New study shows bike lane on Richmond-San Rafael bridge is underused
MARIN - Currently, a lane on the Richmond-San Rafael bridge is cordoned off for bicycle and pedestrian use, but new data points to this path being severely underused.
The plan was to convert the unused shoulder of the upper deck into a bike and pedestrian lane using a moveable barrier. That's been done, but now a UC Berkeley study, commissioned by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, says use of the path has been light.
The average number of bike crossings on a weekday is only 136--or 68 people if they're all roundtrips. And the study shows that only 16 pedestrians, on average, cross the bridge on weekdays. Maria Brosbero was struck by how empty it was as she was walking her dog, Oriole.
"I saw only five bicycles and me and Oriole, that's it," she said.
"I'm surprised because, you know, today I don't see the people. I say, what's happened to the people?"
Supporters argued that the path would make it possible for people to bike to work. But Marin Supervisor Damon Connolly says the number of bike trips during commute are miniscule, at a time when thousands of cars sit in daily morning gridlock trying to get onto the bridge.
"And what it's showing is that it is not being utilized, in any appreciable way, as a way to commute right now," said Connolly.
Connolly is proposing that the barrier be moved, like the one at the Golden Gate Bridge, to accommodate cars during the morning commute and then shifted back to a bike path the rest of the day.
"It's not really to pit bicyclists against single occupancy vehicles," he said, "but really look at common sense solutions."
The Marin County Bicycle Coalition opposes the proposal, saying reducing congestion would only attract more cars and the congestion would return. But San Rafael resident Maria Cuervo, who walks the bridge regularly with her kids, doesn't mind the idea.
"I mean, yeah, there's a lot of traffic in the mornings," she said. "It's reasonable for it to be another lane in the morning."
But she wouldn't want the path closed completely. "Oh no," she said, "just in the morning, but otherwise, I wouldn't want it to go away."
The data shows use of the path triples on weekends, with an average of 404 bike crossings and 40 pedestrians per day and, not surprisingly, the people who walk or bike the bridge love doing it. Ken Silva often spends time fishing at the end of the bridge. He said he sees plenty of people using the path and thinks they ought to leave it just the way it is.
"Cars have to get through, but this little lane -- it's not causing no havoc. It's good to go, I think," said Silva.
