Laurel Neighborhood Newsby John Frando | |||
Casual carpool on High St. at MacArthur at about 8am Friday morning. Photos by Nick Lostracco.
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Casual Carpool Lane
Public safety concerns prompted a January 8 special meeting of the Laurel/Redwood/Leona Heights Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) to discuss the Casual Carpool Lane at High St. and MacArthur Blvd. Casual carpool drivers and passengers, neighbors, Councilmember Quan, and officials of the Alameda County Sheriff's Office and AC Transit attended.
'The block-long loading zone on the northwest side of High Street stretches from the busy intersection of High St. and MacArthur Blvd. to the driveway of the mobile home park, very close to a Transbay NX3 route bus stop and the freeway onramp to I-580. City police recently warned drivers to discontinue stopping in the area to pick up casual carpool passengers.
'Queuing carpool drivers lack a dedicated stopping lane where they can wait for and pick up riders. They haphazardly and illegally drive onto the sidewalk to get out of the High St. traffic lane, threatening pedestrian safety. There have also been reports of cars double parking while trying to load passengers, completely blocking a lane of traffic on High St. Sometimes drivers stop illegally'in front of'the bus stop.
'Allendale Park neighborhood activist David Pratt attended the meeting and described erratic driver behavior he witnessed: "Drivers making illegal U-turns on High St. and some driving completely over the sidewalk to reach the pickup zone."
'Cookie Kelly said that she was frustrated by cars stopped at the loading zone, blocking access to the freeway onramp: "Sometimes I'm forced to drive down to the 35th Ave. onramp."
'Lt. Dean Stavert of Alameda County Sheriff's Office cited California Vehicle Code section 22500 (i): "It's illegal for cars to stop in the red curb zone of a bus stop. The fine is $250." Cory LaVigne, AC Transit Service and Operations Planning Manager, added "It's very difficult to move a bus stop."
'Potential solutions were discussed, including moving the carpool lane to MacArthur Blvd. in front of the former Daniel's Palace to create a loading-only zone during the morning commute hours. Someone pointed out that this might increase the number of illegal U-turns on MacArthur Blvd, however.
'Moving the carpool lane to the Walgreens parking lot has long been discussed, but some stressed that it was too far from the bus stop. "Waiting passengers who don't get a ride need to be able to see and reach the NX3 bus when it arrives at the bus stop. Buses usually aren't on schedule."
'Neighborhood Services Coordinator Renee Sykes solicited suggestions for the next steps: a morning onsite meeting with City and AC Transit traffic engineers to observe the situation first hand, and getting the word out that the casual carpool lane may be moving to a temporary location.
'"The city is not against the casual carpool zone," Renee said, "we are just trying to make it more user-friendly."