Alameda Runners – Get After It!

Alameda Island and Bay Farm both offer visitors a great place to ride a bike and enjoy the outdoors. The island offers flat roads in decent shape, nice weather with a refreshing bay breeze, and what should be a low speed limit (25 m.p.h.) around most of the island.

It’s a great privilege to be able to explore Alameda on two wheels, but there is an ever present danger of roadway incidents.

The paved path along the beach is designed for pedestrians, but it’s all-too-common to be buzzed by a reckless bike rider. Bikes should be on the road, especially when traveling at a high rate of speed, but speeding cars and other variables seem to push many riders onto the walking trail.

To counter these issues, the city is considering the use of dedicated bike lanes while reducing driving lanes down to one lane in each direction.
During a May 10 Alameda Public Works Department meeting, it’s possible Shoreline Drive will be under significant modification aimed at making it safer for bikers and pedestrians. In addition to bike racks installed on Shoreline and Westline, a bike lane would be added while limiting vehicle traffic to just one lane going each way.

The debate is on — offer your opinion over at the Patch. If you want to learn more about the proposal, visit the City of Alameda website and go to the bottom, where it reads: “Shoreline Drive/Westline Drive Proposed Bike Lane Project.”

The public meeting to discuss this bike lane effort will take place next Thursday, May 10 at 7:00 p.m. at Lum Elementary School (1801 Sandcreek Way / Otis Drive). If you are unable to make the meeting in-person, feel free to contact Gail Payne, Alameda Transportation Coordinator: gpayne@ci.alameda.ca.us.

In honor of Bike to Work Day next week, here is some information about BikeAlameda, an island-based bike advocacy group. Here is a tidbit they had posted in the Alameda Sun, titled “Promoting a Bicycle-Friendly City: BikeAlameda.”

BikeAlameda has been working on behalf of cyclists for more than 10 years. Through the offering of free bike-safety classes, hundreds of people are now riding safely and confidently on Alameda streets.

BikeAlameda promotes safe streets, convenient access, thriving accessible business districts, clean air, and active healthy residents.

BikeAlameda was directly involved with one of the most significant bike improvement projects in Alameda. The Fernside Bike Lane Project provides a physical barrier between vehicles and cyclists, most of whom are students from Lincoln Middle School.

All cyclists can now enjoy and benefit from a safe route between the main island, the Bay Farm Island Bike/Pedestrian Bridge, and the community of Harbor Bay.

BikeAlameda is funded entirely by memberships, donations, and grants. Please visit the website at www.bikealameda.org and learn more about our mission and activities. Your financial support through a membership or donation is essential to the continuing efforts of the organization.

The next time you ride along one of Alameda’s great tree lined streets in a marked bike lane or lock your bike to one of real bike racks along Park Street, in Alameda South Shore Center, or at the Alameda Theater, think about BikeAlameda and its efforts in promoting a bicycle friendly city.

If nothing else, appreciate the work that BikeAlameda and the East Bay Bicycle Coalition have done to make the streets of Alameda and the East Bay safer to ride on.