Cue the 7:00 p.m. Friday news release: the City of Brentwood is launching a pilot program to address traffic on American Avenue.
Nothing says confidence in a plan quite like dropping it on a Friday night when everyone is already mentally checked out.
Now, credit where credit is due—the City is at least trying something. But this proposal has all the fingerprints of a bunch of transportation nerds sitting in a conference room, staring at maps, traffic counts and PowerPoint slides, high-fiving each other because they moved a few lines around on a screen.
Except anyone who has actually driven American Avenue during drop-off at Adams Middle School and Heritage High School knows exactly how this movie ends.
Unless you are dropping your kid off before about 7:30 a.m., congratulations—you have officially entered the Brentwood Traffic Endurance Challenge. Forty-five minutes to an hour of brake lights, bad decisions, elevated blood pressure and people driving like they won their license in a cereal box.
Nothing says “have a productive day” quite like sitting bumper-to-bumper while someone stops in the middle of the road to let little Johnny out because apparently pulling over is now optional.
After dropping kids off at these schools for the past six years, I can safely say I have used my horn more on American Avenue than every other road in Brentwood combined. The second people enter a school zone, basic traffic laws become mere suggestions.
Run the red light at Balfour and American? Check.
Illegal U-turn? Check.
Block the intersection? Check.
Double park? Check.
Stop in a live traffic lane because “I’ll only be a second”?
School drop-off is basically The Purge for traffic laws. Common sense takes the morning off, turn signals become decorative and everybody suddenly believes their child is the only student who needs to get to class–and a pet peeve, once in the parking lot loop, the child should be ready to exit the car, not sit for a minute or two still gathering their things while holding up the line. Park, hop out, go!
And here is the funniest part in all this: this is not a new problem on American Ave. This has been happening since the schools opened. Every year. Same traffic. Same complaints. Same bottleneck. Same chaos.
So naturally, the solution is more paint, more red curb and a few bendy plastic sticks. Brilliant!
Which raises the obvious question: if the same problem has existed for years, why are we still trying to stripe our way out of it instead of finally extending the road?
The closest Brentwood came was Measure L, which included a developer-funded road extension estimated at roughly $6 million to $13 million at the time. But fear over housing, political spin and enough misinformation to fill a landfill killed it.
So instead of fixing the bottleneck, we are rearranging the furniture in the waiting room.
Now the City wants to remove bike lanes, add red curb, install flexible delineators and increase crosswalk visibility.
Fine. Maybe it helps around the edges, or this is lipstick on a pig.
But let’s not pretend plastic poles have magical powers. A painted curb is only useful if somebody enforces it. A brighter crosswalk is only helpful if drivers actually stop. And flexible delineators are basically traffic scarecrows unless there is a motorcycle officer nearby writing tickets.
That is the only thing that consistently changes behavior.
The moment parents see a police motorcycle, suddenly everyone remembers how lanes work. Miraculous. It is like watching civilization return in real time.
And here is the real head-scratcher: Brentwood is removing bike lanes at the exact time more students are using e-bikes and scooters.
Fantastic planning.
Nothing says “student safety” like eliminating dedicated space for the fastest-growing way students are getting to school. Shouldn’t the City be investing in safer bike and scooter access instead of squeezing those students into the same mess as distracted drivers, rushed parents and people performing three-point turns in traffic?
Then there is growth.
Brentwood is not getting smaller. More homes are coming. More families are coming. More students are coming. And unless someone has invented teleportation, more cars are coming. A shocking development.
And here is the revolutionary idea nobody seems eager to discuss: the best way to reduce traffic is to reduce the number of cars.
I know. Groundbreaking stuff. Alert the engineering department.
If Brentwood does not want to spend roughly $10 million extending the road, then perhaps the city and school district should invest in a legitimate school bus system or create meaningful incentives for carpooling.
Every full bus could remove 30, 40 or 50 cars from American Avenue. That is actual congestion relief.
Not another red stripe.
Not another sign.
Not another plastic stick bending in the wind while 2,000 vehicles try to squeeze through a road built for half that number.
This is fundamentally a volume problem. Too many cars are arriving at the same place at the same time with too few ways in and out.
You do not need a transportation study to understand that. You need eyes.
I sincerely hope the pilot works. I hope traffic times improve. I hope parents get through faster. I hope residents can actually leave their neighborhoods without packing snacks and filing for PTO.
The City deserves credit for making an attempt. But if we arrive at the end of the school year and discover that paint, cones and positive thinking did not solve a decades-old bottleneck, spare everyone the shocked faces.
Some problems simply require building your way out.
Image by City of Brentwood
For context, via the City of Brentwood
The City is implementing pilot traffic improvements on American Avenue before schools reopen for the 2026 academic year to help improve traffic flow and safety during student drop-off and pick-up at Adams Middle School and Heritage High School.
These improvements were developed in coordination with both schools. The goal is to reduce traffic conflicts, improve circulation, and enhance safety for students, pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists.
The pilot improvements include:
- Flexible delineators to better channelize traffic
- Modifications to pedestrian crossings
- Additional red curb to reinforce no-parking areas
- Removal of bike lanes to provide additional curbside parking during school peak periods
- New pedestrian crossing warning signs at the Heritage High School traffic signal
City crews have already begun pavement striping, with all roadway improvements expected to be completed before the first day of school. Some traffic signal work may be completed shortly afterward due to equipment delivery schedules.
This is a pilot program, and the City will monitor traffic operations and gather feedback throughout the school year to evaluate its effectiveness.
Mike Burkholder
Publisher of ContraCosta. news
[email protected]
