The newly unveiled protected bike lane on Walnut Avenue in Fremont (Source: Bike East Bay)
After last year’s momentous Bike to Work Day that saw the unveiling of new high-profile protected bikeways in Berkeley and Oakland, this year’s event on Thursday, May 11th was a little quieter. Nonetheless, several recent ribbon cuttings and milestones are worth highlighting:
- Bay Bridge Bike Path Opens 7 Days a Week: After three years of stopping short of Yerba Buena Island, the Bay Bridge path is now open seven days a week as of two weeks ago. The path is open from 6AM-8PM and will extend to 9PM beginning May 25th. The path ends at Vista Point, which offers unique views of the bridge and the East Bay. Unfortunately, a trail connection to Treasure Island is not expected to be completed until 2019; whether the path is extended to the west span remains uncertain.
- Broadway Two-Way Protected Bike Lane Ribbon Cutting: As a part of the Caldecott Tunnel Fourth Bore settlement, the City of Oakland has completed a two-way protected bike lane around the Broadway/SR-24 NB onramp. The project includes the City’s first curb-protected bike lane (Telegraph is parking-buffered) and bike signal. Once the City implements a road diet between College Avenue and Keith Avenue, Broadway will have near-continuous bike lanes between Uptown and Lake Temescal.
- Walnut Avenue Protected Bike Lane: Fremont has unveiled its second protected bikeway along Walnut Avenue (the official ribbon cutting is Thursday). The project added bollards and soft hit posts to an existing buffered bike lane. While a simple enhancement, the project shows how low-cost improvements can go a long way .
Berkeley’s recently approved “low-stress bikeway network vision” (Source: City of Berkeley)
- Berkeley Bike Plan: After 15 years of inaction, last year’s the completion of the Fulton Avenue protected bikeway was a turning point for Berkeley’s approach to bicycle infrastructure. A year later, Berkeley approved a visionary bike plan that adds 20 protected bikeways, nine protected intersections, nine bicycle boulevards, and 16 improved bicycle and pedestrian crossings at busy streets. While Berkeley has always faced challenges translating vision into action, hopefully this newfound momentum will push more projects to fruition.
As always, Bike East Bay has the rundown on current campaigns, ongoing efforts to reduce road hazards, and information on how to continue increasing ridership throughout the community.
Andy Gillin received his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of California at Berkeley and his law degree from the University of Chicago. He is the managing partner of GJEL Accident Attorneys and has written and lectured in the field of plaintiffs’ personal injury law for numerous organizations. Andy is a highly recognized wrongful death lawyer in California.