Safe Streets Plan Maps Pleasant Hill's Deadliest Roads as Road Diet Fears Surface

Pleasant Hill's draft safety plan finds that nearly all fatal and serious crashes happen on a small slice of city streets. In a study session Sept. 21, 2026, the City Council took no vote, but members raised concerns about one idea in particular: a possible road diet on Gregory Lane.

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• Draft Safe Streets for All plan identifies a roughly 14-mile High Injury Network and 10 priority corridors.
• Gregory Lane road diet concept draws council worries about parking, school traffic and seniors.
• Staff promise a no-road-diet alternative and more outreach before any grant application.
• Buffered bike lanes are blocked by a lack of sweeping equipment and an 8-year trash contract.
• Consent calendar passes 5-0 on a roll call vote.

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A Safety Plan Built for Grant Money

The basics: Safe Streets for All, or SS4A, is a U.S. Department of Transportation grant program. It funds plans and projects under a "safe systems" approach, which aims for zero traffic deaths, a goal often called Vision Zero. A council-accepted action plan is the city's ticket to compete for that money.

Why it matters: "Approximately 98% of all fatal and serious car accidents occurred on 10% of Pleasant Hill's roadway network," said Leticia Porta, Senior Civil Engineer. If crashes are that concentrated, fixes aimed at a few corridors could prevent most deaths and serious injuries.

Where things stand: Staff and consultant Kimley Horn reviewed crashes from 2019 to 2023:

• 360 collisions in total
• 3 fatal crashes
• 43 crashes with severe injuries

Unsafe speed was the leading cause. The roughly 14-mile High Injury Network is led by five segments: Contra Costa Boulevard, Taylor, Gregory Lane, Monument Boulevard and Golf Club Road. Ten priority corridors have preliminary concept drawings, which exist mainly to support grant applications.

Outreach gathered input in several ways:

• Two virtual meetings
• Pop-ups at Light Up the Night (120 people) and Earth Day (70 people)
• In-person workshops
• Meetings with police and a council ad hoc committee
• A website that drew 911 responses, 45% of them about pedestrians

Mayor Zac Shess asked whether the consultant had experience working with school districts. He also flagged distracted driving as an under-reported cause of crashes.

The money question: Porta said Pleasant Hill earns more grant points by partnering with Concord and Caltrans, because the city has no designated disadvantaged community. The consultant said SS4A and highway safety grants require a 10% to 20% local match, and corridors can be bundled into a single application. Adopting the plan also makes the city eligible for other funds, such as the Highway Safety Improvement Program.

The other side: Councilmember Amanda Szakats raised a presidential statement that "he will revoke grants for, quote, DEI bike lanes because they, quote, cause congestion." The consultant acknowledged "there's uncertainty on funding for future projects," said Robert Paderna, Consultant, Kimley Horn. He added that the plan also positions the city for local, state and regional funds, including from the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA). Councilmember Sue Noack, who sits on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and CCTA, said the plan helps with many grant programs.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: No vote was taken. Porta said formal public engagement on the plan has closed but will reopen when the city pursues grants for specific projects. Councilmember Belle La pushed for more input once designs take shape: "During the conceptual design phase, we should definitely do that again."

What's next: Staff will revise the draft. "Once that has been finalized, we will take it back to council for acceptance," Porta said. More traffic studies and outreach will come before any grant application.

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Gregory Lane: Concepts Collide With Neighborhood Reality

Why it matters: A road diet reduces the number of travel lanes, often to make room for bike lanes. On Gregory Lane, it could remove travel lanes and residential parking near schools and the Sequoias senior community. This was the session's most pointed debate.

Where things stand: Szakats asked, "Is the parking going to be removed on both sides?" Staff said the draft concept does remove parking on both sides, but a bike lane on just one side is possible. Szakats also asked about trash bins, small driveways and the bus route.

Staff noted that a Gregory Lane complete street study, already in the Capital Improvement Program (CIP), has been folded into the SS4A plan.

The other side: Noack worried about losing four lanes near the Sequoias, Cleveland and school drop-off. She recalled the council's 3-2 vote against a road diet on Pleasant Hill Road. "I'm very glad we didn't do the road diet," she said. She demanded traffic analysis at the busiest hours: "It's really important to really do the traffic studies during those times."

Public Works Director Anne James urged patience. "These are just concepts before we move forward with any sort of road diet," she said. James promised an alternate drawing with no road diet and said residents will have a say. She pointed to past door-to-door work on parking at Eleanor and Gregory as a model.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: Szakats suggested a quick-build trial, meaning a temporary, low-cost test of a design before permanent construction. The consultant said SS4A "does promote and fund quick-build projects." The groups with the most at stake are:

• Residents who rely on street parking
• Families using school drop-off
• Seniors near the Sequoias
• Bus riders

Cyclists would gain from new lanes, but only if a final design survives traffic studies.

What's next: Staff will prepare the no-road-diet alternative. Peak-hour traffic studies will come before any grant push.

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Bike Lanes, Medians and Roundabouts: Cost Trade-Offs

Why it matters: Council members want safer, separated bike lanes. But maintenance limits and road widths are shaping what the city can build.

Where things stand: La asked why the concepts use green painted bike lanes instead of buffered ones, which add a striped space between bikes and cars. "Currently, we do not have the equipment to maintain a buffered bike lane," Porta said. James added, "Our trash contract has another 8 years to go," a contract that also covers street sweeping. She said some streets, such as Contra Costa Boulevard, lack the right-of-way, or public road width, for buffers. The consultant said protected lanes are generally safer.

On Golf Club Road, the concept would replace a landscaped median of baby palms with a yellow line. The consultant said a narrow median island might fit, but only by giving up a striped buffer. La asked staff to report back on the cost of sweeping equipment. She favored a buffer plus a smaller raised median.

Signal or circle: At Morello Avenue and Paso Nogal, the concept studies a future traffic signal, while the ad hoc committee suggested a traffic circle. James said "signals are close to $1 million" and that residents dislike large, bright signals in front of their homes. Roundabouts "could get upwards of $3.5 to $5 million in design and construction costs too," Paderna said. He added that they cost less to operate over time and eliminate right-angle collisions.

Speed bumps: In response to La, staff explained the city's criteria. A street qualifies only if it meets all of these:

• It is residential.
• Its speed limit is 25 mph.
• It is no wider than 40 feet.
• Its 85th-percentile speed, the speed most drivers stay under, exceeds 32 mph.
• Residents support it by petition.

James said speed bumps are not used on collectors or arterials, the larger through streets, because they slow emergency vehicles.

Noack noted the city has spent heavily on calming already: "We put $1 million into some of the speed humps and stop signs and flashing lights all around town." She asked, "Can we paint them with reflecting paint?" referring to bulb-outs, which are curb extensions at intersections. She also pushed for police to speak at back-to-school nights and for more enforcement. The consultant agreed that traffic calming alone has limits without enforcement and education.

What's next: Staff said an article explaining the speed bump criteria will run in the city's Outlook newsletter. La's request for sweeper costs is still pending.

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• Consent calendar: Approved 5-0 by roll call; moved by Noack, seconded by Szakats (For: La, Noack, Obolenskiy, Szakats, Shess; Against: 0; Absent: 0).
• Prop 1 appeal: Kevin Dowling, Habitat for Humanity East Bay Silicon Valley, urged support for the $11B state housing bond. He cited "40,000 shovel-ready affordable projects waiting for funding, including the 2 in Pleasant Hill": 7 units on Cleveland Street and 4 on Woodward Street, planned for 2028. The council took no action.
• Heritage Month: The council proclaimed Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, 2026, Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month. Diversity Commissioner Jean Casey accepted the proclamation.
• Community Service Day: "Over 360 volunteers signed up across 19 different projects to give back," said Ethan Bindernagel, City Manager. La reported a creek cleanup that collected about 300 pounds of trash.
• County block party: Supervisor Ken Carlson's office hosts a block party Sept. 29 at the Pleasant Hill Library.

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Looking ahead: The council meets Oct. 5 in closed session, followed by a regular meeting that evening. The revised Safe Streets plan, including the Gregory Lane alternative, returns to the council for acceptance at a future date.