5th Street Bike Boulevard

Project Description

The City of Petaluma is excited to seek your feedback on the proposed 5th Street Bike Boulevard! The project aims to reinforce 5th Street's role as a safe, low-traffic street while making improvements that:

1. Slow traffic,
2. Eliminate cut-through traffic,
3. Improve 5th Street crossings at D Street, I Street, and Mt. View Avenue for people walking, bicycling, and rolling, and
4. Clearly identify 5th Street as a street where people walking, bicycling, and rolling have priority.

The City is committed to creating safer streets and doing so in a way that best suits the needs of our community. As a first-of-its-kind project in Petaluma, the Bike Boulevard will be installed using cost-effective and flexible materials that can be adjusted or removed, if necessary. This type of installation (referred to as "quick-build," "pilot," or "demonstration" projects) allows community members to experience and provide feedback on proposed changes before they're made permanent.

Why 5th Street?

The Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee and several community members identified 5th Street as a potential low-stress bicycling alternative to Petaluma Boulevard South and 6th Street due to lower vehicle traffic volume and speed (and, in comparison to 6th Street, the absence of a hill).

What is a Bike Boulevard?

Bike Boulevards (also referred to in some cities as "Neighborhood Greenways," Neighborhood Bikeways," etc.) are neighborhood streets with low vehicle traffic volume and speed that are designated and designed to prioritize people travelling by foot, bike, scooter, etc. Bike Boulevards do not involve striping designated bike lanes; the expectation on Bike Boulevards is that people travelling by bike may enjoy full use of the roadway (as shown in the photo above) due to low traffic volume and speed.

For more information, visit the National Association of City Transportation Officials' page on Bike Boulevards.