On March 17, City Council approved the installation of further traffic improvements at the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Walnut Street, and heard an update from Planning Department staff on 2025 achievements and 2026 goals. Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft also gave her State of the City Address, which the Alameda Postcovered when Ashcraft spoke in early March at the Alameda Chamber & Economic Alliance.
Lincoln/Walnut diverter
Despite the reduction of Lincoln Avenue from four lanes to three in the vicinity of Walnut Street in 2020, followed by the installation of flashing beacons and plastic bollards at the intersection in 2025, neighbors in the area have reported multiple recent vehicle collisions at the intersection and urged City staff to take additional action to address safety.
In a presentation to Council, City Engineer Scott Wikstrom walked through the history and context of the intersection, emphasizing that it has remained a stubborn problem spot for collisions even as other locations across Alameda have seen reductions in crash rates following the application of safety countermeasures. Since 2009, 38 collisions have occurred at Lincoln/Walnut, of which 30 were of the “broadside” type, more commonly known as a “T-bone” crash. Despite the changes implemented since 2020—which were aimed at increasing crosswalk and pedestrian visibility, reducing pedestrian crossing distances, adding dedicated left-turn pockets, and improving roadway sight distance—broadside collisions continue to occur.
Since these collisions are usually a result of cars being hit on the side when making a left turn or through movement across traffic, Public Works staff proposed the installation of a diverter, or a raised traffic island placed in the middle of the intersection. The diverter would restrict left turns and through movements along Walnut Street, while maintaining pedestrian and bicycle access as well as vehicle left turns from Lincoln to Walnut. The $30,000 price tag makes this a “relatively inexpensive, not terribly invasive” solution that “would prevent the through movements and hopefully limit those broadside collision exposures,” according to Wikstrom.
Wikstrom and his team considered a few other alternatives, including the addition of stop signs on Lincoln Avenue to create an all-way stop-controlled intersection, but determined that the intersection does not meet the list of criteria that traffic conditions at the intersection must fulfill for that particular solution. Furthermore, if installed, that intersection would be the only stop along the corridor, which could contribute to poor stop-sign compliance, traffic congestion, or even new rear-end collisions. A traffic signal at the intersection was deemed too costly, while a conversion of parallel Willow Street and Oak Street into a pair of one-way streets would have an excessive impact on the area and would not address broadside collisions…