RSS FeedsTransportation & Circulation
Napa County has traditionally been home to primarily rural agricultural communities. Recently, tourism and development pressures have been challenging the County’s transportation infrastructure. The transportation and circulation chapter describes an assessment of existing transportation facilities and conditions in the County.
The number of Napa County residents commuting in single-occupant vehicles has increased steadily since 1980. This trend corresponds directly to a decrease in the number of residents who commute by carpool, walking, and bicycling.
The following roadway segments currently operate near or above their capacities on a daily or peakhour basis.
- Portions of State Route (SR) 29 south of the City of Napa
- SR 29 between the northern Yountville City Limits and Bale Lane, north of Saint Helena
- Napa-Vallejo Highway south of the City of Napa
- SR 12, west of SR 29
- SR 12, near the eastern County Line
- Flosden Road, south of American Canyon Road
- American Canyon Road, east of SR 29
- Imola Avenue, east of the Napa-Vallejo Highway
- First Street, west of SR 29
- Trancas Street, between Soscol Avenue and Silverado Trail
In addition, there are several roadways in the County that are classified and designed as rural arterial streets that function similarly to highways, including SR 29, SR 12, and the Silverado Trail. These are the main roadways connecting cities within the County and connecting the County to other nearby urbanized areas. As such, they tend to carry relatively heavy traffic volumes traveling at relatively high speeds. By designing these facilities as rural arterials, numerous driveways and access points remain, creating conflicts between vehicles accessing adjacent land uses and traffic using these facilities for commuting.
 Rural roadways in Napa County serve a variety of users. |
The primary collision factor for automobile collisions in Napa County between January 2002 and December 2004 was unsafe speed.
Within the City of Napa, transit service is provided such that 85% of the city’s population is within ¼ mile of a bus stop; typical headways are 45 minutes. The smaller cities offer either a single bus deviated fixed-route system or demand response vehicles. Paratransit services are available in all of the cities and in much of the County. Vallejo is accessible by transit service operating on a 1-hour headway, and service to Santa Rosa is available via transit service operating on a 2-hour headway.
Within cities, bicycling and walking has the potential to play a relatively substantial role in transportation. Many cities in the County are on relatively flat ground, making cycling a viable option, although currently, cycling is not heavily used as a commute mode within the County. Additionally, many cities in the County are pedestrian-friendly and include desirable pedestrian amenities such as street-fronting businesses, relatively dense development, and wide sidewalks.
The primary factor for automobile collisions involving pedestrians in Napa County was pedestrian rightof- way violation. The primary factor for collisions involving bicycles in Napa County was bicyclists riding in the wrong direction. The City of Napa is currently implementing a program to install “Bicycle Wrong Way” signs on the back of bicycle lane signs in the city.
The only rail service in Napa County related to transportation is commercial freight transport. The Napa Valley Wine Train is a recreational service traveling between the Cities of Napa and St. Helena. However, this train is recreational in nature and does not play a role in Countywide transportation.
The only formally adopted traffic calming program in Napa County is within the City of Napa. This program has been in place since July 2005. To date, one set of traffic calming measures has been implemented within the city. Many more are expected soon.
There are no County-required transportation demand management (TDM) programs in the County. However, the County has established a “Trip Reduction Program” by which County employees who commute to work by alternative modes (e.g., carpooling, transit, bicycling, walking) are rewarded with cash bonuses of either $10 or $20 per month, depending on the employee’s participation rate.
The only transportation systems management (TSM) programs in Napa County consist of several sets of coordinated traffic signals in the City of Napa, three traffic-monitoring cameras, three emergency message signs, and a highway advisory radio system at key locations.
