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October 15, 2019
On September 17, Alameda’s City Council voted unanimously to support a two-way protected cycle track on Clement Avenue, from Broadway to Grand Street. The protected bikeway will be a one-mile segment of the Cross Alameda Trail, a future path connecting all the way from the Fruitvale Bridge to Alameda Point.
Members of the community, led by Bike Walk Alameda, turned out to support a high-quality bikeway that will serve riders of all ages. Bonnie Wehmann, a local advocate and bike education instructor, spoke on the importance of the protected bikeway for young riders: “the protected bikeway would be a path that would connect East End kids to the schools [on the West End] that kids are biking to. Every kid that is biking to school is one less car in traffic.”
Other Bike Walk Alameda members spoke out for safety and the importance of a connected Cross Alameda Trail, including several first-time speakers who had participated in Bike East Bay’s public comment training the previous week. With the strong showing of Council support at the September 17 meeting, things are looking up for a connected trail in the next few years.
With a major segment of the Cross Alameda Trail complete with last year’s grand opening of Jean Sweeney Open Space Park, the city is working away at projects to finish the trail. The trail segment from Main to Webster is now under construction and set to open later this year. With last month’s approval of the Clement Avenue bikeway project, which could go to construction as early as the fall of 2020, Alameda is one step closer to the vision of a complete Cross Alameda Trail.
Several more trail segments will come later on when planned development connects the Jean Sweeney Open Space Park to the existing separated cycle track on a portion of Clement Avenue, as well as a future separated bikeway out to “Spirits Alley” at Alameda Point.
Bike East Bay will continue to work alongside our local partners in Alameda to advocate for a complete Cross Alameda Trail in the coming years.
