Advocate's Corner

Ever wonder what will the Bay Area be like in 25 years?  The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) is not only wondering about our future—they are planning and budgeting it!

Currently, transportation planning agencies around the nine-county Bay Area are dreaming up ways to improve and change the way we will get around in the future.  New tunnels, larger train networks, more ferries, road rehab, highway projects, new bike facilities and pedestrian accommodations are all on the table for consideration during the revision of MTC’s Regional Transportation Plan.

This process and document, known as the “RTP” or “T2035 Plan,” articulates a 25 year vision for getting around in the Bay Area. The RTP decides $100 BILLION+ in regional transportation investments and is one of the major opportunities the public has to shape how the Bay Area will grow and travel.  This blueprint is revised every four years, and right now the T2035 Plan is underway. Goal-setting began in Summer 2007.  Project wish-lists from the counties will be submitted in Fall 2007, and the plan and the budget will be approved in February 2009.

What does all this mean for bicyclists?   Well, 4 years ago, BABC lobbied MTC (the regional transportation planning agency for the 9 counties of the Bay Area) to create a new account solely for the purpose of funding bike and pedestrian projects.  And we succeeded:  $200 million over 25 years was designated to flow through the “Regional Bicycle and Pedestrian Program.”  This money, $8 million a year, is meant to build out the Regional Bicycle Network and improve walking facilities around regional transit and business hubs.

That was a big improvement over the 2001 RTP, where no money at all was designated specifically for bikes and pedestrians.  Yet the $8 million per year advance we made in the T2030 is not guaranteed to be included in the T2035 Plan.  And even if it was, $8 million a year is not enough to build many projects for the entire Bay Area.

In fact, the projected “shortfall” (the amount we don’t have) to complete the Regional Bicycle Network is estimated to be around $965 million (2004 dollars).  At $8 million a year, it will take us literally 120 million years to get a region with a coherent bicycle infrastructure! 

So yes, $965 million is a lot of money.  But compare it to a single proposed highway project in Marin:  the current cost estimate to add one automobile lane in each direction to the 16-mile Sonoma-Marin Narrows is estimated at more than $800 million. The Bay Area could just about have a complete Regional Bicycle Network for that single highway project!

Given the current conundrums of climate change, increasing congestion, and epidemics obesity and diabetes, bicycling deserves to be on the forefront of our vision for a Bay Area we want to live in.  For all of these reasons the Bay Area Bicycle Coalition will be working over the next year with the nine-county Bay Area bicycle coalitions to persuade MTC to up the ante on bicycle and pedestrian funding.

We urge the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to prioritize funding for this zero-emission, universally affordable, and healthy form of transportation. Certainly no other mode of travel accomplishes so much for so little.

Watch the BABC website for announcements for important updates on the 2009 RTP.

Unfortunately, the reality is that the Bay Bridge prohibits bicycles and pedestrians, so only those risking arrest know how it feels to bike across the bridge.  Three of the seven other bridges in the Bay can also only be crossed by those using motorized vehicles.        

The Bay Area Bicycle Coalition is advocating for all of the Bay Area bridges to be open to non-motorized traffic, as they are to motorized traffic, 24 hours a day.  Bike access plans have already been found feasible for the West span of the Bay Bridge, and the Richmond- San Rafael Bridge.  We need your support for funding the construction of pathways on the non-accessible bridges.

Our goal is to secure direct access on all of the Bay Area’s bridges.  But in the meantime, access over the bridges can be obtained by public transportation. You can locate a list of this information at http://www.bicycling.511.org/bridges.htm

Below is a list of the eight Bay Area Bridges, the current status of bicycle access for each crossing, and whom you should contact to support advocacy efforts relating to the bridges.

Golden Gate Bridge
Antioch Bridge
Dumbarton Bridge
San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge
Carquinez Bridge
Benicia-Martinez Bridge
Richmond-San Rafael Bridge
San Mateo-Hayward Bridge
Southern Crossing over the Napa River on route 29 & 12
Petaluma River Bridge
 

Golden Gate Bridge

While cyclists today can enjoy direct access, twenty-four hours a day, to the Golden Gate Bridge, this availability has only existed since November 23, 1992.  When the bridge was opened in 1937, only pedestrians were allowed on the sidewalks.  Thirty-four years later, cyclists were granted access during weekdays on the East sidewalk, and on the West during the weekend.  Efforts from bicycle advocates led to the November 1992 opening of the bridge to cyclists 24 hours a day.  Check out http://www.goldengatebridge.org/bikesbridge/bikes.html for an explanation of how to use the remotely controlled security gates on the bridge after 9pm.

In November of 2003, an eleven-month installation process of a public safety railing was completed on the bridge.  The railing protects the bike and pedestrian pathway from motor vehicle traffic.  While the Golden Gate Bridge is a huge tourist attraction, it is also a major transportation route for cyclists.  With this heavy volume of non-motorized traffic, the safety railing offers needed protection, yet also represents a pathway receiving necessary attention.  Even though the other Bay Area bridges may not be as famous as the Golden Gate, they should receive an equal amount of consideration for the safety and convenience of non-motorized traffic- tourists and everyday commuters alike.

Antioch Bridge

Dumbarton Bridge

San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge

While the new East Span structure of the Bay Bridge has been designed to have a 15.5-foot-wide bicycle, pedestrian, and maintenance pathway that will run along the eastbound deck, no funding has been set aside for the West Span, or bicycle/pedestrian access.  The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition has been working to gain support for funding of a pathway on the West span that will enable non-motorized traffic to conveniently cross the Bay between San Francisco and Oakland.  Contact Andy Thornley, Community Organizer of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, to help support this project: andy@sfbike.org or call him at 415-431-BIKE x307.
 

Carquinez Bridge

The new bike and pedestrian pathway on the Carquinez Bridge opened on May 16, 2004.  The 12-foot-wide path is located on the western side of the suspension bridge connecting Solano and Contra Costa counties along Interstate 80. The pathway, however, was opened with a Dawn to Dusk regulation, and the bridge is not accessible to non-motorized traffic after nightfall.  This is apparently due to terrorism concerns, even though truck traffic continues to cross the span un-inspected.  The East Bay Bicycle Coalition is working to obtain 24-hour access to the pathway, and is encouraging people to write the Governor's Cabinet head of Caltrans.  You can find out where to send your statement, as well as view a sample letter at  www.ebbc.org

The EBBC suggests that you mention: The return on taxpayers’ investment in erecting the path is diminished when its hours of use are limited.
 

Benicia-Martinez Bridge

The existing Benicia-Martinez Bridge provides Interstate 680 access across the Carquinez Strait between Contra Costa and Solano counties. According to the Bay Area Toll Authority, a new span that will carry five lanes of northbound traffic is being built just east of and parallel to the existing span. The latter will be converted to carry four lanes of southbound traffic as well as a new bicycle and pedestrian pathway. As part of this project, a new 17-booth toll plaza with two carpool bypass lanes will be constructed in Contra Costa County.

Richmond-San Rafael Bridge

Connecting Interstate 580 between Contra Costa and Marin Counties, the 5.5 mile long bridge is not accessible to bicyclists or pedestrians.  Since its completion in 1956, the Richmond San Rafael Bridge has been an important route for North Bay travelers, but direct access has been denied to non-motorized traffic.  Bicycle advocates have struggled for the past 50 years to obtain access on this bridge.  Two Statewide studies indicate direct access would be reasonably safe, feasible, and affordable, but the twelve-foot shoulder remains un-traveled.  The Antioch Bridge, with only a five-foot shoulder, is open to cyclists and pedestrians 24 hours a day.  The generous shoulder on the Richmond San Rafael Bridge would be suitable for bicycle access with minor alterations, according to a 2001 Caltrans study.  For the latest news on bike access, go to the Marin County Bicycle Coalition (MCBC) website or contact Deb Hubsmith, MCBC Advocacy Director, to support current actions for bridge access:  deb@marinbike.org or call at 415-454-7430.
 

San Mateo-Hayward Bridge

Carrying State Route 92 between San Mateo and Alameda counties, the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge does not provide access to non-motorized traffic.  The bridge was opened in October of 1967 and then widened in 2003 from four to six lanes of traffic, yet a pathway was not added as part of this project.  Public transportation was, however, made more convenient to cyclists this year with the AC transit Line M that carries up to six bikes.  While Line M was federally funded by a Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grant, and represents bicycle-friendly improvements, providing unlimited non-motorized direct access on the bridge is the only way to provide equal access, not to mention reduce congestion and improve air quality.
 

Southern Crossing over the Napa River on route 29 & 12

Petaluma River Bridge