Tag: Oakland

Supersharrows?

Do you remember that shared lane lane with green painted along 2nd Street in Long Beach California way back in 2009?

The city of Oakland is apparently painting part of 40th Street with green. The East Bay Bicycle Coalition calls these Supersharrows, and wants to know what you think of them.

Supersharrows are essentially sharrows with a vibrant punch! These are not bike lanes where bicyclists have priority over cars, but rather a shared space for both users, with a visible reminder to driviers to look for bikes.

Ride the supersharrows and tell us what you think. If successful, Oakland intends to stripe more on streets such as MacArthur Blvd in the Laurel District, Harrison St toward Piedmont, Market St north of Adeline St, a couple blocks either way at Broadway & Grand, and Lakeshore Ave east of El Embarcadero.

Here’s Market Street Oakland as it appears now, and with a strip of green.

market-1

Update: You’ll see comments below that the green lane should be centered more in that right hand lane. I’ve since modified my rendering to better reflect what Oakland plans for Market, although I think I probably made the green portion a little bit too wide.

Green Lanes Oakland Market Street

World’s longest bike pier opens September 3, and a bike shuttle during the bridge closure

The East Bay Bicycle coalition (EBBC) invites you on a tour of the new Bay Bridge bike path, which won’t actually go anywhere — hence, the snarky “longest bike pier” appellation courtesy of the EBBC.

I think everybody in the state of California already knows the Oakland Bay Bridge will be closed over this coming Labor Day weekend so the new span can open for traffic on Monday, September 2. The new Alexander Zuckermann Bike Path will open on Tuesday, but only to a little beyond the first tower. It’s just an out-and-back trip (whee!), with no access to Yerba Buena Island because the existing Bay Bridge is in the way. After the old bridge is torn down, the path to Yerba Buena Island will open in 2015.

The 15.5 foot, three lane path will have a 15 MPH speed limit for cyclists, and the CHP says bicycle officers will patrol the sidepath to ensure the law is followed.

Note also that access to the bike path is currently through a construction site. Read the details provided by EBCC.

Speaking of the Bay Bridge shutdown and bicycle access, Caltrans will offer a special bike shuttle across the Bay Bridge even though the bridge is closed.

Tip of my hat to Rene and Serge.