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Bike/ped path on the west span of the Bay Bridge
The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (SFBC)
has taken a lead role in advocating to "Bridge the Gap" between San Francisco and Yerba
Buena Island, which will be reached by the Alex Zuckermann Bikeway when the East Span
replacement project is completed in 2014. Already you can see the new East Span bikeway under construction, and the EBBC has led the push to complete plans for bridge access
from 40th Street and Shellmound. The West Span bridge committee, consisting of SFBC, BABC,
TALC and EBBC, meets on a monthly basis to develop strategies to fund and implement the
West Span Bicycle/Pedestrian/Maintenance Path. A $2 million study by consultant CH2MHill in 2001
identified a preferred design to build paths on both sides of the existing suspension bridge that
meet seismic and maritime traffic clearance requirements. In 2006 the West Span committee will publish a fact sheet brochure promoting the numerous benefits, identified in the thorough CH2MHill study, that this pathway will offer.
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What You Can DoParticipate in your local committee. To learn about the B/PAC established in your area, check our Get Involved page.
For 2005, the EBBC has renewed our long-standing emphasis on promoting grassroots citizen involvement with local, county, and regional transportation officials. Since 1994, our Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) model charter (.doc format) has provided a template for the creation of BACs (or BPACs, which include pedestrian interests). These committees focus on reviewing plans and prioritizing projects for funding (to meet MTC Resolution 875). A monthly BAC Calendar appears in each EBBC newsletter and on this website (.pdf format). The EBBC also continues to assist the Metropolitan Transportation Commission by soliciting items from bicyclists region wide and drafting the agenda for the quarterly Caltrans District 4 Bicycle Advisory Committee (CTD4BAC).
City BPACs
At the local level, our goal is to see BACs in all but the smallest
of 33 East Bay cities. In 2005, the EBBC supported the formation of a new BAC in Union City following their adoption of a new Bicycle Pedestrian Master Plan. Our success at tracking
the progress of CTD4BAC agenda items on a spreadsheet has led
to our encouragement that local BACs adopt "spreadsheet tracking."
County BPACs
The Alameda County BPAC, formed after 2000 when voters approved
Measure B to spend 5-percent of the 1/2 cent sales tax on bike/ped
access and safety, will the allocate the competitive portion
of $80-$100 million over the 20-year life of the revenue stream.
In 2005 for the first time, the 11 member BPAC, drawn from throughout
the county, will jointly consider the applications for various
grant sources aside from the county transportation sales tax
revenues. Given that there is but one bike-ped plan for the
county to implement, the EBBC applauds this approach to housing
the citizen decision-making under one roof.
One area that has concerned us is the uneven caliber of projects
submitted in Alameda County. The EBBC would like to help local
jurisdictions collaborate to identify truly high-priority project
proposals, rather than pet projects that are not seen as closing
crucial gaps in the bikeway network. Our recent Safe Routes
to Transit Workshops serve as examples for how to prioritize
projects and build consensus among jurisdictions.
In Contra Costa County, the existing citizen-based BAC, facilitated by the
County Public Works Department, has provided yeoman service
since 1990. The Contra Costa Transportation Authority has recently
proposed formation of a new committee whose composition is suspiciously
"packed" with staff rather than citizens. On March 24, 2005
the EBBC wrote the entire CoCoCo Board of Supervisors urging
the following points- one countywide committee;
- inclusion of pedestrian representatives; plus
- fair and influential
participation of citizens representing bicycle and pedestrian
interests.
The EBBC's support for BACs as a 2005 Campaign guarantees
that we will remain particularly vigilant to see that a fair
solution is adopted so that citizens retain substantial control
over the bike-ped fund purse strings in CoCoCo.
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Routine accommodation of bicycles in all road projects
Can you think of a road project that resulted in diminished
access or safety for bicyclists? Or, a new transit facility
that lacked secure bicycle parking or well-planned access for
bicyclists? Most of us have multiple examples. The EBBC has
long had to carefully watch all so-called transportation "improvements"
to make certain that they did not add yet another barrier to
bicycling.
 "Routine Accommodation" is our campaign to
urge that all highway and transit spending consider the needs
of bicyclists and pedestrians. Those of you who are familiar
with the League of American Bicyclists' "Complete the Streets!"
program will recognize that Routine Accommodation is a more
inclusive term that encompasses transit. The EBBC has succeeded
in convincing other Bay Area bicycle advocacy leaders to unite
in working toward a vision of fulfilling our goal to make all
transportation spending a productive investment for bicyclists
and pedestrians.
The most exciting prospect for making Routine Accommodation
a statewide policy is in Senator Tom Torlakson's Senate Constitutional
Amendment (SCA-20) to require that motor vehicle fuel sales
tax revenue no-longer be diverted to the General Fund, but instead
be spent on transportation--as was mandated in 2002 when 70%
of the voters approved Proposition 42. Governor Schwarzenegger
has again proposed to suspend Prop 42 to help meet the budget
deficit. The governor is asking transportation interests to
cooperate as the state takes their money, in exchange for a
promise to push for future constitutional protection.
The EBBC has contacted Senator Torlakson to suggest that Routine
Accommodation be included in SCA-20. The language below was
drafted by former California Bicycle Coalition (CBC) Director,
Chris Morfas, now with CalACT, with input from the CBC lobbyist
Justin Fanslau and CABO's Alan Wachtel.
The Department and all responsible agencies, including cities,
counties, regional transportation planning agencies and transit
agencies, shall fully consider the needs of pedestrians, bicyclists,
and the disabled during the planning, design, construction,
reconstruction or rehabilitation of highways or mass transit
projects. No later than June 30, 2007, the Department, in consultation
with local governments, transit agencies, law enforcement, the
Department of Health Services and walking and bicycling experts,
shall issue guidelines, to be updated every three years, for
implementation of this section. The guidelines shall be consistent
with the Policy Statement contained within the United States
Department of Transportation's Design Guidance document entitled,
"Accommodating Bicycle and Pedestrian Travel: A Recommended
Approach."
(Photo: www.pedbikeimages.org / Dan Burden.)
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Caldecott Tunnel/Highway 24 Crossing
 Read the comments EBBC submitted to Caltrans on the Caldecott Environmental Impact Report (pdf format).
The new 4th bore of the Caldecott Tunnel will add much more traffic to local streets in the Oakland-Berkeley area and Ashby Avenue will see as much new traffic as any local street. Bicyclists and pedestrians crossing Ashby Ave will have to negotiate this significant additional traffic. The $8 million in mitigations that this project has set-aside by the Alameda County CMA, as well as other funds, should be prioritized for the following bicycle and pedestrian safety improvements:
- Traffic light at Ashby/Hillegass and additional traffic calming on Hillegass
- Tunnel Rd shoulder improvements, including south bound right turn at Domingo
- Telegraph Ave bike lanes
- Safe and convenient bike/ped access thru the Ashby/I-80 interchange
- Traffic light at Ninth St. bike boulevard and Ashby
- High visibility crossing/traffic light at Ashby/California
- Direct access in the 15-1/2-foot wide fresh air duct above the existing third bore
Additionally, because not every cyclist is willing or able to climb to the 890' East Portal on the shoulder of SR 24, nor climb to the 739' West Portal entrance, the EBBC also seeks indirect access improvements for bicyclists to overcome existing barriers:
- A 24-hour transit service that carries bikes needs to be implemented and guaranteed continuous funding (how about a tunnel toll?), and
- BART stations on either side of the hills need to provide secure bike parking.
And finally, the North Hills Phoenix neighborhood, and all of
the Claremont district, needs to be reunited with Lake Temescal
and Montclair as a mitigation for the barrier created by the
SR 24 freeway. Consider how you might currently travel between
Cycles of Justice in Montclair and Left Coast Cyclery in the
Claremont shopping district. A bridge abutment exists above
the SR 13 frontage pathway near Lake Temescal that could form
a direct connection over the SR 24 freeway and avoid about 2
miles of climbing. This bridge would also allow the proposed
Caldecott Corridor buses to serve passengers from surrounding
neighborhoods who would need to cross the freeway to either
board or walk home from the bus.
A strong, unified chorus of access demands will lead to our
success as Caltrans and both Counties embark on preparing the
environmental documents for public review by December of 2005.
Brief Caldecott Tunnel History
There are two old, now-closed, tunnels through the Berkeley-Oakland
Hills: 1) the Sacramento Northern Rail tunnel is not located
near the Caldecott, but connects Shepherd Canyon to Pi,
and 2) the "Old Roadway Tunnel," a high-level, single bore
opened in 1903. This tunnel once connected Tunnel Road with
Fish Ranch Road and is 160 to 290 feet above the existing
Caldecott Tunnel, and only 320 feet below the summit. It represents
only a marginal access improvement. The original pair of Caldecott
Tunnels was first referred to as the "Broadway Low-level Tunnel,"
when they opened in 1937.
A 3rd bore, 3,771 feet long, was added to the north of the
other tunnels in 1964. It included two west bound lanes and
the ingenious pop-up bollards that have allowed the efficient
use of the complex by changing lane directions in the center
tunnel based on demand. Hence, 6 tunnel lanes elegantly serve
8 highway lanes (note that a new 4th bore will not increase
capacity in the peak-commute direction). The EBBC last led
tours of the 3rd bore's 15'-wide fresh-air duct in 2000 and
we suggest that duct would be the best alignment to accommodate
bicyclists. According to Caltrans' history on the Caldecott's
60th Anniversary (1997):
"Since the new tunnel [3rd bore] is used only for downhill
(a 4% grade) traffic, ventilation requirements are practically
nil. Yet the fans are run at low speed to maintain the motors."
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