Risky Berkeley intersection to be fixed in roundabout way

Irineo Camacho, an employee at Golden Gate Fields, crosses the street at the Gilman Street off-ramp from I-80 in Berkeley. Irineo Camacho, an employee at Golden Gate Fields, crosses the street at the Gilman Street off-ramp from I-80 in Berkeley. Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 19 Caption Close Risky Berkeley intersection to be fixed in roundabout way 1 / 19 Back to Gallery

The intersection at the west end of Gilman Street in Berkeley is daunting to even the most confident of drivers.

Eight lanes of traffic lead onto and off of busy Interstate 80; four different frontage roads converge on the interchange; Gilman Street runs right through the middle of it all; and the Bay Trail, which runs just west of the intersection, leaves bicyclists and pedestrians to navigate the dangerous roadway, which is often populated with frustrated drivers and is only governed by a handful of stop signs.

"It really brings out the worst in people," said Tom Dalzell, a labor lawyer whose daughter practices four days a week at the nearby Gilman Soccer Fields. Dalzell said he's witnessed countless fender-benders and near-misses.

"When traffic gets backed up, which it always does in the evenings, you see people taking chances that they shouldn't," he said.

And things are likely to get worse before they get better. The surrounding neighborhood, which is already home to the soccer fields, a skate park, the Golden Gate Fields racetrack and a massive Target store just to the north, is going to see the addition of a new Whole Foods grocery store, which is set to open later this year at 10th and Gilman streets, bringing even more traffic to the already bustling intersection.

The city knows that the situation is problematic, but finding - and funding - a solution has hit its own roadblocks.

Traffic signals and additional stop signs at the intersection were ruled out early on, as the resulting backup during high-traffic times would easily jam I-80, said Berkeley Transportation Manager Farid Javandel.

Controlled loop

There is a plan in the works, though, and it may look familiar to Alameda County voters. What's been proposed is a pair of roundabouts, one on either side of the freeway, which would funnel drivers into a controlled loop, as opposed to the free-for-all that exists currently.

"Right now, you have drivers looking in six different directions at once," Javandel said. "With the roundabouts, you only need to look in one direction. It's just a lot more intuitive."

But funding for construction of the roundabouts, with an estimated cost of $15.7 million, has remained elusive. Voters rejected Prop B1 in 2012 to raise the sales tax in Alameda County by a half-cent to fund the roundabouts. The measure lost by only a few hundred votes, Javandel said.

Voters will have another chance to vote on a similar measure this November.

Though the language for this version hasn't yet been finalized, Javandel was confident that it would be similar to the measure voted on in 2012, with one key difference.

"We heard from voters last time that they didn't like that the tax would go into effect for perpetuity," he said. "This time it will be on a fixed duration, and we think that's enough to get us over the mark."

Slow process

As of now, the project, which is still in the study phase, funded by a $1.2 million federal grant and $300,000 in city funds, and plans are subject to approval from Caltrans, which is expected in June. After that, an environmental impact report will have to be completed and funds for construction will have to be obtained, Javandel said.

"The Caltrans process is not necessarily a quick one, but we're happy things are moving," Javandel said. "If we're able to get the funding, we'll have cleared all the obstacles."

The project would be a collaborative effort between the city of Berkeley, the Alameda County Transportation Commission and Caltrans, with the transportation commission spearheading fundraising and campaigning efforts.

If all of the pieces line up correctly, crews would be ready to break ground by summer 2016.

But for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists trying to navigate the quagmire at the bottom of Gilman Street, change can't come soon enough.

What's not working Issue: The west end of Gilman Street at I-80 in Berkeley is a sprawling intersection of on-ramps, off-ramps, frontage roads and the Bay Trail, yet there are few traffic signs to help people safely navigate through. What's been done: Berkeley has proposed building two traffic roundabouts at the on- and off-ramps of I-80 but needs to raise millions, obtain Caltrans approval and complete an environmental impact report before getting started on the job. Who's responsible: Farid Javandel, Berkeley Transportation Manager, fjavandel@cityofberkeley.info