For some advocates of the City’s Hopkins Corridor plan, the reduction in parking is a desired feature, since the cycle track requires removal of 150-190+ spaces from Kains to Sutter. For these advocates, the goal is to make driving less convenient, thus to reduce carbon emissions and save the planet.
But there’s another approach, which is to actually improve the cycling route, especially for novice and child cyclists. That route is Ada Street, which bypasses the unpleasant high traffic, high pollution sections of Hopkins. The only significant problem this plan poses is the difficult and intimidating crossing at Sacramento Street.
However, by adding a signal on Sacramento at Ada timed to the light at Rose, the crossing becomes superior to the City’s plan (the sight lines are better, and there are very few turning movements with conflict potential).
The Ada route provides direct access to Ruth Acty School, and equivalent access to Monterey Market and the Hopkins shops. The gentle hill on Ada is readily mountable by the target cycling audience.
Unlike the city’s plan, this route has few bicycle/pedestrian conflicts. For example, pedestrians in the shopping area won’t have to cross the street twice (once across the car lanes, and again across the cycle track).
It’s just a better route…if we can convince the City to invest in a light for Ada Street.
As a plus, with this option the sidewalk in front of the Hopkins businesses can be modestly widened, with more room for trees and buffering from the (now slower) car traffic. To lower double parking, a drop-off and doordash/uber zone with ultra short parking time limits can readily be established, along with disabled and van accessible parking.
Join us in advocating for a full impartial City analysis and budgeting for this route.
Please write to the City Council in support of the Ada Bypass. If implemented, it would eliminate the long-standing problem of the intersection of Sacramento and Ada, and would eliminate most of the excessive disruption the cycle track would cause. Email: council@cityofberkeley.info
Note: in a full implementation, Josephine and Acton would also become Bicycle Boulevards. This provides improved access to Solano, the North Berkeley Library and a direct route to North Berkeley BART. A short cycle track from the Greenway to Ordway may be needed for the Ada route – but that’s a lot less parking reduction compared to the City’s plan. No other changes to Ada are required – it’s a well paved gentle hill street with very little car traffic. Confident roadway cyclists will likely continue to “take a lane” on Hopkins using the slightly more direct route – this is not a problem, and expected. Ada is for the low stress rider, child and/or novice cyclist.