Whether it is for its car-traffic capacity or for the artistic value it brings to the views in the district, The Bay Bridge is an important part of The East Cut’s identity and could soon further transform the neighborhood’s rich transit-scene by allowing bicyclists to commute to and from Oakland, through Yerba Buena Island.
The new East Span of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge (SFOBB) opened in September 2013 and contains a 15‑foot-wide shared-use bicycle and pedestrian path on the south side of the east bound deck. The path now links Oakland and Emeryville to Yerba Buena Island via a Class 1 connection that was completed in late 2016. However, there is no current bicycle and pedestrian link on the West Span of SFOBB between Yerba Buena Island and Downtown San Francisco.
For the West Span of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, studies were performed to analyze the feasibility of designing and building a path between Yerba Buena Island and San Francisco: in 2001, the initial Feasibility Study, and in 2014, the Project Study Report. However, the studies have project design alternatives that did not meet the funding constraints available for a new pathway at the time or lacked sufficient design development to obtain sufficient confidence in cost estimates and design performance.
Since 2015, Arup has been leading a consultant team for Bay Areal Toll Authority (BATA) performing advanced feasibility studies and preliminary engineering for a Bike, Pedestrian, and Maintenance (BPM) Path connecting Downtown San Francisco to Yerba Buena Island. The goal of this work is to develop a BPM path that can be built in a timely manner, with minimal disruptions to traffic on the bridge, and within anticipated funding, technical, and political constraints.
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission with BATA is actively engaging with the community and has held a Project Presentation and Q&A on November 19, 2018 to inform the public and present the latest designs of the project.
The East Cut CBD is looking forward to hearing comments and suggestions from the public. The project is facing important funding challenges but shall see the light one day provided it gets enough support from local residents. Contact us at info@theeastcut.org and let us know your ideas to take this project further.
Watch The Bay Bridge Pedestrian/Bike Path Project’s presentation video (Arup):
