Public urges safety fixes after Jackson crosswalk collision; commissioners ask staff to study separate crossing treatment

At the June meeting of the Albany City Transportation Commission, public commenters urged the city to take engineering and education steps to make the Jackson/Solano crosswalk near Ocean View Elementary safer after a recent collision.

Former student Lena Schulman said she and classmates did not understand that entering an intersection when the pedestrian hand is flashing (without a countdown) is illegal. “I don't think anybody at my school, including the staff, knew about how the law — how when the hand is blinking and there's no countdown, that's illegal to cross. And I think that's unsafe,” she said.

Her mother, Carrie Schulman, an experienced urban cyclist, said the collision investigation was treating the bicyclist as responsible and urged design changes to protect children. “Something needs to be done so that elementary school kids can safely cross there,” she said, while adding that designers must balance safety for children with not creating such long delays that expert cyclists will run the light.

A commissioner who pulled the consent item that included the collision report recommended considering a distinct crossing treatment like the San Pablo cycle track — a separated path and a crosswalk crossing that is visually and physically distinct from motor traffic — and limiting through traffic during school arrival and dismissal times. Staff said county crews who maintain signals had reported a repair the day before the incident but that staff had no independent verification of an outage after that visit; a single witness reported seeing a flashing red indication at the time of the turn.

Commissioners asked staff to include historical collision data in any further operational evaluation to determine whether the incident reflected a recurring safety problem or a one‑off event. No formal policy or funding decision was made; commissioners directed staff to study the suggested design and timing options and return with recommendations.

The consent calendar was approved later in the meeting by voice vote, and the pulled item remained at discussion and study status rather than resulting in an immediate regulatory action.