In November, we received good news that the next crucial step in developing a fundable plan for the West Span Pathway of the Bay Bridge has happened. The Bay Area Toll Authority (MTC) awarded a $10 million contract to design consultants ARUP of San Francisco to study several feasible options for lowering costs of the West Span Pathway, from it’s current $450-$500 million estimated cost. The goal is to halve the cost, and then consider options for funding the final gap in the Oakland to San Francisco bikeway.
Your Bike East Bay staff will be meeting soon with ARUP and the consulting team, as well as with our partners at San Francisco Bicycle Coalition to build support needed for this project to become a reality. Sign up for our Bay Bridge Bikeway Campaign (upper right on this page, or top on your phone) to stay up to date on opportunities to provide input on revised pathway designs, and then get ready to celebrate with us the touch down of the Alexander Zuckermann East Span Bike Path to Yerba Buena Island late in 2015.
In addition, we are working with MTC and Caltrans to open up the upper shoulder of the Richmond San Rafael Bridge to bicycling, and thereby connect Richmond with Marin County. Steve Heminger, the Executive Director of the MTC, is supportive and ready to help us push Caltrans to make their bridges ‘complete streets.
