Bay Bridge

Bike/Pedestrian Path

In selecting the single-tower self-anchored suspension design for the main span of the new east half of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, MTC (acting as the Bay Area Toll Authority, or BATA) on June 24, 1998, also approved setting aside $50 million to incorporate a bicycle/pedestrian path on the new facility. The 15.5-foot-wide path will run along the southern edge of the eastbound deck, from Yerba Buena Island to Oakland, and will be positioned one foot above the auto deck so as to shield users somewhat from traffic noise and exhaust.

Two primary alternatives were studied for the bicycle/pedestrian path: providing a single path cantilevered off the south side of the span, or separating bicyclists and pedestrians by building two pathways, one on either side of the span. Decisionmakers also looked at placing the path above or below the auto deck.

Ultimately, the Engineering and Design Advisory Panel, the Bay Bridge Design Task Force and the full MTC/BATA Commission rejected the two-path option because (a) the path on the north side of the westbound span heading uphill from Oakland to Yerba Buena Island could have interfered with motorists' views, and (b) for security's sake, it would be better to concentrate what may be, on many days, a modest number of path users on one facility, instead of spreading them over two.

In a related development, Assembly Bill 2038 (Migden), which authorizes BATA to also expend toll surcharge funds on a bicycle/pedestrian path on the existing west span of the Bay Bridge, was signed into law in June 1998. Subsequently, in August of 2000, Caltrans launched a $3 million study (funded by MTC/ BATA) to look at the technical feasibility and cost of extending the path to the west span. Completed in May 2001, the study found that, while such a path would be feasible to construct, the least expensive alternative would be more than $160 million in 2001 dollars.

For more information, contact Peter Lee, plee@mtc.ca.gov, tel. 510/817-3206.