UPDATE (2/19/2016) Bike East Bay has received support from Berkeley city councilmembers Jesse Arreguin and Kriss Worthington to upgrade the Fulton Street bike lane to a protected bike lane extending from Bancroft Way to Dwight Way. By adding two additional blocks to our original ask and upgrading to a protected bike lane, the Fulton Street bikeway would connect a crucial gap for bicyclists between UC Berkeley campus and downtown Berkeley to the Fulton Street bicycle boulevard, which continues south from Dwight Way on quiet, residential streets. Bike East Bay is pushing to get this approved in a city council vote in the next few weeks. Stay tuned!
Bike East Bay is calling for the City of Berkeley to immediately stripe bike lanes on two blocks of Fulton Street after a bicyclist was struck while bicycling home from work last week on February 2. Bike East Bay member Megan Schwarzman was wearing a helmet, fluorescent vest, and carrying lights on her bike when she was struck from behind by a car and seriously injured.
As Megan begins her long recovery, we are asking bike East Bay members and supporters to send Megan some love. Sign the petition calling for the City of Berkeley to complete the Fulton Street bike lane south to the Channing Way Bicycle Boulevard.
Bike East Bay will deliver this petition when we meet with the Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates, and City Councilmembers Jesse Arreguin and Kriss Worthington on Wednesday February 17 to push forward immediate safety improvements on Fulton Street. We are calling the City of Berkeley to:
- Immediately stripe a bike lane on Fulton Street between Bancroft Way and Channing Way by Bike to Work Day, May 12, 2016 as designated in the city of Berkeley’s 2000 Bicycle Plan and the 2010 Downtown Plan. The City can justify an immediate bike lane striping either as a needed safety improvement, or as a ‘pilot project’ in the manner San Francisco did on Folsom Street two years ago when a resident was killed while bicycling on that busy street.
- Reinforce the city’s policy that projects on the Bicycle Master Plan be reviewed and included as part of repaving plans, and as part of the City’s Complete Streets Policy.
- Establish quarterly meetings between Bike East Bay, the City’s bicycle program staff, and a Department of Public Works staff member to ensure that improvements for walking, bicycling, and all roadway users be incorporated into all repaving projects and to be in compliance with the City’s Complete Streets Policy.
We hope the City of Berkeley responds with a plan to stripe the bike lane on Fulton Street by Bike to Work Day May 12, if not sooner. Stay tuned, if we need your support at an upcoming City Council meeting, we will be in touch.
For more on Bike East Bay’s asks about the bike lane design, please read our letter to the Berkeley city manager, sent on Tuesday February 9, 2016.