TO: TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION
FROM: MARIA B. TIPPING, CITY ENGINEER
DATE: SEPTEMBER 25, 2025
SUBJECT:
Title
CLAREMONT BOULEVARD (FOOTHILL BOULEVARD TO SIXTH STREET) STREET IMPROVEMENTS-STREET CLOSURES
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SUMMARY
Staff has been working with Claremont McKenna College (CMC) to incorporate Complete Streets features at the east side of Claremont Boulevard from Foothill Boulevard to Sixth Street/Arrow Route and at the west side of Claremont Boulevard from Sixth to Ninth Streets, since early 2020.
The west side of Claremont Boulevard from Foothill Boulevard to Ninth Street (fronting Pitzer College) is outside CMC’s jurisdiction and is not included in CMC’s public improvements upgrades. The City will be responsible for designing and implementing complete street improvements and other amenities in this area to be coordinated with the CMC project.
As part of the review process, staff presented an item to the Traffic and Transportation Commission (TTC) at its May 27, 2021, meeting to gather feedback on the proposed design for Claremont Boulevard cross-section incorporating complete design features. Staff also gathered feedback from the Claremont Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Group (CBPAG) and the City’s Project Review Committee (PRC). The feedback received was shared with CMC for consideration and if appropriate, for incorporation into the new roadway design.
At tonight’s meeting, staff is presenting an update item on the upcoming construction of the Complete Streets improvements on Claremont Boulevard from Foothill Boulevard to Sixth Street/Arrow Route, and additional ancillary work that was conditioned with the approval of CMC projects along Claremont Boulevard (Robert Day Sciences Center and the Roberts Campus East Sports Bowl). Staff will also present an overview of the traffic control concepts that will be implemented to support the various construction activities and additional construction elements to be completed with the Claremont Boulevard improvements.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommended Action
Staff recommends the Traffic and Transportation Commission provide feedback on the upcoming construction, proposed street closure and associated traffic impacts and receive and file this report.
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FINANCIAL REVIEW
CMC is funding the design and implementation of all complete streets improvements and ancillary work on the east side of Claremont Boulevard from Foothill Boulevard to Sixth Street and the west side of Claremont Boulevard from Ninth to Sixth Streets. The northwest section of Claremont Boulevard, Ninth Street to Foothill Boulevard, fronts Pitzer College. Since there isn’t development being proposed by Pitzer, there is no mechanism to require that they fund public improvements fronting their campus on Claremont Boulevard.
The City will be responsible for designing and implementing complete street improvements and other amenities (accessible bus stop) in this area to be coordinated (if possible) with the CMC project, in an effort to provide a consistent complete street design from Foothill Boulevard to Sixth Street. Currently, staff have begun the process of seeking design proposals and cost estimates.
The cost associated with the preparation of this staff report is estimated at $1,846 and is included in the operating budget of the Community Development Department.
ANALYSIS
Background
In December 2016, the then Claremont University Consortium (CUC), requested that the City Council approve a map subdividing 30 acres in the City of Claremont for the future implementation of the Colleges’ East Campus project. City Council approved PM 70243 for the subdivision of these 30 acres located in Claremont, at the east side of Claremont Boulevard from Arrow Route and Foothill Boulevard. East Campus is only partially located in the City of Claremont, with 30 acres in the city and 45 acres in the City of Upland. A parcel map and a site plan for the Upland 45 acres’ portion of the East Campus were approved by Upland City Council in May 2016.
Ultimately, the East Campus project was approved for the construction of a sports complex with athletic fields and supporting facilities, including parking accommodations. Since, CMC has acquired the East Campus project and are now responsible for completion of public improvements on the east side of Claremont Boulevard (Sports Bowl frontage). In addition, CMC was approved for the construction of the Robert Day Sciences Center (at the southwest corner of Ninth Street and Claremont Boulevard). As part of this approval, CMC was required to provide complete streets improvements (consistent with the improvements proposed for the east side) within their project frontage and to extend those improvements to Sixth Street, within CMC’s boundaries. In addition, CMC will be constructing a pedestrian tunnel on Claremont Boulevard between Ninth and Sixth Streets, a parking structure within the Sports Bowl complex, will be providing utility services to support the new facility and will be providing undergrounding of utilities at the east side of Claremont Boulevard. These improvements are further described below.
With the East Campus project, the City of Claremont and Upland required public improvements along Foothill Boulevard, Monte Vista Avenue, Sixth Street/Arrow Route, and Claremont Boulevard. The required Foothill Boulevard improvements within Claremont were completed in 2020, at CUC’s expense, with the Foothill Boulevard Master Plan Improvements. Construction of the Upland portion of the Foothill Boulevard improvements is currently underway.
As required in 2016, the Claremont Boulevard improvements were consistent with typical subdivision requirements for the provision of public improvements. With the construction of the Foothill Boulevard Master Plan Improvements and the adoption of the Complete Streets Policy in 2019, a renewed interested in projects that reflect the complete streets principles started to surge. As a result, in early 2020, CMC approached City staff with a proposal to revisit the required East Campus’ street improvements for the east side of Claremont Boulevard. Their new proposal incorporated complete streets and traffic calming components such as pedestrian bulb outs, Class IV bike lanes, narrowed traffic lanes and more pedestrian friendly parkway/sidewalk options. Staff presented an item to the TTC at its May 27, 2021, meeting to gather feedback on the proposed new concept for the Claremont Boulevard cross-section incorporating complete design features. Staff also gathered feedback from the Claremont Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Group (CBPAG) and the City’s Project Review Committee (PRC). The feedback received was shared with CMC for consideration for incorporation into the new roadway design.
It should be noted that the west side of Claremont Boulevard from Foothill Boulevard to Ninth Street (fronting Pitzer College) is outside CMC’s jurisdiction and is not included in CMC’s public improvements upgrades. The City will be responsible for designing and implementing complete street improvements and other amenities in this area to be coordinated with the CMC project. Currently, staff has begun the process of seeking design proposals and cost estimates.
In addition, the installation of bus stops along Claremont Boulevard is required with the project. City staff and CMC are coordinating with Foothill Transit, requesting their feedback on bus stops locations within the project footprint. Concurrently, staff is considering an ADA accommodation request to upgrade the existing bus stop at the west side of Claremont Boulevard, south of Foothill Boulevard with the most current ADA features. This bus stop is located within the roadway segment to be designed by the City and its upgrade will be included with the construction of City portion of this project.
At tonight’s meeting, staff is providing an update on the Claremont Boulevard required improvements and supporting infrastructure, as follows. The construction of the improvements described below will take several months and will require extensive coordination efforts between CMC and the City of Claremont to ensure the work can be completed in a safe and timely manner, with appropriate traffic control measures. As a result, CMC presented three traffic control options to the City for consideration. These three options are described in further detail below. After careful consideration of the proposed improvements and different traffic control options, Option 3 presented the safest and most efficient approach to complete the proposed improvements. The projected duration for Option 3 is 10 months.
Proposed Improvements
Complete Streets
1. Class IV Bike Lanes
2. Green Bike Lanes where appropriate
3. Reduced travel lane width from 12 feet to 11 feet
4. Parkways with storm water capturing features to meet MS4
5. New accessible sidewalks
6. Traffic Signal at Ninth Street
a. Pedestrian Countdown Heads
b. Bulbouts
c. American with Disabilities Act (ADA) features
d. Handicap ramps
e. Accessible Push Buttons
f. Green bike boxes
g. Extended left turn pockets
h. Ladder Crosswalks
i. Bicycle/vehicle video detection
Additional Improvements
1. Pedestrian tunnel under Claremont Boulevard between Ninth and Sixth Streets
2. Utility Installations to serve the Sports Bowl
a. Water laterals
b. SCE connections
c. Undergrounding of electrical lines along the east side of Claremont Boulevard
Proposed Traffic Control Options
Option 1:
Projected to have a total duration of 10 months, dividing the work into 4 areas. This option requires partial closure of traffic in one direction for portions of Claremont Boulevard. Detours to be set in place in order to achieve this option. Traffic impacts associated with this option are summarized below:
Area 1: West side of Claremont Boulevard between Sixth and Ninth Streets
Traffic impact:
§ Closed in the southbound direction from Ninth to Sixth Streets. Traffic flow detoured to Monte Vista Avenue
§ Reduced to one lane southbound from Foothill Boulevard to Ninth Street (identified as local traffic only from Foothill Boulevard)
§ Two lanes open in the northbound direction from Ninth Street to Foothill Boulevard
§ Ninth Street will maintain traffic in both directions
§ Duration 16 weeks
Area 2: East side of Claremont Boulevard between Sixth Street and Foothill Boulevard
Traffic impact:
§ Closed in the northbound direction from Sixth to Ninth Streets. Detoured to Monte Vista Avenue
§ Reduced to one lane in the northbound direction from Ninth Street to Foothill Boulevard
§ Two lanes open in the southbound direction from Foothill Boulevard to Ninth Street
§ Ninth Street will maintain traffic in both directions
§ Duration 16 weeks
Area 3: Street medians on Claremont Boulevard from Sixth Street to Foothill Boulevard
Traffic impact:
§ Reduced to a single lane in both directions from Sixth Street to Foothill Boulevard
§ Ninth Street will maintain traffic in both directions
§ Duration 4 weeks
Area 4: Traffic lanes on Claremont Boulevard from Sixth Street to Foothill Boulevard
Traffic impact:
§ Reduced to a single lane in both directions from Sixth Street to Foothill Boulevard
§ Ninth Street will maintain traffic in both directions
§ Duration 4 weeks
Option 2:
Projected to have a total duration of 16 ½ months, requiring the removal of several portions of the street median in an attempt to maintain at least one lane of traffic in each direction, and it divides the work into 10 areas. As a result, Claremont Boulevard would be under construction for 16 months and drivers would need to adjust to changes in traffic control patterns more frequently.
Traffic impacts associated with this option are summarized below:
Area 1: Street medians on Claremont Boulevard from Sixth Street to Foothill Boulevard
Traffic impact:
§ Reduced to a single lane in both directions from Sixth Street to Foothill Boulevard
§ Ninth Street will maintain traffic in both directions
§ Duration 1 week
Area 2: West side of Claremont Boulevard between Sixth Street to Ninth Street
Traffic impact:
§ Reduced to a single lane in both directions from Sixth Street Foothill Boulevard with a crossover required
§ Ninth Street will maintain traffic in both directions
§ Duration 20 weeks
Area 3: East side of Claremont Boulevard between Sixth Street to Ninth Street
Traffic impact:
§ Reduced to a single lane in both directions from Sixth Street to Foothill Boulevard with a crossover required
§ Ninth Street will maintain traffic in both directions
§ Duration 20 Weeks
Area 4: East side of Claremont Boulevard between Sixth Street and Foothill Boulevard
Traffic impact:
§ Reduced to one lane northbound from Sixth Street to Foothill Boulevard
§ Two lanes open in the southbound direction from Foothill Boulevard to Sixth Street
§ Ninth Street will maintain traffic in both directions
§ Duration 5 weeks
Area 5: West side of Claremont Boulevard between Sixth Street and Ninth Street
Traffic impact:
§ Reduced to one lane southbound from Sixth Street to Foothill Boulevard
§ Two lanes open in the northbound direction from Foothill Boulevard to Sixth Street
§ Sixth Street will maintain traffic in both directions
§ Duration 7 weeks
Area 6: Street medians on Claremont Boulevard from Sixth Street to Foothill Boulevard
Traffic impact:
§ Reduced to a single lane in both directions from Sixth Street to Foothill Boulevard
§ Ninth Street will maintain traffic in both directions
§ Duration 5 weeks
Area 7: Intersection of Claremont Boulevard and Ninth Street
Traffic impact:
§ Reduced to a single lane southbound from Ninth Street to Sixth Street
§ Traffic in two directions in all other areas
§ Ninth Street will maintain traffic in both directions
§ Duration 4 weeks
Area 8: Intersection of Claremont Boulevard and Ninth Street
Traffic impact:
§ Reduced to a single lane southbound from Foothill Boulevard to Ninth Street
§ Traffic in two directions in all other areas
§ Ninth Street will maintain traffic in both directions
§ Duration 4 weeks
Area 9: Intersection of Claremont Boulevard and Ninth Street
Traffic impact:
§ Reduced to a single lane northbound from Sixth Street to Foothill Boulevard
§ Traffic in both directions in all other areas
§ Ninth Street will maintain traffic in both directions
§ Duration 4 weeks
Area 10: Traffic lanes on Claremont Boulevard from Sixth Street to Foothill Boulevard
Traffic impact:
§ Reduced to a single lane in both directions from Sixth Street to Foothill Boulevard
§ Ninth Street will maintain traffic in both directions
§ Duration 2 weeks
Option 3:
Projected to have a duration of 10 months, dividing the work into 3 areas. This option is approved, as it provides the safest and most efficient approach. This option requires the full closure of Claremont Boulevard from Sixth Street to Foothill Boulevard with the anticipated traffic impacts described below.
It should be noted that once the work associated with Area 1 is completed, there is an option to consider re-opening Claremont Boulevard to traffic with one lane in each direction. This option will be considered as work progresses, in conjunction with the assessment of the impacted surrounding areas.
Area 1: Claremont Boulevard between Sixth Street and Foothill Boulevard
Traffic impact:
§ Complete closure of Claremont Boulevard from Sixth Street to Foothill Boulevard
§ Traffic detoured to Monte Vista Avenue and Indian Hill Boulevard
§ Local college related traffic allowed from Foothill Boulevard to and from Ninth Street
§ Ninth Street will maintain traffic in both directions
§ Duration 24 weeks
Work to be completed:
§ Pedestrian tunnel servicing the Roberts Campus Sports Bowl for CMC
§ Fire hydrant laterals
§ Installation of fire hydrants
§ Electrical undergrounding for SCE
§ New water main from Ninth Street to just south of Foothill Boulevard
§ Construction of bulbouts and installation of traffic signal at Ninth Street
Area 2: Claremont Boulevard between Sixth Street and Foothill Boulevard
Traffic impact:
§ Complete closure of Claremont Boulevard from Sixth Street to Foothill Boulevard
§ Traffic detoured to Monte Vista Avenue and Indian Hill Boulevard
§ Local college related traffic allowed from Foothill Boulevard to and from Ninth Street
§ Ninth Street will maintain traffic in both directions
§ Duration 8 weeks
Work to be completed:
§ Sidewalks and landscaped planters
§ Modifications to the street medians to accommodate turn pockets at Ninth Street and Claremont Boulevard
§ Repairs to the median impacted by the construction of the pedestrian tunnel
§ Installation of Class IVs bike lanes and medians south of Ninth Street
Area 3: Street medians on Claremont Boulevard from Sixth Street to Foothill Boulevard
Traffic impact:
§ Traffic flow reduced to a single lane in each direction from Sixth Street to Foothill Boulevard
§ Ninth Street will maintain traffic in both directions
Work to be completed:
§ Sidewalks and landscaped planters
§ Installation of Class IVs bike lanes and medians north of Ninth Street
§ Grind and overlay of roadway surface
§ Final striping
§ Duration 8 weeks
Next Steps
CMC Portion of the Project (east side of Claremont Boulevard from Arrow Route to Foothill Boulevard and west side of Claremont Boulevard from Ninth to Sixth Streets)
CMC has submitted the plans associated with the various Claremont Boulevard improvements and are currently undergoing the City’s plan check process. Once approved, permits will be issued, and the work will commence. All plans will need to be approved prior to scheduling the commencement of the work, as all project components will need to be ready for construction once the Claremont Boulevard closure is implemented. As Option 3 indicates, multiple project components will be under construction concurrently. The earliest possible starting date is October 2025.
City Portion of the Project (west side of Claremont Boulevard from Ninth Street to Foothill Boulevard)
The City will be requesting proposals for the design and implementation of complete street improvements in this area to be coordinated (if possible) with the construction of the CMC portion of the Claremont Boulevard project.
Bus Stops
CMC is required to install bus stops along Claremont Boulevard, within the boundaries of their project. City staff and CMC are coordinating with Foothill Transit, requesting their feedback on bus stops locations within the CMC project footprint. The feedback from Foothill Transit will be incorporated into the project.
In addition, and concurrently, staff is considering an ADA accommodation request to upgrade the existing bus stop at the west side of Claremont Boulevard, south of Foothill Boulevard with the most current ADA features. This bus stop is located within the roadway segment to be designed by the City and its upgrade will be included with the construction of City portion of this project.
The CMC and City portions of the project will consider Foothill Transit feedback to proceed with the design and implementation of fully accessible bus stops between Foothill Boulevard and Sixth Street/Arrow Route.
Moving forward, staff will continue to periodically update the TTC as construction progresses.
CEQA REVIEW
A Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the original East Campus project (State Clearing House (SCH) #2010021040) was certified on May 23, 2016, by the Upland City Council, acting as Lead Agency. The FEIR analyzed the potential environmental impacts of the East Campus project and determined that, with the implementation of the mitigation measures contained in the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP), all identified impacts project could be mitigated to below levels of significance, except for noise impacts to surrounding uses and the project site within the City of Upland, caused by increases in traffic generated noise and operation noise in the City of Upland. Noise impacts in the City of Claremont were determined to be less than significant. A Statement of Overriding Considerations, also adopted by the Upland City Council on May 23, 2016, found that the social, economic, and environmental benefits of the project outweighed the identified potential significant and unavoidable impacts of the project. The Claremont City Council, acting as a Responsible Agency, adopted the City of Upland’s Statement of Overriding Considerations, the FEIR, and associated MMRP on November 8, 2016. The adopted MMRP includes all feasible mitigations to reduce potential impacts from the Project as required by Public Resources Code Section 20181.6.
To address the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), as it pertains to the 2024 revisions to the original Conceptual Site Plan, the applicant worked with both the City of Upland and City of Claremont to determine the appropriate approach to analyze the changes. Ten separate technical studies were completed and reviewed by each City. This process resulted in a determination that an Addendum to the previously certified FEIR for the Revised Conceptual Site Plan was appropriate.
An Addendum to the FEIR (SCH#2010021040) was prepared by Environmental Science Consultants (ESA) for the Cities of Upland and Claremont pursuant to CEQA (Title 14, Sections 15162 and 15164) as the minor changes included within the Proposed Project will not involve new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase of the severity of significant effects already identified in the certified FEIR, Statement of Overriding Considerations and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program adopted in 2016. The Revised Project includes minor modifications to the previously approved Conceptual Site Plan, which constitute minor changes as they do not modify the type of uses, increase density or intensity, create new or increased environmental impacts that cannot be mitigated, or result in health and safety violations. As analyzed in the Addendum, the Cities of Upland and Claremont found that the Revised Concept Plan will not result in any new or substantially more severe environmental impacts, and thus does not require a subsequent or supplemental EIR. Because the final design for the Phase 1 Improvements for the Roberts East Campus Sports Bowl, including the addition of the pedestrian tunnel and parking structure, are fully consistent with the Revised Concept Plan as analyzed in the FEIR and Addendum to the FEIR, no additional environmental review is required at this time.
The certified FEIR, and all Appendices to the Addendum are available on the City’s Website at: https://www.claremontca.gov/Business-Development/Planning-and-Land-Use/Environmental-Quality-Act-Documents
PUBLIC NOTICE PROCESS
The agenda and staff report for this item have been posted on the City website and distributed to interested parties. If you desire a copy, please contact Commission Secretary, Nadia Ramirez at nramirez@claremontca.gov.
Submitted by: Prepared by:
Maria B. Tipping, P.E. Maria B. Tipping, P.E.
City Engineer City Engineer
Jasmin Hurtado, P.E.
Associate Engineer
Vincent Ramos
Associate Engineer