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Construction begins on Bay Bridge Bike Connection

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The Bay Bridge Celebration is officially on and a critical component of getting there is connecting the Bay Trail to Gateway Park and to the Bay Bridge multi-use pathway (and ultimately, Treasure Island … and hopefully, one day, SF!). Construction is already underway in the southwestern section of the IKEA parking lot on the “east fork” connector that will take bicyclists and pedestrians underneath the Shellmound/4oth bridge and “The Maze” and converge with the west fork path into Oakland.

Bicycling Enthusiasts led by the East Bay Bicycle Coalition fought hard to preserve the connection when Caltrans (shortsighted as always) sought to remove it from the plan. The EBBC found an ally in E’ville’s Public Works Director Maurice Kaufman (who is also spearheading the E’ville Skate Spot) who with the support of the Emeryville Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC), the Bay Trail Project and the Bay Conservation and Development Commission were able to preserve the vital link. The contaminated soil needed to be remediated (something Emeryville has become quite adept at) and additional local funding procured.

The EBBC has kept close tabs on the project and made recommendations to make the pathway as inviting as possible to bicyclists including adequate lighting, bicycle right-of-way and encouraging designs that will maximize safety and create an inviting experience for all pathway users. A more complete log of their 12 year campaign can be read on EBBC Program Director Dave Campbell’s blog section of the EBBC website dedicated to news related to the Bay Bridge Bike Path.

Construction is expected to be completed on-time for the Labor Day Grand opening shindig. More can be read on the site dedicated to the construction of the Gateway park at baybridgegatewaypark.org

Gateway park simulation on YouTube:

[youtube id=”xb13sKU9lcw” width=”620″ height=”360″]

Rob Arias

is a third generation Californian and East Bay native who lived in Emeryville from 2003 to 2021. Rob founded The E'ville Eye in 2011 after being robbed at gunpoint and lamenting the lack of local news coverage. Rob's "day job" is as a creative professional.

4 Comments

  1. Thanks for highlighting this important project, and please note that the schematic image shown above does not reflect the final path alignment. As stated in your post the path will circle under the 40th St bridge, so cyclists and pedestrians coming west from Oakland on 40th will not have to cross over Shellmound in the crosswalk. Another hard fought improvement, but one which will make access to the bridge path smoother and more enjoyable!

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