Planning On It: Towne Avenue Complete Streets

 Towne Avenue, Claremont. What comes to mind when you envision Towne Avenue? Chances are, whatever picture forms in your mind, it likely involves traffic, after all Towne (west side of the city) provides the only ingress / egress with the I210 beside Monte Vista / Baseline to the east. Street width, a minimal number of traffic lights, and the freeway exit means speeds tend toward the high side. There are a few nice tree specimens, but for the most part Towne has escaped the notion of an urban forest. In short Towne is not the most attractive street around.

All that may change if plans (now at the 75% stage) come to fruition.Taking advantage of available SB1 funds, the city of Claremont has been studying and planning for a "Complete Streets" overhaul of Towne Avenue, roughly along the lines of what the city accomplished along Foothill Boulevard.  As they currently stand, plans include both Class III and, where street width allows, Class IV bike lanes, enhanced landscaping, lighting, ADA curb cuts, improved pedestrian amenities, etc to go along with new paving.

The city's Traffic and Transportation Commission welcomes public input on the plans before their final presentation to the City Council. The 75% plan (dated October 22) can be viewed here, while the next Traffic and Transportation Commission meeting is scheduled to take place virtually via Zoom on Thursday, November 19 at 7:00pm.

We are already aware of the extents to which Claremont continues to encourage walking and bicycling, through infrastructure improvements. Improvements to Towne Avenue, between Foothill and Baseline, complimenting what was done along Foothill would be a well-deserved feather in the city's cap.