Richmond Bridge Bike Lane
02-13-18, 01:51 PM
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Richmond Bridge Bike Lane
Does anyone know about the bike lane construction for the Richmond bridge? Anybody know if and when it should be done? Also thoughts on its viability for a cross bay commuter?
02-13-18, 02:39 PM
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Saw an article recently that a Marin supervisor is asking that the bike lane be closed during peak commute hours so that motor vehicle traffic could use that lane. Don't know if that's been resolved but it would severely impact the viability for use as a bike commute. There have also been concerns raised about how to deal with disabled motor vehicles when there's a bike lane since that space currently functions as a partial break-down lane.
Marin supervisor iffy on bike lane for Richmond bridge
Marin supervisor iffy on bike lane for Richmond bridge
02-14-18, 05:33 PM
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Saw an article recently that a Marin supervisor is asking that the bike lane be closed during peak commute hours so that motor vehicle traffic could use that lane. Don't know if that's been resolved but it would severely impact the viability for use as a bike commute. There have also been concerns raised about how to deal with disabled motor vehicles when there's a bike lane since that space currently functions as a partial break-down lane.
Marin supervisor iffy on bike lane for Richmond bridge
Marin supervisor iffy on bike lane for Richmond bridge
As the bike lane advocates have pointed out, if the lane is used for cars during peak commute hours, then the lane becomes largely recreational, as opposed to being used for commuting purposes. Marin political types have especially pointed to losing teachers because it is too hard to commute across the bridge in support of the need to use the lane for commuters, although I haven't seen anything to suggest that having an additional westbound land will do anything other than make the bottlenecks worse further on down the commute routes.
02-14-18, 10:00 PM
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I've talked to some of the bike advocates involved, and they're all confident that the bike path on the bridge will open as planned, late this year or early next year.
The bike path has already been environmentally studied and cleared (if you're not familiar with CA environmental law, this is a gigantic and expensive process), funded, and they're putting the contract out to bid soon. This whole planning process was based on a 24/7 path, so any change to that for a new third westbound car lane would require an entirely new environmental clearance process. It would also require rebuilding a chunk of 580 west of the bridge. Much of the work being done now is actually not on the bridge itself but on 580 in Richmond to accommodate the new lane.
The plan now is for the bike path to be there as a 4-year pilot, so we all need to ride it a ton during those 4 years to ensure it stays permanent...
As far as how viable it is to use for a commute? Like any other commute, that depends. The bridge itself is 5.5 miles, so for some people, eg someone who lives in San Rafael and works at Chevron in Point Richmond, it'll be a breeze of a commute. If the other bridges are any guide, expect strong winds from the west on the bridge itself most of the time.
Personally, I live in SF and am excited to use the RSR to get to the East Bay. Right now, biking from SF to Berkeley is nearly 100 miles via the Dumbarton Bridge. Once the RSR bike path opens, SF to Berkeley will be more like 40 via GGB and RSR.
The bike path has already been environmentally studied and cleared (if you're not familiar with CA environmental law, this is a gigantic and expensive process), funded, and they're putting the contract out to bid soon. This whole planning process was based on a 24/7 path, so any change to that for a new third westbound car lane would require an entirely new environmental clearance process. It would also require rebuilding a chunk of 580 west of the bridge. Much of the work being done now is actually not on the bridge itself but on 580 in Richmond to accommodate the new lane.
The plan now is for the bike path to be there as a 4-year pilot, so we all need to ride it a ton during those 4 years to ensure it stays permanent...
As far as how viable it is to use for a commute? Like any other commute, that depends. The bridge itself is 5.5 miles, so for some people, eg someone who lives in San Rafael and works at Chevron in Point Richmond, it'll be a breeze of a commute. If the other bridges are any guide, expect strong winds from the west on the bridge itself most of the time.
Personally, I live in SF and am excited to use the RSR to get to the East Bay. Right now, biking from SF to Berkeley is nearly 100 miles via the Dumbarton Bridge. Once the RSR bike path opens, SF to Berkeley will be more like 40 via GGB and RSR.
02-15-18, 04:01 PM
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I've talked to some of the bike advocates involved, and they're all confident that the bike path on the bridge will open as planned, late this year or early next year.
The bike path has already been environmentally studied and cleared (if you're not familiar with CA environmental law, this is a gigantic and expensive process), funded, and they're putting the contract out to bid soon. This whole planning process was based on a 24/7 path, so any change to that for a new third westbound car lane would require an entirely new environmental clearance process. It would also require rebuilding a chunk of 580 west of the bridge. Much of the work being done now is actually not on the bridge itself but on 580 in Richmond to accommodate the new lane.
The plan now is for the bike path to be there as a 4-year pilot, so we all need to ride it a ton during those 4 years to ensure it stays permanent...
As far as how viable it is to use for a commute? Like any other commute, that depends. The bridge itself is 5.5 miles, so for some people, eg someone who lives in San Rafael and works at Chevron in Point Richmond, it'll be a breeze of a commute. If the other bridges are any guide, expect strong winds from the west on the bridge itself most of the time.
Personally, I live in SF and am excited to use the RSR to get to the East Bay. Right now, biking from SF to Berkeley is nearly 100 miles via the Dumbarton Bridge. Once the RSR bike path opens, SF to Berkeley will be more like 40 via GGB and RSR.
The bike path has already been environmentally studied and cleared (if you're not familiar with CA environmental law, this is a gigantic and expensive process), funded, and they're putting the contract out to bid soon. This whole planning process was based on a 24/7 path, so any change to that for a new third westbound car lane would require an entirely new environmental clearance process. It would also require rebuilding a chunk of 580 west of the bridge. Much of the work being done now is actually not on the bridge itself but on 580 in Richmond to accommodate the new lane.
The plan now is for the bike path to be there as a 4-year pilot, so we all need to ride it a ton during those 4 years to ensure it stays permanent...
As far as how viable it is to use for a commute? Like any other commute, that depends. The bridge itself is 5.5 miles, so for some people, eg someone who lives in San Rafael and works at Chevron in Point Richmond, it'll be a breeze of a commute. If the other bridges are any guide, expect strong winds from the west on the bridge itself most of the time.
Personally, I live in SF and am excited to use the RSR to get to the East Bay. Right now, biking from SF to Berkeley is nearly 100 miles via the Dumbarton Bridge. Once the RSR bike path opens, SF to Berkeley will be more like 40 via GGB and RSR.
Riding a ton for recreational use will be good, but the more commuters use the path, the harder it will be for the "open to cars during the commute crush" forces to eventually win, or worse yet, for the "screw a bike lane, make it for cars 24/7" forces to someday win.
02-16-18, 01:26 AM
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Yeah, that fight may go on for a little while.
As the bike lane advocates have pointed out, if the lane is used for cars during peak commute hours, then the lane becomes largely recreational, as opposed to being used for commuting purposes. Marin political types have especially pointed to losing teachers because it is too hard to commute across the bridge in support of the need to use the lane for commuters, although I haven't seen anything to suggest that having an additional westbound land will do anything other than make the bottlenecks worse further on down the commute routes.
As the bike lane advocates have pointed out, if the lane is used for cars during peak commute hours, then the lane becomes largely recreational, as opposed to being used for commuting purposes. Marin political types have especially pointed to losing teachers because it is too hard to commute across the bridge in support of the need to use the lane for commuters, although I haven't seen anything to suggest that having an additional westbound land will do anything other than make the bottlenecks worse further on down the commute routes.
02-16-18, 11:16 PM
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https://https://www.google.com/amp/kr...-in-april/amp/Sounds like April
https://www.google.com/amp/kron4.com/2018/02/13/interview-richmond-san-rafael-bridge-to-get-third-eastbound-traffic-lane-in-april/amp/
https://www.google.com/amp/kron4.com/2018/02/13/interview-richmond-san-rafael-bridge-to-get-third-eastbound-traffic-lane-in-april/amp/
