Bike East Bay and the Marin County Bicycle Coalition have two items of interest going into this weekend to the safe-and-livable streets community.
Update on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge bike lane
First, a celebration that the survival of the bike lane on the Richmond-San Rafael bridge is secured for a bit longer. From a Bike East Bay statement:
Caltrans has withdrawn its proposal to deny 24/7 access for people biking and walking on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. Their proposal would have converted the trail into a car breakdown shoulder every Monday through Thursday, limiting access to only Friday-Sunday for those who walk, bike, or roll across.
While the statement seemed to declare victory, other advocates close to the fight were less sanguine. One opined this is simply Caltrans realizing they didn't really have a case for closing the lane, so they're trying to prepare a better "compromise" to present to the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, which will decide the lane's future. Caltrans, as usual, wants all six-lanes on the bridge for automobiles (their presentation was previously planned for Thursday, April 3).
"The fight isn't over," wrote Bike East Bay's Robert Prinz in an email to Streetsblog. "It's just a reprieve for now but we are working to extend it as long as possible."
More from Warren Wells of the Marin County Bicycle Coalition:
MCBC was pleased to learn that the hearing to curtail the RSR Bridge multiuse path was delayed, suggesting that the vote was not going to go the way that Caltrans/MTC had hoped. We expect to see an amended proposal filed in the coming weeks, one with additional improvements beyond the proposed daylight-hours shuttle, but that would still result in a significant loss of access to the bridge. We thank our partners and many supporters across the Bay who have spoken up already to preserve this important connection.
So the fight continues.
Sausalito Bridgeway
Meanwhile, 8.5 miles to the south of the bridge landing in Marin, advocates are gearing up for the next step in the fight for improvements to Bridgeway Street in Sausalito. Tomorrow/Saturday, March 29th at 1 p.m., a plan to eliminate the center-turn lane on this important route and add bike lanes goes before the city council. The agenda and instructions for attending or submitting a comment in person can be found here.
From MCBC's post on the issue:
MCBC and local advocates have been helping move this project along for several years, which received unanimous approval from the Sausalito Pedestrian/Bicycle Advisory Committee at its December meeting and now heads to the city council. The project includes several elements to make Bridgeway safer for all of its many users:
- Designated crosswalks at Golden Gate Market and the Scoma’s/Trident buildings
- Loading zones for delivery vehicles, removing the need for drivers to cross moving traffic
- Striped bike lanes, allowing drivers to pass bicyclists without veering into the center turn lane
The project is largely paid for by grants already received by the city, freeing up important local funds to pay for other city priorities. You can click here to see more information about the project and renderings from the report.
Unfortunately the plan is being opposed by residents who would rather see nothing changed than experiment with a new configuration of the street, and we are anticipating these people showing up to tell the council to vote to return nearly half a million dollars earmarked for the project.
For more information, see Streetsblog's coverage from last year or the story in the Marin IJ. And be sure to attend or submit your comments before Saturday's vote.
