Round and round it goes. City planners have decided that a roundabout is the next best step to easing traffic at a busy all-way stop in Capitola. The roundabout design aims to protect multiple modes of transportation, including drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists.
Planners anticipate the roundabout project to break ground within about two years to replace a “quick build” project that was installed last summer at the intersection of Hill Street and Bay Avenue adjacent to Nob Hill Shopping Center, with a single-lane roundabout.
“The longer-term goal, probably two years out, is the plan to have it be a roundabout,” says Jessica Kahn, professional engineer and public works director for the city of Capitola. The roundabout was one of three different configurations discussed at Capitola City Council meetings in February and April of this year.
Conceptual design refinement of the Bay Avenue corridor includes a study by Kimley-Horn & Associates to monitor the intersection, as well as along Bay Avenue from the freeway to Monterey Avenue.
In that study, existing conditions were analyzed using traffic count data from 2024, including peak-hour intersection movements and roadway classifications, along with projected traffic growth.
Among their benefits, roundabouts provide a continuous flow of traffic, enhance pedestrian safety through protected crossings, and reduce emissions by minimizing idling. “They generally tend to help slow traffic,” said Steve Wiesner, director of public works for Santa Cruz County.
Similar projects, such as the Highway 129 redesign at Lakeview, have shown significant safety and operational benefits since a roundabout was installed in 2021, said Israel Murillo, CHP Santa Cruz public information officer. “It does seem like it’s helping,” Murillo said. “It does appear it’s calming traffic and reducing speeds in that area.”
Officer Murillo offered the following tips for roundabout ease: Slow down as you approach the intersection. Watch for signs or pavement markings that guide or prohibit, and enter the roundabout when there’s a big enough gap in traffic.
“Use your turn signals when you change lanes or exit the roundabout,” he added. “And don’t forget, drive in a counter clockwise direction and don’t stop or pass other vehicles. Be patient, don’t be in a hurry.”
Of course, improved traffic flow comes with a price. Preliminary cost estimates for the installation of the roundabout are $3 million to $5 million.
While an initial safety analysis began in 2022, the Bay Avenue corridor came into public scrutiny after local resident Deborah Towne, 70, was hit by a car near Crossroads Loop and Bay Avenue in November 2023. Towne was walking her dog at the time. In early 2024, the City of Capitola approved the Bay Avenue and Hill St. Quick Build Project as a short-term safety enhancement as part of a broader corridor study examining all intersections on Bay Avenue from Highway 1 to the village Capitola Village. Construction was completed in August of 2024.
In the short term, drivers will continue to navigate the quick build, including plastic bolsters over metal posts to accommodate multimodal transportation. “A separate green bike lane is likely part of the roundabout design,” Khan added.
Guessing that this will only ENDANGER the NUMEROUS pedestrians that use that intersection; epic fail.
This is another terrible idea from city planners. “hit by a car near Crossroads Loop and Bay Avenue”. The accident didn’t even happen at the Bay Ave crossing, but on the side street. This intersection was safer before they started messing with it. Traffic has become unbearable and I don’t feel safe crossing there. Who is benefitting from this lucrative contract? Someone’s brother in law?
PLEASE put it back like it was!!! The traffic is often backed up to the other side of the freeway by Carpo’s. I’ve had to wait through 2 red lights only to have to wait forever to finally get up to Hill St. by Nob Hill.
Everyone I talk with wants the old way back!
Are the City Planners just looking for something to do? There are other issues that need addressing, like better white lines on the roads and filling in potholes.
I just came through the intersection at a few minutes before noon on Thursday. It’s ridiculous. Traffic is literally backed up onto southbound Highway one because of the “traffic diet “ if the goal is only to reduce speed, it certainly has done that because it’s constantly a bumper-to-bumper back up through that intersection. If another goal is to reduce emissions from idling vehicles, they’ve certainly failed at that. It is worse than I’ve ever seen it.
That intersection worked fine before they mucked with it. I have driven through it a thousand times and walked across in the crosswalk many times. The pedestrian was struck at least 100 feet away and NOT crossing in the crosswalk at Bay and Hill. Talk about having a solution in search of a problem. WASTE of $$ resources!
Oh my. I can’t imagine how they’re going to fit a roundabout at that intersection. It looks like another mess at great expense !
Encouraging all who commented here to communicate directly with Capitola City Council.
Can we start a petition to bring Jesberg back? He wouldn’t of allowed for this nonsense!
The Traffic Mess on Bay Ave. needs to be put back to its original design with four lanes. The Quick Build Design is a Total Failure making the traffic congestion worse than ever. City Council voted last November to Remove the Quick Build Design and go back to the four lanes. Then when a New Council was sworn in they Voted to keep the New Design and wait to obtain Funding for a Round A Bout totally ignoring the wishes of Capitola Residents. The Traffic is worse than ever and City Council does nothing.
No one really wants to come out and say that the poor lady who was killed was jaywalking in the dark across five lanes and hit by a drunk driver. That same tragedy would happen today no matter what you do to that intersection. I believe this is just the gut reaction of “we have to do something“. And the Kimley horn consultant group clearly has their hands deep in the pockets of the City Council. I have written numerous letters, but I’m sure that has had no effect. The current city council is a majority disaster. This is all great fun for them playing games with our lives. I think the only way forward is to try to vote in new members whenever there is an opportunity.
Someone at the city likes traffic circles. That person(s) is endangering motorist, cyclist & pedestrians who use Bay. Kimley Horn (KH), a Raleigh, South Carolina firm, wrote a 267 page document obscuring the identity of those responsible; however, Page 9 of this massive obfuscation reads, “Based on internal discussions and at the direction of its (city) staff…” Staff referenced therein are creating a dangerous situation. Unqualified city staff teaming with an east coast firm managed to delay modifications for two years – I find this problematic.
* FAULTY TRAFFIC STUDY: The KH report is based on “traffic studies of 2024”; freeway ramps being closed & reopened, Capitola Ave. overcrossing removal & many other irregularities render data collected during 2024 to be irrelevant & meaningless.
* UNIFORM TRAFFIC CONTROLS: The section of roadway between the tracks & freeway pass through 3 zoning designations ; C-R, MU-A & R-1. Bay cannot be treated as a lump with uniform controls. KH presented four scenarios with the same controls at four intersections (at the city’s direction). One of scenarios is to do nothing. Doing nothing cannot be counted as a scenario!. Requiring all four control methods to be identical is dangerous.
* DELAY: Motorist, pedestrians & cyclists have all commented to me “traffic is the worst it’s ever been”; a two year wait to do ANYTHING is unacceptable. I realize grant requests, eminent domain, R/W line adjustments, etc. take time. Immediately reroute Capitola to meet at a right angle. New crosswalks can be painted everywhere. Hill & Bay can be temporarily signalized and operational by Labor Day – here’s how. Perform the work by change order to an existing contract. Pay for the work with money from the general fund then refund the money with grants, special assessments, donations, LID’s, etc. Refine the signalization to perfection at a later date; get it up & operational.
* INCOMPATIBILITY WITH MASTER PLAN: In my view, there is a different flavor at each of the four intersections. Hill is part of the freeway adjacent commercial area & should be signalize in a manner similar to Porter & Main. Capitola & Bay have that quieter more relaxed feel but the angles the streets come together make it confusing & dangerous. A realignment to 90 deg. would make that safer. While Gayle’s, et. al., are a places to sit & enjoy; a circle may be appropriate. Monterey & Park, per KH’s traffic tables, show no work needed.
* TRAFFIC CIRCLES: The city through Land Use 10.2, 3 & 4 required that there be a traffic circle at Capitola & that there be a unified design theme. Traffic circles will not enhance traffic flow.; circles will be an impediment. It is inappropriate for a land use plan to dictate traffic controls. It is inappropriate for a traffic circle to be installed at a heavy commercial area like Hill & Bay (MUTCD). Traffic circles are wonderful, fun, aesthetically pleasing features but are dangerously bad anywhere on Bay.
* COMMUTER BYPASS TO HWY 1:
There is a phenomena KH’s report ignored; it”s the use of Bay as an arterial when Hwy 1 is clogged. Commuters traversing traffic circles on Bay two years from now would be hazardous.
The city’s directing in detail Kimley Horn to produce a highly defective document endangering lives & promoting the biases of the city individuals who participated in this disaster should be corrected.
As a regular pedestrian here (and a former transportation planner) I think a roundabout here will be fantastic! The quick build does what it is supposed to do – slow down traffic at the intersection and make pedestrian crossings safer – but a roundabout will be much smoother.
Folks forget that traffic beforehand was also backed up. In any case, slower speeds are safer and discourage cut through traffic in the Village.
I am hoping this will also lead to at roundabout at Cap Ave and Bay. The offset intersection makes it a good roundabout candidate.