but it was destroyed by a car and has not been replaced.

Low Stress Bike Path South of Ygnacio Valley Road

Connect southeast Walnut Creek neighborhoods to Shadelands, the hospital area, parks, restaurants, and after-school programs.

Responsible agency

City of Walnut Creek

Estimated cost*

$1m+

As the crow flies, Shadelands - home to kids activities, a brewery, restaurants, and other amenities - is about a 15-minute bike ride from the San Miguel and Walnut Heights neighborhoods. In practice, parents and kids often only feel comfortable making the trip by car. Ygnacio Valley Road is a frequent source of traffic complaints for residents and many trips just don't happen as a result.

There are no paved paths crossing the red lines on the map, which means trips from southeast Walnut Creek to Shadelands or the hospital area require long detours on roads that frequently lack a shoulder.

Create Low-Stress North-South and East-West Bike Routes Through Downtown

Give people biking a simple, predictable way to reach downtown destinations without mixing with fast traffic.

Responsible agency

City of Walnut Creek

Estimated cost*

TBD

Today, there is not an easy way to get to downtown destinations by bike. The bike lane on California Avenue is sandwiched between parked cars and two lanes of 35 mph traffic, and Broadway Plaza recently banned bikes on its low-stress roads.

One designated low-stress route through downtown, in each direction, would make the network legible for everyday trips, and substantially simplify BART access.

Crosswalk at San Miguel Drive and Newell Hill Place

There's a lot of apartments, doctors offices, and kids walking to school through this area, and no great place to cross the street.

Responsible agency

City of Walnut Creek

Estimated cost*

$100-500k

There are a lot of apartments, doctors offices, kids walking to school, and a senior living facility in the vicinity of this intersection, but the nearest marked crosswalk is 400 feet downhill with no sidewalk.

Revolving Loan Program for Sidewalk Improvements

Help homeowners pay for sidewalk construction with low-cost city loans secured by a property-tax lien, recycling repayments into the next sidewalk.

Responsible agency

City of Walnut Creek

Estimated cost*

$500k seed capital

Lack of capital is a key constraint preventing the construction of new infrastructure that everyone can benefit from. The city is in a unique position because it can borrow money for about 4% per year, and has a longer time horizon than most homeowners.

Imagine if someone wanted to build a sidewalk, and Walnut Creek could loan them up to $20,000. The loan would be secured through a property tax lien, and repayable over 15 years (about $1900 per year).

The nice thing about a program like this is it pays for itself - over time, you can finance new loans through the payment streams you are getting from your existing loans.

There is a lot of precedent - Central San offers a $12,500 loan to homeowners to replace their sewer lateral, secured by a 15 year lien.

City Coordination for Sidewalk Design

Homeowners could get the lowest price for private infrastructure improvements by getting advice on design.

Responsible agency

City of Walnut Creek

Estimated cost*

$100,000/year

The city is able to build infrastructure for a reasonable cost by employing people with experience designing infrastructure, and also pooling discrete, small projects together to attract many bidders. This also helps bidders keep costs down by ensuring that crews (and e.g. concrete trucks) won't get wasted on a small, half-day or half-truck project.

The city could help provide design feedback to homeowners looking to build infrastructure improvements in the right of way:

• Cost feedback - how much does a 4 foot wide sidewalk cost per square foot? A catch basin? Drain pipe under the sidewalk, how big, what material, roughly how expensive?
• Design feedback - what choices in the design drive up cost? What can be value engineered (removed or changed to keep costs down)?

Finally, the city could pool interested homeowners once a year, and help them put their projects out for bid together. This could attract a wider pool of bidders at more competitive prices.

Recently, the city had lots of success with a "liaison" for outdoor dining improvements - a dedicated staffer to answer questions about the process and permitting. This led to a big increase in the number of outdoor dining establishments. It would be great to implement a similar program for sidewalk improvements.