The number of vehicle lanes on MacArthur Boulevard between High Street and Seminary Avenue in East Oakland may be reduced as part of a plan to boost safety there.

The city also wants to create a continuous pedestrian path in the area, which is adjacent to Mills College. Currently, vehicles speed through the area, causing accidents and there are no bike lanes, said Iris Starr, the project manager with Oakland.

“Safety is the big issue,” she said. “Right now people don’t walk on the Mills side because there’s nothing but a one-foot trail next to a fence. Sidewalks on the other side of the street … are really in poor shape.”

Two potential designs of the new safety features will be unveiled at a meeting from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, July 28. The meeting will be held at the Lorry I. Lokey Graduate School of Business at Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd.

Public input from a field study and design workshop held on May 8 was used to help develop the two design alternatives that will be considered for the project known as LAAMPS – Laurel Access to Mills, Maxwell Park and Seminary. The designs differ in how integrated the pedestrian pathway is with the vehicle and bike lanes. In one of the designs, the pedestrian pathway is more separated from the road, which Starr called a “rustic edge” concept. The second design is considered more urban with bicycle lanes, pedestrian access and parking more integrated with vehicle traffic.

After the Wednesday meeting, one of the concepts will be more fully developed and then brought back to the community for approval, Starr said. Following that, more detailed design drawings will be done.

Under both design concepts, an environmental review also will be needed if the decision is made to reduce the number of vehicle lanes. The street, which runs underneath Interstate 580, currently has four lanes, which may be reduced to two or three lanes in different parts of the street.

The city is working with consultant Surlene Grant on the project and has secured a $257,000 grant from Caltrans and $60,000 from Councilwoman Jean Quan’s office, to fund the work, Starr said.

Starr added the city expects to complete semi-detailed construction drawings for the project, but will have to find additional funding to complete the drawings and do construction.

Support for the project has come from Mills College as well as the Maxwell Park Neighborhood Council.