We’ve got some good news on the Cross Alameda Trail! On January 27, the city’s Transportation Commission signed off on a proposal to build a two-way cycletrack on Ralph Appezzato Memorial Parkway between Webster Street and Constitution Way, a critical step toward closing a dangerous gap in the planned trail.
The city’s original plan for the second segment of the trail included separate space for people who bike and walk on this one-block stretch. But these improvements were omitted during the city’s design process when staffers determined it would be too challenging and costly to design and build on what they said was a tight time frame for using the grant that’s funding the project.
Bike Walk Alameda strongly opposed the city’s decision to eliminate safe and separate access for the people who will walk and bike on this block of the trail, and we have been working with the city and community to make sure this dangerous gap is closed before the trail opens. City staffers came up with the proposed cycletrack – which has minimal impact on car traffic and preserves welcoming greenery bordering the Webster Square shopping plaza – and they’ve identified money to pay for it.
The devil, of course, is in the details, and there are still many of those to be worked out. Members of the Transportation Commission said they want more information on car traffic impacts and also, how cars and bicycles will interact safely at a pair of busy intersections. The plan also calls for moving an AC Transit bus stop – a discussion the city will need to undertake with the transit agency.
City staffers have also proposed building a mid-block crosswalk for seniors who live in an apartment complex nearby; Bike Walk Alameda looks forward to seeing these plans.
We’ll continue to keep a close eye on this project to make sure that children and seniors who bike and walk to and from the future Jean Sweeney Open Space Park will not be dumped into car traffic mid-trail.
Thanks are due to city staff for pulling together a proposal to ensure safe transit space for people who bike and walk on this vexing block, to the Transportation Commission for saying yes and to everyone who came out to support it, including Jim Sweeney of the Jean Sweeney Open Space Park Fund.
We’ll keep you posted as things progress, so stay tuned! Also, check out our CAT web page for details about the project.
