At the July 16, 2020 BPAC meeting, Craig Raphael, Senior Transportation Planner in the Capital Finance Section, requested letters of support for two grant applications that are being prepared for the Safe Routes to BART Grant Program: the 19th Street BART to Lake Merritt Urban Greenway ATP project and the E 12th Street Bikeway project. The summary of discussion is below.

19th Street BART to Lake Merritt Urban Greenway ATP project

This project proposes upgrading the existing bike lanes on 20th Street (Thomas L. Berkley Way) from Broadway to Harrison Street—Lake Merritt. The upgrades include separating the bike lanes with barriers and adding dashed markings in the intersections.

On the north side of 20th Street at 19th Street BART station between Broadway and Franklin Street, the bike lane would be raised at sidewalk level (aka a cycle track) and painted green. At that section, there is no car parking except an accessible loading zone, which includes a curb ramp at the middle of the block. The bike lane would have dashed green “conflict zone” markings there, as well as at driveways.

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E 12th Street Bikeway project

This project proposes a bikeway on E 12th Street from 35th Avenue at Fruitvale BART station to 54th Avenue. The bikeway includes different bikeway designs depending on the street context. The concept plans are below.

Bikeway Segments and Type

On 35th Ave:

• From Fruitvale BART to E 12th St – Buffered Bike Lanes on both sides.

On E 12th St: (Assume E 12th St runs north-south directions)

1. From 35th Ave to 40th Ave – Buffered Bike Lane on both sides.
2. From 40th Ave to High St – Contraflow Protected Bike Lane by raised concrete median on east side and Bike Lane on west side.
3. From High St to 44th Ave – Contraflow Protected Bike Lane by raised concrete median on east side and Buffered Bike Lane on west side.
4. From 44th Ave to 54th Ave – Neighborhood Bike Route (Bike Blvd).

On 54th Ave:

• From E 12th St to International Blvd – Neighborhood Bike Route (Bike Blvd).

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Summary of discussion:

• The sidewalk level bike lanes approaching the BART entrance aren’t going to work because high pedestrian volumes will lead to pedestrians blocking the bike lane. This feedback was given to staff from the BPAC earlier but changes were not made. The City should consider excluding Franklin to Broadway so BPAC may support the proposal. None of the staff present had the authority to make this change. A conditional letter of support until comments are addressed was proposed.
• It was noted that changes have been made to the design due to input from the infrastructure committee. Staff offered to review the impact of design decisions; a specific commitment was requested.
• A motion to draft a letter of support for the E 12th St project to be signed by the Chair was made by Jones and seconded by Burnette Jr.
  • Does the BPAC have enough information to consider?
  • The motion PASSED with all but Parreiras, who abstained, voting in favor.
• A motion to draft a letter of support for the 19th St BART project with the condition that we would get assurance from the project manager that OakDOT commits to post-project evaluation six months after implementation was made by Jones and seconded by Yee.
  • The motion FAILED with all but Parreiras, who abstained, voting against.