To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Julie Lucido, Public Works Director
Prepared By: Farid Javandel, Senior Traffic Engineer
TITLE:
Title
Lincoln Avenue Safety and Rehabilitation Project
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Receive a presentation on the design of the Lincoln Avenue Safety and Rehabilitation Project and provide direction to staff.
Body
DISCUSSION:
The Lincoln Avenue Safety and Rehabilitation Project is a Measure T-funded project that will repave Lincoln Avenue from California Boulevard to Soscol Avenue. A future project phase is planned from Soscol Avenue to Silverado Trail, following completion of the Flood Project construction in the area surrounding the Napa River bridge on Lincoln Avenue.
Pavement rehabilitation projects provide an opportunity to address existing deficiencies in drainage, traffic operations, and roadway safety for all users, including people walking, biking, driving, and using transit. Repairing damaged concrete curb and gutter creates a smooth edge for new asphalt paving and improves drainage performance. Repaving also allows for updated placement of lane lines, crosswalks, and bike lanes, which can provide safety and operational improvements at relatively low cost. Adjustments to pavement markings typically have little to no cost impact, and any changes to the roadway striping are nominal in cost relative to the overall cost of paving.
As part of evaluating improvements along Lincoln Avenue, Public Works utilized the City’s Local Roadway Safety Plan (LRSP). The LRSP identified Lincoln Avenue from Yajome Street to Silverado Trail as having the fifth-highest number of severe or fatal collisions in Napa between 2016 and 2020. Specifically, there were 9 injury collisions including 2 categorized as severe or fatal. A further review of more recent collision data identified additional injury collisions between California Boulevard and Jefferson Street, including a pedestrian who was struck while in the crosswalk with an activated Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB) at Lincoln Avenue and Georgia Street by a westbound vehicle on December 2, 2025. The most recent five years of data in the Crossroads collision database, which is maintained through the Police Department, for Lincoln Avenue between California Boulevard and Soscol Avenue lists a total of 111 collisions of which 59 were injury collisions. Of those collisions, 50 crashes, including 28 injury crashes and 1 severe injury occurred between California Boulevard and Jefferson Street, and 61 crashes, including 31 injury crashes and 3 severe injuries, occurred between Jefferson Street and Soscol Avenue. Both sections have experienced a higher number of injury collisions since 2019 than the five-year window evaluated by the LSRP.
The LRSP identifies countermeasures to reduce the likelihood and severity of collisions, including a “road diet.” A road diet typically consists of a continuous, two-way center left-turn lane, dedicated right-turn lanes at major intersections, wider or buffered bike lanes, and one through lane in each direction. This configuration is intended to reduce conflicts between turning and through movements by providing a dedicated center turn lane. A more consistent flow of traffic in a single lane also discourages speeding, which reduces both the likelihood and severity of collisions.
In addition, this configuration moves bus stops out of the through travel lane and, most importantly, reduces the “double-threat” risk to pedestrians. Double-threat collisions can occur when there are multiple travel lanes in one direction and a vehicle stopping for a pedestrian blocks visibility between the pedestrian and vehicles in the adjacent lane, significantly increasing the risk of a severe collision.
Traffic data was collected on Lincoln Avenue over multiple days under typical traffic conditions while schools were in session. This data identified the highest traffic volumes occur during the morning peak period between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., which includes traffic traveling to Napa High School. A traffic operations analysis confirmed that all intersections would continue to operate at an acceptable level of service (LOS), as defined by the City’s General Plan, with the proposed lane reconfiguration. This means that the delay/wait time at a traffic signal averaged over all cars passing through a signal-controlled intersection during the peak period would be 45 seconds or less, also referred to as “mid-range level of service D”.
With the additional step of re-optimizing traffic signal timing, the increase in average delay/wait time at each traffic signal during the morning peak period is expected to be only a few seconds, with some intersections experiencing reduced average delay compared to existing conditions due to shorter traffic signal cycle lengths, which would be more efficient for the new lane configurations. All intersections would remain in the range of LOS A to LOS D, with a change from LOS C to LOS D at California Boulevard and LOS B to LOS C at Main Street. All other intersections would remain at the existing level of service. Delays for vehicles entering Lincoln Avenue from the side streets at the unsignalized intersections of Marin Street, Kennedy Way, and Yajome Street are expected to increase. These delays will be partially mitigated by the new center left-turn lane, which allows drivers to make a two-step left turn by first entering the two-way left-turn lane and then merging into the through travel lane.
A traffic simulation model was also prepared to confirm and illustrate traffic operations with the proposed safety improvements. Under existing conditions, the average total travel time on Lincoln Avenue from California Boulevard to Soscol Avenue, eastbound, is currently 3.4 minutes. With the project, that is expected to increase by 0.5 minutes to 3.9 minutes. The average travel time in the westbound direction from Soscol Avenue to California Boulevard is currently 3.3 minutes and would increase by 0.4 minutes to 3.7 minutes with the project. This travel time represents a reduction in average travel speed and the number of vehicles exceeding the speed limit, which reduces both the risk and likely severity of collisions between cars and other vehicles or people walking or biking. It is important to note that a single lane in each direction also reduces the speed differential between cars by removing the opportunity for speeding cars to weave back and forth between two lanes.
Project development has incorporated recommendations and principles from City Council adopted plans and policies, including the LRSP, the City’s Vision Zero Policy, the Bicycle Plan, and the General Plan, including designing bicycle facilities with a “low level of traffic stress.” The need for safety improvements along Lincoln Avenue was also identified in the Napa Valley Transportation Authority’s Road Safety Risk Study - Report: Napa County, completed by Michelin Mobility Intelligence. This study uses anonymized telematics driving behavior data collected through mobile phone applications, in addition to traditional crash data, to identify high-risk areas. Risk factors analyzed include harsh braking, rapid acceleration, and extreme speeding. The study calculated systematic crash risk for both vehicles and vulnerable road users (VRUs), defined as people walking and biking, and identified an area of extremely high VRU risk near Napa High School along Jefferson Street and Lincoln Avenue.
Throughout 2025, the City conducted extensive community outreach. This outreach included meetings and presentations with interested community groups, including at the Senior Center, taxpayer association, service groups, and other local organizations. In addition, the City hosted community meetings that were advertised through utility bill inserts, message boards placed along Lincoln Avenue, social media, and City newsletters. These meetings provided project information and an opportunity for staff to answer questions and collect feedback. The meetings included the following:
• Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission Meeting: February 13, 2025, 4:00 p.m., City Hall Committee Room. Staff presented the project need, scope, traffic study results, and preliminary design and received public comment.
• Open House: March 3, 2025, 5:30-7:30 p.m., City Hall Council Chambers. Staff provided a project overview, shared project plans, answered questions, and collected feedback.
• Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission Meeting: March 3, 2025, 4:00 p.m. Following the open house, staff shared public input and accepted additional comments.
• City Council Meeting: April 1, 2025, 3:30 p.m., City Hall Council Chambers. Council received a project presentation and public comments and provided direction to staff, including guidance on project scope and direction to conduct expanded outreach to senior groups and other local organizations.
• Open House: October 16, 2025, 7:00-8:30 p.m., Napa High School Small Gymnasium. Staff presented project plans, answered questions, and collected feedback.
• Online Virtual Meeting: October 20, 2025, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Staff provided a project overview and plan presentation and received public input.
• Open House: October 27, 2025, 5:00-6:30 p.m., City Hall Council Chambers. Staff shared project plans, answered questions, and collected feedback.
Public input included both support for enhanced traffic safety measures and improved pedestrian and bicycle facilities, as well as concerns regarding increased traffic congestion and the placement of on-street parking adjacent to travel lanes where bicycle lanes are separated between the curb and parking. Community members also expressed concern with potential delays for emergency responders. Staff from police and fire have been consulted regarding the proposed design to ensure emergency operations are not negatively impacted.
The project design has been updated in response to the feedback. One notable change is the removal of a proposed “floating” parking lane near Napa High School. The initial design had positioned the parking lane between the bicycle lane (adjacent to the curb) and the vehicle travel lane. A number of community members expressed concerns regarding visibility and the safety of entering and exiting vehicles adjacent to moving traffic. Based on this input, the proposed parking on the north side of Lincoln Avenue adjacent to the high school was eliminated. There is currently no parking in this area and removing the proposed parking results in no loss of existing parking spaces here. Instead, a painted buffer with flexible bollards will be installed along the westbound bike lane on Lincoln Avenue between Jefferson Street and Kennedy Street to discourage vehicles from parking or driving in the bicycle lane. This modification improves safety and comfort for people biking and driving while addressing community concerns.
A parking-buffered bike lane is proposed on the south side of Lincoln Avenue between the railroad crossing and Soscol Avenue. This segment consists of a long block with no side streets and only one driveway. Concerns regarding cross-traffic visibility were evaluated and determined not to be a factor given the block configuration. The parking lane in this area has been designed with additional width in response to community feedback. Painted buffers have been added on both sides of the parked vehicles-between the travel lanes and the bike lanes to increase comfort and safety for people entering and exiting parked cars.
The potential for traffic congestion was also further evaluated in response to community concerns. An independent traffic engineering firm was retained to conduct additional analysis and prepare an animated traffic operations simulation of the corridor. The analysis reviewed intersection queue lengths, average and maximum delays, and overall travel time through the project area. The simulation illustrates how new turn lanes help maintain through traffic flow and depicts anticipated queue lengths at intersections. The project also includes retiming traffic signals to reduce overall cycle lengths and mitigate potential delays, as discussed above.
The traffic engineering analysis prepared by an independent traffic engineering firm concluded that the roadway would operate at an acceptable level of service consistent with the City’s General Plan, as referenced earlier in this report. The analysis found that overall travel time through the project area would increase by approximately 30 seconds during peak traffic periods. The analysis and simulation also concluded that the project would not cause traffic to back up into adjacent intersections or create gridlock conditions.
The attached table summarizes the project design options considered in response to community feedback. The table compares the proposed plan and alternative configurations, outlining key features, advantages, and disadvantages of each option, including tradeoffs related to traffic safety, bicycle and pedestrian comfort, traffic operations, and responsiveness to community concerns.
The project will soon be advertised to obtain construction bids. Community feedback has shown broad agreement that the street requires repaving and that the optimal time for construction is during the summer when school is not in session. Initiating the bidding process in February improves the likelihood that a contractor can meet this desired construction schedule.
Staff is seeking direction regarding the final project design and will incorporate any Council directed changes into the final contract work plan.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
The Lincoln Avenue Safety and Rehabilitation project (33ST23PW03) is currently funded and is included in the City’s Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan. The project is a Measure T funded pavement rehabilitation project that includes resurfacing the road, minor repairs to concrete curb, gutter, and curb ramps, and placement of new pavement markings after the asphalt surface has been replaced. The project will be advertised for construction bids and the low bid will be brought to Council at a future meeting for award of a construction contract.
The exact configuration of pavement markings on a new roadway surface does not typically make a significant difference in the construction cost of a roadway rehabilitation project. Any adjustment recommended by Council will be incorporated into the construction contract.
CEQA:
The Public Works Director has determined that the Recommended Action described in this Agenda Report is not in-and-of-itself a “project” (pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378) since it does not result in a physical change to the environment.
However, the Recommended Action is part of a larger “project” that will be subject to environmental review in accordance with CEQA at the “earliest feasible time” prior to “approval” consistent with CEQA Guidelines Sections 15004 and 15352. The larger “project” is the Lincoln Avenue Safety and Rehabilitation Project, and staff plans to bring back a CEQA analysis of that project to Council prior to contract award.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
ATCH 1 - Traffic Operations Technical Memo
ATCH 2 - Summary Table of Project Options Reviewed
NOTIFICATION:
None.