SAN FRANCISCO—The city will be testing out the proposed path for 10 days in May. The daily hours of the Bicycle & Pedestrian Path on the East Span of the Bay Bridge are from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Starting Thursday, May 10 at 6:00 a.m. through Saturday, May 19 at 9:00 p.m., the Bicycle & Pedestrian Path on the Bay Bridge will be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the pilot period.
The new path will span the east end of the Bay Bridge where pedestrians and cyclists alike will be able to walk or ride.
The Bay Bridge Trail is a part of the San Francisco Bay Trail. According to the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, the Bay Bridge Trail is named in honor of Alex Zuckermann, the late East Bay Bicycle Coalition founder and Bay Bridge Trail advocate. A plaque bearing his name is located on the trail which extends over 4 miles from Emeryville to Yerba Buena Island (San Francisco). The first two-thirds of the Bay Bridge Trail, from Emeryville to the Oakland touchdown, opened in September 2013.
In October 2016, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Path across the East Span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge opened, enabling cyclists and pedestrians to traverse past the East Span’s signature 525-foot tower to the new landing area and Vista Point on Yerba Buena Island. The length of the path on the East Span of the Bay Bridge is 2.2 miles from Oakland to Yerba Buena Island. To heighten user safety, the 15.5-foot-wide path has one lane in each direction for bicyclists and an outside lane designated for pedestrians.
Bike advocates have pushed for a modification in transit hours for city dwellers that rely on the Bay Bridge’s bike path for their daily commute both in-and-out of the city. Bridge officials remain concerned about the potential health risk for overnight travelers.
Three access points provide a direct route to the bicycle and pedestrian path: one at Shellmound Street in Emeryville, just outside the IKEA store; a second at the historic Caltrans Bridge Yard Building at 210 Burma Road in Oakland; and a third on Yerba Buena Island, where the bridge and path make their landing.
On the Oakland side, construction activities are underway for the redevelopment of the old Oakland Army Base. After completion, a new Burma Road will be constructed with permanent bicycle/pedestrian access to the Bay Bridge Trail. For those with questions regarding this project, contact Architectural Dimensions at (510) 463-8300.
There will be an official review once the test has concluded to determine future plans.
