Orinda's Crossroads, A Confluence of Congestion

After suffering many on-strike days of the 40+ year history of BART, Orindans faced driving  through their “Confluence of Congestion at its ‘Crossroads’ ”.  This CCC results from a design prior to City incorporation, overlapping the Orinda BART station with intersections of Brookwood Road, Camino Pablo & the exit from Eastbound Rt. 24 & dumping exiting traffic into that intersection due to a lack of a critical cloverleaf-shaped exit from Rt. 24 for Northbound traffic.  Worse yet, on October 23, 2013, Orindans heard with disbelief that BART negotiators created a huge financial mess by giving the transit system's workers an outrageous pay increase, management receiving virtually nothing in return & retaining obsolete work rules, all of which prevents BART from lowering its (& riders’) costs.  One fallacy of management’s decisions quickly surfaced that evening as East-bound Rt. 24 traffic became more snarled than usual from  heavy smoke from an Eastbound train stalled at the Orinda BART station. Orinda’s faulty “CCC” design then resulted in more than the usual substantial delays on Eastbound Rt. 24 in Orinda, & also more delays for drivers crossing the CCC to go through Orinda Northbound onto the San Pablo Dam Road.  Clearly, Orindans have no apparent benefit from a “Complete Streets” Resolution presented to the Council on 12/18/12, that CSR being ineffective to mitigate the Crossroads Congestion.  Sadly, at day’s end on 10/23/2013, “Complete Streets” remained an illusion, the CCC remained dangerous from traffic flow and safety standpoints, & BART riders  readied their pocketbooks and wallets to be pick-pocketed again to pay for the non-electronic workers’ new raises.  Moreover, to avoid Rt. 24, 100s & 100s of drivers clogged the Orinda Grove construction area along Orinda’s Altarinda Road, worsening long interruptions of proper access to the Orinda Convalescent Hospital by ambulances & turning the sidewalk-lined Orindawoods area into a high-speed freeway parallel to Rt. 24, shocking mothers pushing their stroller-bound babies on the once-safe sidewalks.  So ended another day in Orinda, a self-described “semi-rural character” City, which ABAG & MTC call a Potential Priority Development Area into which they are directing yet-more housing development.