With such heavy potential use, Bicycle Boulevards should be given the same safe and convenient crossings as through streets for cars.
Charles Siegel
Posted inOpinion
Opinion: Safety is needed now, not later, at California and Dwight
Even though the City Council passed a resolution calling for the installation of traffic lights or a stop sign, city staff is recommending ‘a halfway measure” which is less safe.
Posted inOpinion
Opinion: ‘Beg buttons’ make Berkeley’s pedestrians less safe
Berkeley is revising its Pedestrian Plan. It should reset signals to give pedestrians a Walk signal automatically when the traffic light turns green, without pressing a button.
Posted inOpinion
Opinion: We can have a great neighborhood at the North Berkeley BART station. Use a charrette to design it
Berkeley should let the entire community develop a positive vision of what we want on the site.
Posted inOpinion
Opinion: Unsafe traffic control at California and Dwight
City Council voted to install a rectangular rapid flashing beacon, thinking it would make the intersection safer for bicyclists. But a four-way stop would be more effective.
Posted inOpinion
Opinion: Realigning the streets in the Adeline Corridor could create a more pleasant urban experience
Much of the Adeline Corridor looks like a suburban freeway off-ramp. Adding some new streets could transform the character of the neighborhood for the good.
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: Berkeley’s new right-to-request law is a model that can create a sustainable future
Berkeley’s new “right-to-request law” allows employees to request part-time work, flexible work hours, predictable work hours, and flexible working arrangements.
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: Affordable housing or Honda parking?
The site of the planned Berkeley Honda with parking area across Shattuck Avenue, in the foreground. Photo: Charles Siegel Berkeley has two proposals for development at a location in a Priority Development Area (PDA), which the city has designated for new housing near transit. One proposal would create affordable housing, would modify the street to […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: Mending the urban fabric on Adeline Street
Everyone seems to agree that Adeline Street is too wide. The question is: what should we do with the extra land that we can get by narrowing the street? Read more about the Adeline Corridor on Berkeleyside. We could combine this land with underused sites on this street to create opportunity sites for new mixed-use […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: Berkeley moves ahead on flexible work time
Measure Q, the Berkeley Flexible Work Time Initiative, won overwhelmingly last November, with over 78% voting yes. This was an advisory initiative, and now the city has begun the process of passing the law that it called for. On Tuesday, January 27, the City Council referred this issue to the Commission on Labor. This sort […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-Ed: Wider sidewalks would revitalize Southside
Bancroft Way near Telegraph Avenue. Photo: Charles Siegel Berkeley Design Advocates has suggested many good ideas for revitalizing the Telegraph Ave. shopping district, and I think the most important is their proposal to make Bancroft and Durant two-way, which would allow us to widen sidewalks in key locations. In the picture, you can see that […]