As Modesto expands north, city opts for narrower main streets, roundabouts
The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to keep key arteries narrow and use roundabouts as it plans for Modesto’s growth.
As the city expands further north, officials expect Oakdale Road and Claratina Avenue to be major thoroughfares — more than they already are.
They are currently designated to be six lanes wide, which would actually make traffic worse, according to a study done by the city. Four lanes, with roundabouts, would improve traffic flow on streets the city expects to be flooded with cars in the next 20 years.
“If we built what was currently in the general plan, six lanes at Oakdale and Claratina with dual left-turn hands, it would be the largest intersection in the city of Modesto by a large margin,” said City Engineer Toby Wells. “In looking at that intersection … [it] would operate at a level service ‘F’ for failed.”
A two-lane roundabout with bypass lanes, like the one at Coffee Road and Claratina, will be built at that intersection instead.
Narrowing roads and making them more friendly to bikes and pedestrians has been a trend for city plans. In 2020, Crows Landing Road from Highway 99 to Whitmore Avenue was planned to be six lanes but was redesignated to be just four lanes. The same was true for Claus Road between Briggsmore Avenue and Sylvan, which is currently two lanes in 2024.
As the city debates whether to expand up or out, and how, Modesto officials are dealing with what’s immediate. The contested general plan for expansion isn’t expected to be finalized until next year, but the Tivoli Specific Plan is getting pressure from developers now.
The Tivoli Specific Plan, a roughly 454-acre project in northeast Modesto approved in 2008, was zoned as a mix of homes, stores, offices and more but was rezoned over the years to include more housing as demand for the other uses dwindled.
The plan is to develop what is now farmland, bordered to the north by an extension of Claratina, Roselle to the east, Oakdale to the west and Sylvan to the south.
Round and round
As part of the plan, roundabouts will be placed at every corner and midpoint of the Tivoli development, and smaller ones will be sprinkled throughout its interior.
One high-traffic intersection that will not get a roundabout is Oakdale Road and Sylvan Avenue. Wells said the intersection was part of the traffic study but did not recommend a roundabout there, calling it a “very complex situation.”
Councilmember David Wright acknowledged this. “There is a lot of traffic accidents here, and there’s some fatal traffic accidents here. I think a roundabout would really help eliminate a lot of accidents in that area,” said Wright.
The city’s plans for bike lanes around the Tivoli Plan are to have a more modern design by taking them off the street. Instead, they plan to have off-street lanes with shorter crossings for pedestrians and cyclists to navigate the roundabouts. Both will cross two lanes at a time by using a center median as a refuge. These medians are planned to be 16 feet-wide landscaped concrete barriers.
For transit, designs aim to have turnouts for buses so they do not impede traffic. This indicates bus stops will be on the outer border streets of the plan. The design map did not indicate any stops located within its interior.
This story was originally published February 13, 2026 at 6:00 AM.
