Berkeley City Council has put forth a plan that would turn Durant Avenue and Bancroft Way into two-way streets. My first thought: THANK THE LORD. The fewer one-way streets, the better.

My second thought: I don’t even own a car. What the hell am I talking about? As one clever friend noted, one-way streets are easier on us lazy pedestrians, who only have to bother turning our necks one direction before crossing.

The logic behind this proposal is that two-way streets allow for better traffic; bus routes running up Bancroft would also increase access to campus. I would regale you with fancy numbers telling you the pros and cons of such a conversion, but traffic analysis has yet to be done on the two streets.

Berkeley Design Advocates, the design group that put forth the recommendation, says that this transformation would also be better for business. Yes, because being able to drive up Bancroft is really going to incentivize me to go to Urban Outfitters.

There are those, however, who aren’t happy with money going toward redirecting traffic flow. Councilmember Kriss Worthington strongly advocates his Telegraph ACTION plan, which was approved at last Tuesday’s meeting. It would improve lighting, visibility of parking, yada yada, to boost the Telegraph Avenue area. Side note: At the meeting on Tuesday, Worthington said the ASUC would be in charge of doing the lighting survey — that way, the city doesn’t have to pay for it. Good going, City Council. Passing off costs where you can.

Speaking of costs, Roland Peterson, executive director of the Telegraph Business Improvement District, has said that he would rather the city spend money creating parklets. What are parklets, you ask? They are basically small spaces on the sidewalk where you can sit and eat, preen your pet and enjoy green things. San Francisco is apparently known for parklets. I Google-Imaged “parklets” and all I came away with was, “Damn, that is such a bougie San Franciscan thing to do.” Considering how narrow Durant and Bancroft are, I wonder how they’d fit.

It’s not just sidewalks that look narrow; the streets themselves look like they would suffer heavy congestion with traffic moving in two directions. Just imagine that intersection at Bancroft and Bowditch. It’s a nightmare as it is, and with cars going four ways, it can only get worse. Jaywalking would be nigh impossible. But hey, what do I know? I’m no civil engineer.

So, to make up for my lack of scientific knowledge, I called up a few civil engineering students. Granted, these folks haven’t done measurements and tracked the traffic around these streets, but neither has the city. We’re on the same playing field when it comes to our speculation!

Civil engineers differed in opinion depending on whether or not they drove regularly in Berkeley — those who drive thought it would help with traffic but only very slightly; those who didn’t thought it wouldn’t help much at all. I mean, imagine someone trying to parallel park on the very narrow lanes of Bancroft. Think Channing Way during move-in day — but all the time. Can anyone say “bottleneck”?

The general consensus among the civ-E kids I talked to, though, seems to be that this conversion wouldn’t be worth the money. It’s a lot of buck for little bang and much hassle. Take College Avenue, for example — that’s a popular two-way street whose traffic is horrendous.

And that’s not to mention parking, the bane of all our existences (I know you took one look at my picture, and you’re thinking of making that joke. Don’t be that person. I’ll punch you through the Internet). Berkeley City Council hasn’t made parking in this city any easier. Earlier this month, it approved a 30 percent increase in annual parking permit fees to help close a $410,108 projected deficit.

I have no good suggestions for making parking less of a pain, but I will say that if we’re gonna improve something, let’s start with that. The council has yet to approve this plan for two-way streets; discussion over this issue was never reached on Tuesday night because the council took too long on other items, including whether or not the Alameda County district attorney prosecute former president George W. Bush.

So as a lazy, law-breaking pedestrian who only wants to turn my neck in one direction, I will have to selfishly stand in opposition to anything that does not greatly benefit me. That includes this proposal for two-ways. And parklets. Those are just absurd.

Contact Lynn Yu at lyu@dailycal.org or follow her on Twitter: @lynnqyu.

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Restaurant owners voiced concerns that if the quota were relaxed, other restaurants would enter an already competitive environment, which would hurt their businesses. Multiple restaurant owners, including those of Gypsy’s Trattoria Italiana and Pappy’s Grill and Sports Bar, spoke at the meeting in opposition to removing the system.

“I strongly disagree with the proposal,” said Jahanshah Jowharchi, owner of Gypsy’s. “Our restaurant has suffered tremendously in the last two years … Many of us are going out of business due to overpopulation of restaurants.”

Currently, the city has quotas limiting the number of businesses, such as restaurants, barber shops and gift shops, that operate in the Telegraph commercial area. The proposal, if approved, would relax the restaurant quota system for the next three years.

Alex Popov, manager of Pappy’s, initiated a petition against removing the quota system. He also created the Telegraph Restaurant Association last week to voice the sentiments of local restaurant owners.

Thai Basil, CREAM and La Burrita are among 34 local restaurants that have signed the petition in favor of keeping the quotas.

“When I explained to (business owners) the issue, especially to those who are mom and pops, they said, ‘How are we going to survive if this passes?’” Popov said. “(Even) talking to nonfood businesses — they are concerned.”

Yet other business owners, such as Craig Becker of Caffe Mediterraneum — who is also president of the Telegraph Business Improvement District — think the quotas have done more harm than good.

“I think the government has a big role in making any commercial district successful, but I just don’t think that the quotas are the right way to go about it,” Becker said.

Due to time constraints, the council did not debate the restaurant quota matter and decided not to approve it at this time.

“If they would have taken a vote last night, we would have prevailed,” Popov said. “The fact that we didn’t get everything done in one meeting is not that big of a deal, but as long as we’re continuing to have Telegraph in the spotlight … It might take a long time, but as long as we’re looking at ways to improve the business district.”

The City Council voted, in one motion, to adopt of a number of the other items pertaining to Telegraph, such as looking into the financial impact of converting Bancroft Way and Durant Avenue into two-way streets and of creating parklets.

Gladys Rosario covers academics and administration. Contact her at grosario@dailycal.org and follow her on Twitter @gladysrosario93.

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If the plan is approved, the city manager will draw up a list of costs for traffic analysis, traffic control methods and construction for the conversion of the two streets.

Benefits of the conversion would include a safer environment for pedestrians and cyclists, less traffic due to reduced vehicle speeds and more convenient access to the campus due to the relocation of bus traffic to Bancroft, proponents say.

We’re trying to follow best practices,” said Berkeley Design Advocates President Anthony Bruzzone. “Current best practices suggest that two-way streets are better for traffic and better for business.”

The proposal is one of many improvements to Telegraph Avenue’s current design suggested by Berkeley Design Advocates, a volunteer group of architects and urban planners. Other proposed improvements include extended sidewalks, improved street lighting and more interaction between retail and entertainment spaces.

The campus currently supports the proposal because it has the potential to improve safety, said Christine Shaff, communications director for UC Berkeley’s Facilities Services.

City Councilmember Kriss Worthington, however, has introduced a separate list of his own goals.

His proposal, called the Telegraph ACTION Plan, includes improvements like outdoor merchandise tables for retail stores, increased visibility of parking and a monthly music festival, all of which, he estimates, would cost $50,500.

While the financial impact of the project has yet to be calculated, Worthington has said his 12-item plan may cost less than the two-way street proposal.

“The focus on two-way streets and sending all that money at the expense of not doing these things is very problematic,” Worthington said. “I would say that these are more important and more time-sensitive than which way the cars are going.”

The Telegraph Business Improvement District also opposes the conversion of the two streets, said Executive Director Roland Peterson, and would rather see other improvements, like creating parklets — small parking spot-sized spaces for recreation and beautification —  which will also be discussed at Tuesday’s meeting.

“We’re very intrigued, but we need to flesh out more about parklets,” Peterson said. “We’re very much interested in possible redesigns of the street in ways that make it better for pedestrians and traffic.”

For those who walk or drive down Bancroft and Durant daily, the change would have mixed results.

“As a driver, two-way streets do have their conveniences,” said senior Amanda Garcia, who has been driving in Berkeley for several months. “As a student, though, one-way streets are kind of convenient. It’s easier to cross. I can see this being a positive change, though.”

Megan Messerly covers city government. Contact her at mmesserly@dailycal.org and follow her on Twitter @meganmesserly.

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After being seated, diners are presented with both a menu and a ticket. This golden ticket is the key to your inner pizza. When your design specifications are ready, you take the ticket up to the “Building Department,” where you are faced with a myriad of fresh sauces and seasonal ingredients, many of which are organic or local when possible. From here, you get to, yes, build your own pizza. I built two, one with smoked mozzarella, mushrooms, roasted garlic and anchovies on red sauce and the other with olives, onions, pulled mozzarella and pancetta also with red sauce.

While the pizzas baked in a stone, wood-burning oven, chef Clara Yun fixed a custom salad with cucumbers, beets, pickled onions and olives finished with house vinaigrette. BUILD offers some standard pizza and salad options as well, such as Mediterranean-style pizza or Caesar salad.

In almost no time, the pizzas were finished cooking and delivered to the table steaming, thin-crusted with a nice snap and crunch, tasting subtly charred in a way that can only be achieved in a wood-burning oven. The pizza was quite delicious, with no ingredient overpowering another, allowing for your personal creativity to shine through.

For patrons who are of age, BUILD has a full bar with wines, craft beers on tap and an array of original cocktails conceived by consulting mixologist Scott Beattie. The bar also has a full cocktail menu inspired by Italian tapas.

Owners Lisa Holt and David Shapiro also hope to use the restaurant to expand charitable efforts through the BUILD Pizzeria Foundation. The foundation will focus on environmental and planetary causes, local and community-based areas of concern and organizations that assist in the empowerment of women.

When it comes to pizza, though, “it’s all about choice and your own individuality,” Holt says. And come Tuesday, diners will get to make that choice, but it’s not a difficult one. BUILD Pizzeria Roma’s pizza stands apart from its competitors on Shattuck and deserves a build or two.

BUILD Pizzeria Roma is located at 2286 Shattuck Ave.

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A female was sitting in a business on the 2300 block of College Avenue when a male suspect attempted to take her laptop from the table, according to a UCPD crime alert released Monday.

The victim and suspect struggled over the laptop and both fell to the ground, the alert says. The suspect was able to gain control of the computer and then allegedly fled west on Durant Avenue.

The victim suffered minor physical injuries. Berkeley police searched the area but could not locate the suspect.

According to the UCPD crime alert, the suspect is described as, “a Black male in his mid 20s, approximately 5’4” in height, with a thin build, short black hair, wearing a black shiny jacket and black pants.”

Sara Grossman is a news editor. Contact her at sgrossman@dailycal.org.

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The victim was approached by two males at the north exterior wall of the Tang Center, according the a UCPD crime alert released Friday. One suspect grabbed the victim’s laptop and took off running toward Bancroft Way, pointing a handgun at the victim as that suspect ran eastbound on Bancroft. A second suspect ran the opposite way down Bancroft.

The victim, a male whose affiliation to UC Berkeley is unknown, was unharmed in the encounter.

UCPD officers checked the area after the incident, but were unable to locate the suspects.

According the UCPD report, the suspects are described as:

Suspect #1 – a White male, approximately 17-20 years of age, 5’10” in height, 105 pounds, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, and a red baseball cap.

Suspect #2 – a White male, approximately 17-20 years of age, 5’04” in height, 180 pounds, wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, and a black baseball cap.

Contact Libby Rainey at lrainey@dailycal.org.

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UAW Local 2865, the UC student workers’ union, organized the rally to call for the elimination of the lifetime maximum on the Student Health Insurance Plan, the reduction of the co-pays on the plan and for making health insurance free for dependents of students.

Charlie Eaton, a campus graduate student and the financial secretary for the union, said high co-pays add to students’ financial woes, while caps on coverage hinder students from receiving sufficient medical coverage.

“Many student workers are at risk of medical costs on top of regular student debt that is already crushing them,” Eaton said.

To align with President Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, SHIP will eliminate the lifetime maximum medical coverage cap beginning fall 2014.

After gathering on the intersection of Bancroft and Telegraph, the protesters marched to Clark Kerr Campus to demand a meeting with staff members at the campus Labor Relations Unit. Campus administrators agreed to a 30-minute meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 7, Eaton said.

Contact Dan Kwak at dkwak@dailycal.org.

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Spirit Halloween opened in September at 2295 Shattuck Ave. and offers an assortment of costumes and props for children and adults.

Store employee Theo Rogers said business has been great, as the location in Downtown Berkeley has brought in a lot of foot traffic.

“Since we’re located on Shattuck, we get a lot of walk-ins,” he said. “Since this is so close to the school, this place is a pretty good location for business.”

Assistant store manager Delores Evans said the Spirit store is unrelated to the costume store Halloween City that was at 2190 Shattuck Ave. last year — the location now occupied by Walgreens.

Rogers said Spirit Halloween is owned by Spencer Gifts while the other store is owned by Party City. It is common for Halloween stores to change locations from year to year depending on where and when companies are able to get leases for abandoned buildings, he said.

“The location that this store is in right now is probably going to be different next year,” Rogers said. “I already saw a few people coming in and scoping out the place to have their own business put in here.”

Berkeley City College student Sher Her said the location of the store does not matter and that he will still patronize stores like Spirit Halloween as long they are in easy places to access.

“It’s the only costume store around here, so it’s pretty convenient,” he said. “As long as it’s still around here … it doesn’t really bother me.”

Contact Andy Nguyen at anguyen@dailycal.org.

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After she was approached by two males at the 2100 block of Bancroft Way, one of the suspects grabbed her purse and then both suspects fled into university property, according to the alert.

The suspects were located and arrested by the Berkeley Police Department and UCPD. The victim was not injured.

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The victim has been identified by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office Coroner’s Bureau as Shlomo Bentin, 65, who was a guest lecturer at UC Berkeley. Bentin was pronounced dead at Highland Hospital in Oakland after he was transported by ambulance to the hospital trauma center.

According to Berkeley Police Department Sgt. Mary Kusmiss, the vehicle and bicyclist were both traveling westbound on Bancroft Way at around 3:38 p.m. when an apparent collision between the two occurred. The victim was then transported to the local police center where he was pronounced dead by physicians.

“Whether the truck actually struck the cyclist or not is not clear from any witnesses,” Kusmiss said.

Kusmiss said the investigation team is currently reconstructing the accident in order to determine what role the dump truck played in the incident.

The driver of the dump truck as well as his supervisor remained at the scene and were questioned by police officers.

The cyclist sustained “life-threatening injuries” to his head, and possibly other parts of his body, and was unresponsive when emergency personnel reached the scene, Kusmiss said.

According to Kusmiss, people who witnessed the accident flagged down a passing ambulance. EMT personnel performed CPR on the man, who lay in the roadway near his bicycle. He had reportedly been wearing a helmet.

Kusmiss said a pedestrian who witnessed the accident prompted a motorcyclist to flag down the truck, which ended up traveling approximately one more block before returning to the scene.

“The motorcyclist followed the truck and told the driver to return, as he may have struck the cyclist,” Kusmiss said.

According to a statement released by the police department Friday night, the truck driver is not under arrest and has cooperated with police thus far.

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