Countywide Multimodal Arterial Plan

Arterial roadways are a significant component of the regional and local transportation system that moves people and goods within the county and the region. These roadways provide regional and local mobility by supporting multiple transportation modes for all users.

The county road network consists of 3,600 centerline miles of roadways, and the majority of them are arterials and local roads. Arterials are essential for Alameda County’s economy and quality of life. They serve many functions:

  • Support or connect to alternative transportation modes such as transit hubs, rail stations, transit routes, bikeways and pedestrian paths.
  • Connect to the regional transportation network.
  • Provide access to surrounding land uses and connectivity to employment and activity centers.

Alameda County Transportation Commission (Alameda CTC) led the development of a Countywide Multimodal Arterial Plan to better understand the existing and future role and function of the countywide arterial system that provide a framework for designing, prioritizing and implementing improvements in the context of the surrounding land use to address the needs of all modes on the county’s arterial roadways. This plan provided a basis for the integrated management of major arterial corridors and identified a priority list of short- and long-term improvements and strategies.

The cornerstone of this plan was the development of typology and modal priority for each major arterial in the county through a technical and collaborative process. The typology concept consisted of three key components: land use context, street type in terms of vehicle travel and access characteristics and emphasis given to transit, bicycles, pedestrians and goods movement. Modal priorities were informed by the combination of land use context type, street type and any modal overlays that applied to a particular street section.

The plan has resulted in more effective coordination of traffic management and intelligent transportation system technologies, particularly those that traversed multiple jurisdictions and cross county lines, assisted in maximizing the roadway network capacity through coordinated travel demand management and parking management strategies, supported all modes and improved overall mobility, connectivity and safety on the countywide arterial system for all users.

Integrated Countywide and Regional Approach

Alameda CTC closely coordinated the plan development with the local jurisdictions and the California Department of Transportation as well as transit operators. The plan provided common goals and implementation mechanisms for jurisdictions, transit agencies, Caltrans and Alameda CTC in their efforts to improve the performance of key arterial corridors.

Additionally, Alameda CTC coordinated development of the plan with the development of the Countywide Goods Movement Plan and the Countywide Transit Plan.

The final Countywide Multimodal Arterial Plan was approved by the Alameda CTC Commission in June 2016.