East Span Bike Path an Instant Hit

Call it the Bay Bridge East Span Opening Part Deux. The morning after the Labor Day festivities and chain cutting at the toll plaza — which drew an overflow crowd of more than 1,000 officials and special guests — a modest contingent of local officials, bicycle activists and members of the media gathered at the foot of the span’s eastbound deck in Oakland to inaugurate the Bay Bridge’s first ever bicycle/pedestrian path.



Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, who also acts as an MTC commissioner, spearheaded the ceremony, showing her enthusiasm for the path by bicycling to the event with staff and supporters.  She also arranged for a traditional Chinese lion dancing and drumming group to welcome the new bike/ped path and chase away evil spirits.



“I want to invite everyone to one of the most exciting and beautiful rides in the Bay Area,” Quan said in her opening remarks. 



The point of the gathering was to not only open the pathway, but also to dedicate it in memory of East Bay resident Alex Zuckermann, a city planner by day who also was a passionate bicycle activist. Passing away in 2007 at the age of 86, Zuckermann was one of the main advocates for the bike path across the new East Span, and for a time was a member of MTC’s Advisory Council. 



In 1991 Zuckermann received an award from MTC “for two decades of dedication to bicycle transportation issues.” Thereafter the California Legislature bestowed a much bigger tribute by voting to name the new East Span path in his honor, citing him as a “tireless and articulate advocate” for the path. 



“The bike path is an example of how you can get things done by attending public meetings,” said Amy Worth, who chairs both MTC and the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA), which bankrolled the majority of the East Span and committed to funding the bike path as an amenity.  



Worth said the East Span path is the “jewel in the crown” of a network of new bike/ped paths springing up around the region, and is a critical link in the San Francisco Bay Trail, which eventually will circle the entire 500-mile Bay shoreline.



On hand at the ceremony were Dave and Ron Zuckermann, sons of Alex Zuckermann; together they unveiled a green highway-style sign naming the pathway. “It’s a milestone for biking not just as a form of fun and recreation, but as a legitimate means of transportation, and that’s something our father believed in passionately,” said Dave Zuckermann. “Alex had a vision of the Bay Area where bicycling would be accepted as an everyday means of transportation,” added his brother. 



Mounted on a wooden frame, the sign is temporary, as is a part of the bike path itself.  The configuration at the eastern end is in transition, and was the focus of intense activity during the Labor Day weekend closure of the bridge. Crews used the time to demolish a 1,000-foot section of the old span’s upper deck to make way for the bike path. Even so, the connection at this point is makeshift, consisting of linked wooden modules rather than the steel and concrete that form the rest of the bike path. 



Conflicts with the old bridge are even more severe at the western side, with the result that the path stops short of Yerba Buena Island. The connection here awaits demolition of the old span and completion of a new onramp, a process likely to take two years.



While getting the path to Yerba Buena Island is daunting enough, at least one high-level official at today’s event was willing to take on a much larger challenge: extending the path along the western side of the Bay Bridge and into San Francisco. “I would love to see that happen,” said Andre Boutros, director of the California Transportation Commission (CTC).  



Boutros is part of the Toll Bridge Program Oversight Committee, which has been overseeing the East Span project and other seismic retrofit projects. He challenged those present to raise the money for the effort, saying “I’ll be there to cheer for you.”



Just as Monday’s Grand Celebration culminated with a chain cutting and then a motorcade across the bridge, today’s event also ended with a chain cutting — this time of a bike chain — and a ride, albeit on two wheels instead of four. Shortly after, the California Highway Patrol got swept up by the moment and decided to open the pathway to the public an hour earlier than planned, and the pathway was soon teeming with enthusiasts.



Those who participated were treated to unusually balmy weather, breathtaking views and a pleasant riding experience. Measuring 15.5-feet wide, the path is wide enough for two-way bike traffic, with a slice left over for pedestrians. A venting system sucks car exhaust away from users, while the span’s sleek and tight construction and side-by-side deck configuration — as opposed to the stacked decks on the old bridge — keep traffic noise at a tolerable level. 



 “(The path) has been designed to be part of the bridge, and yet feel safe and separate from the bridge,” said Brad McCrea, regulatory program director for the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, which has been involved in various aspects of the bike path and a planned regional park that it will eventually descend into on the Oakland side. 



The initial trickle of bike traffic turned into a steady stream as morning turned to afternoon and word got out. The traffic swelled even further as dusk approached and a planned mass inaugural ride sponsored by the East Bay Bicycle Coalition hit the span. A couple of experienced photographers looking down on the scene estimated the crowd of cyclists on the bridge to number upwards of 300 people at any given time this evening. 



At the barricade at the western end of the bike path, a party atmosphere prevailed, and the verdict was in: The East Span bike/ped path is an instant hit.  

— Brenda Kahn

Read more about the East Span bike path, and the Labor Day 2013 opening ceremonies for the new East Span.