November 24, 2020
Thank you for supporting the estuary bike-pedestrian bridge effort! Whether by signing our petition, writing a letter to our leadership, or speaking up at the council meeting last week, your voice was pivotal in moving this project forward. If you’re curious about what’s happened in the last few weeks, and what lies ahead, below is a brief summary.
At its 11/17/20 Alameda City Council meeting, our council:
- Recognized benefits of the Oakland Alameda Access Project (OAAP), especially to Oakland’s Chinatown
- Rejected the notion that the Webster Tube walkway is a multimodal enhancement
- Approved OAAP with the understanding that the Alameda County Transportation Commission (ACTC) will support the effort towards a true multimodal enhancement for this corridor, specifically by funding needed studies that will advance the bike and pedestrian bridge; pathways to that funding were identified (letter here)
Subsequently, a key step was made by ACTC to amend its Countywide Transportation Plan, and move the bridge project from the 30-year to the 10-year project list, which means it’s now prioritized for ACTC funding, advocacy, and partnership. In the next few months, city staff, with the committed support of ACTC, will continue to take the steps identified to secure funding. If ACTC is true to this commitment, the bridge studies should be funded in early 2021. Cheers!
Note that OAAP is still short by some $34M, so it’s not quite a done deal, yet. That should be resolved early next year as well.
Thanks again for your help (and to Bike East Bay, and our city staff and leadership for their roles) in advancing this important project.
Learn more about the Bridge the Gap campaign here: https://bikewalkalameda.org/estuary-crossing