Dick Spotswood: Richmond Bridge bike lane testing must come to end

The proper method to resolve public policy disputes is by facilitating compromises so that each party involved departs with something of benefit, but less than they initially sought.

Compromise has been suggested regarding the debacle that’s the bicycle and pedestrian lane on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.

Now, after a five-year test on the bridge’s upper westbound deck, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission under the guise of its sub-entity, the Bay Area Toll Authority, authorized what few regard as a legitimate compromise.

According to the IJ, BATA will “remove the multipurpose lane on the upper deck Monday through Thursday, freeing the shoulder to use in emergencies.” The lane will revert to bike and pedestrian use on Fridays through Sundays.

What about cars, buses and trucks? The public demand is for that lane to be reconverted to a third westbound vehicle lane. When the 5.5-mile Richmond-San Rafael Bridge opened in 1956 each of its two decks carried three lanes of traffic.

The upper deck’s right lane was closed in 1977 to install the East Bay to Marin emergency water pipeline during a legendary drought. When the pipeline was removed, it never reopened to traffic. Instead, it became a pull-off shoulder for disabled vehicles and an access site for Caltrans workers. A similar pull-off/maintenance lane replaced the lower deck’s right lane until it reopened to traffic in 2018.

Over ensuing decades the bridge’s traffic increased to the point where today 35,000 drivers cross the bridge daily.

In 2019, at a cost of $20 million, the “Bay Trail” was extended across the bridge opening it 24/7 to cyclists and pedestrians. MTC called it, “A boon for residents in both counties.”

That was an expensive pipedream. MTC indicates that since 2019, “typically” there are 144 weekday bike crossings and 351 on weekends. The pedestrian count is lower: 21 hardy hikers on weekdays and 38 on weekends.

The idea that for at least another year the upper deck’s “third lane” will not be opened to vehicles is preposterous. It’s another example of why much of the public believes government doesn’t work.

If there is any doubt in BAFA’s intentions, soon-to-retire Second District Marin County Supervisor Katie Rice makes it clear. She told the IJ that she’s “worried that the proposed change could set up an expectation that the shoulder would eventually open to vehicle traffic.” No need to “worry.” It’s a 100% certainty that trans-bay motorists have that understandable expectation.

BATA says that it’s the bridge’s Contra Costa County side toll gates, not the bike lane, that causes westbound traffic congestion. The bike lane is irrelevant since even before its installation, traffic hadn’t been allowed on that upper deck third lane since 1977. It’s that traffic has dramatically increased in 47 years.

The toll plaza unquestionably delays westbound traffic. What BATA conveniently ignored is that the whole point of opening the third lane to vehicles is to relieve the backup caused when westbound vehicles from the toll plaza are crammed down to two lanes on the span.

Transportation Authority of Marin reports making I-580 in Marin ready for three westbound bridge lanes costs $70-$90 million. How much is truly related to transitioning three westbound bridge lanes onto Marin’s Interstate 580 segment is unknown. Recall that before 1977, three traffic lanes flowed from Richmond to the San Rafael interchange.

Occasionally compromises can’t be fashioned. BATA’s plan is no compromise. It’s time to quit that effort. Instead, adopt a program that will do the greatest good for the greatest number.

Dismantle the bike/auto barrier and deploy it elsewhere. Open the third westbound lane 24/7 to carpools, buses and trucks. Provide the occasional cyclist with a Caltrans-operated bike- and wheelchair-equipped van during daylight hours. No more tests. Do it now.

Columnist Dick Spotswood of Mill Valley writes on local issues Sundays and Wednesdays. Email him at spotswood@comcast.net.