Ralston Avenue Corridor Improvement Project Segments 1 and 2

Location

Ralston Avenue

City or County Responsible for Project

Belmont

Category

Complete Streets Projects

Author

Peter Brown

Organization

City of Belmont

Address

1 Twin Pines Ln

Phone

6505957459

Project Description

The Ralston Avenue Corridor Improvement Project Segments 1 and 2 created more complete streets by improving bicycle and pedestrian facilities throughout the corridor while also rehabilitating pavement. These two segments focused on Ralston Avenue between Hiller Street and South Road, which passes through Belmont’s priority development area. Improvements were also done on connecting streets to make the downtown area more walkable and bikeable. Ralston Avenue is an arterial that connects to I-280 and US101 on either side of the City making it a major corridor. It carries a large volume of people through the City and has a number of high use activity centers. The improved streets create better access to schools, shops, Caltrain, SamTrans, and multiple parks. Coordination with the public, utility owners, Caltrans, and Caltrain were a vital part of this project and made it a success. This project encourages residents and visitors to use public transportation as well as walk or bike to their destination. Reducing the number of cars on the road and making other means of transportation safer leads to improved sustainability for the City. To improve safety for pedestrians, a number of sidewalks and ADA ramps were replaced to meet current standards. Bulb-outs were installed to shorten crossing times. A wider sidewalk was also installed between 6th Avenue and El Camino Real along Ralston Avenue helping contribute to the goal of place making in downtown. High visibility crosswalks and two Pedestrian Hybrid Beacons (PHB) were installed to making crossings safer. The two PHB’s were the first of their kind to be installed in the City of Belmont. The crosswalks were also improved for bicyclists with a number of green pavement markings throughout the corridor. Bike paths were installed and refreshed with the most notable being the bike path through Twin Pines Park. This new bike path allowed bicyclists to leave the busy Ralston Avenue and go through the park to a less trafficked part of the downtown area. The route connects to the Caltrain station where shared paths were created to help keep bicyclists off of El Camino Real if they desired. New bike paths also meet the Children’s Bridge which provides access over US101 to the Sports Complex and Redwood Shores. To extend the life of the improvements, pavement rehabilitation was also done. Pavement digouts and slurry seal was done prior to new striping. Additionally, street furniture was added to encourage more pedestrians and bicyclists to be in the downtown area without bringing a car. Construction has been completed on these two segments and the City of Belmont is planning on constructing Segment 3 this summer. When the other segments are completed it will make this project even more effective.