The City's Plan • Save Hopkins Street

Discussion about making infrastructure changes to Hopkins Street began several years ago. The community became involved during the pandemic, when Zoom sessions were held to reveal the city’s vision for the street and to solicit comments about the design. The process has not been an easy one, given the pandemic, and there has not been a lot of consensus on anything except that, for safety’s sake, the street desperately needs to be repaved.

The plan is to install cycle track bike lanes from Sutter down to Kains (just above San Pablo). A cycle track is a bike lane physically separated from traffic and distinct from the sidewalk. The space is intended to be exclusively or primarily used by bicycles. If the plan is passed as is, it will have minimal effect on some portions of Hopkins and serious effects on others.

Sutter to The Alameda

Description

This section of Hopkins is a generous 60’ wide. The two-way cycle track begins at Sutter by narrowing the roadway and giving the excess width over to bike lanes and landscaping. All parking is retained.

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Issues with proposed changes

This is an entirely residential neighborhood which has driveways along the proposed cycle track. Studies of the safety of Class IV Two-Way Cycle Tracks and the California Department of Transportation warn of increased danger associated with multiple, uncontrolled bicycle/ automobile conflicts.

This is an entirely residential neighborhood which has driveways along the proposed cycle track. Studies of the safety of Class IV Two-Way Cycle Tracks and the California Department of Transportation warn of increased danger associated with multiple, uncontrolled bicycle/ automobile conflicts.

This two-way cycle track will add an extra 35.5’ to the end of each driveway on the south side of the street—almost the full width of the narrowed street. Residents backing out of their driveways will first need to get across the sidewalk/ parkway area (13.5’) and then the landscape/ parkway/ another sidewalk area (22’) before their cars reach the street. That means three potential conflict points with cyclists/ pedestrians.

It looks pretty, but may not be very safe.

The Alameda to McGee

Description

The width of the street drops to 46′ in this section. It is also basically residential, with recreational facilities on the south side of the street from Beverly to Colusa (making parking essential). There is still enough width to retain two lanes of traffic and street parking, and install bike lanes, as long as they are both on the same side of the street.

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Issues with proposed changes

Hopkins narrows significantly in this section, squeezing the space available for moving traffic. As with Sutter to The Alameda, parking will be moved away from the curb to protect the bike lanes.

Cyclists, especially smaller children, riding on the new 2-way cycle track between the curb and parked cars, will be less visible and therefore at greater risk, especially from drivers turning on to, or off, Hopkins. This is especially the case at Carlotta, which has an awkward offset as it crosses Hopkins, and at Josephine.

Hopkins narrows significantly in this section, squeezing the space available for moving traffic. As with Sutter to The Alameda, parking will be moved away from the curb to protect the bike lanes.

Cyclists, especially smaller children, riding on the new 2-way cycle track between the curb and parked cars, will be less visible and therefore at greater risk, especially from drivers turning on to, or off, Hopkins. This is especially the case at Carlotta, which has an awkward offset as it crosses Hopkins, and at Josephine.

Finally, Carlotta to McGee is bisected by three or four driveways in that very short block. Drivers backing out of their driveways will have to cross two bike lanes and then thread between parked cars before backing into the lane(s) of traffic. As with Josephine and Carlotta, those heading east will not intuitively look eastward to check for oncoming bike traffic, since it would normally be wholly unexpected there.

McGee to Monterey

Street view in front of businesses on Hopkins

Description

The width of Hopkins narrows even further here. The two-track bike lane can only be accommodated by removing parking on the north side of the street.

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Issues with proposed changes

McGee to Hopkins Ct. is a prime shopping area. Parking lost on the north side of Hopkins will cause cars to circle, looking for parking, and push them onto residential side streets or cause them to abandon their trip. In this section, Hopkins has multiple driveways, which pose the same dangers as those described above from Carlotta to McGee.

McGee to Hopkins Ct. is a prime shopping area. Parking lost on the north side of Hopkins will cause cars to circle, looking for parking, and push them onto residential side streets or cause them to abandon their trip. In this section, Hopkins has multiple driveways, which pose the same dangers as those described above from Carlotta to McGee.

The Monterey/California Street intersection with Hopkins, already a difficult, congested area, particularly for pedestrians, will be overwhelmingly hard to negotiate. Westbound cars turning left onto California just before Monterey Market will have to see cyclists on the other side of parked cars and coming from the east, an unexpected direction. The natural inclination is to look straight ahead at oncoming traffic, then look left into the crosswalk. But, in fact, drivers will also have to look behind themselves to see westbound cyclists, who may or may not be stopping at the intersection.

The bike lanes, which will be protected by parked cars, will pose an additional problem for pedestrians to negotiate, since they will have to actually venture into the street to see and be seen by drivers. Determining right-of-way issues between cars and bicycles will also be daunting.

Monterey to Gilman

Description

From Monterey to Gilman the street width drops another 5′ to 36′. It is not possible to install the bike lanes AND retain parking, so all parking – even that in front of Monterey Market, Cafe Roma, and Hopkins Launderette – must be eliminated. Every resident along this stretch loses access to street parking.

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Issues with proposed changes

Monterey Avenue to Sacramento Street presents a unique problem. All street parking in this section will be eliminated, much of it in the commercial area, and a bus bulb-out is added next to the entrance of the Monterey Market parking lot. Cars exiting the lot will cross the cycle track, probably stopping in it while trying to see past the bus bulb-out, and then slowly try to nose into traffic. Bikes encountering this impediment will have nowhere to go, except, perhaps, onto the sidewalk, which is illegal.

Monterey Avenue to Sacramento Street presents a unique problem. All street parking in this section will be eliminated, much of it in the commercial area, and a bus bulb-out is added next to the entrance of the Monterey Market parking lot. Cars exiting the lot will cross the cycle track, probably stopping in it while trying to see past the bus bulb-out, and then slowly try to nose into traffic. Bikes encountering this impediment will have nowhere to go, except, perhaps, onto the sidewalk, which is illegal.

There will be no way for cyclists to access Hopkins Court from the cycle track in this configuration. The slip lane, now available on westbound Hopkins between Hopkins Court and Sacramento and which helps keep traffic flowing during peak traffic periods, will be eliminated, likely leading to severe backups onto Hopkins and Monterey.

Residents of Hopkins Court already see their street blocked by cars not obeying the Keep Clear street markings during peak traffic periods. With the loss of the slip lane, they are likely to see it become nearly impossible to exit the street at all times of day. Moreover, no space will remain for cars to pull over to make way for emergency vehicles in either direction. Finally, the same danger posed by driveways described above exists in this block, too.

Sacramento to Gilman is an entirely residential area. Again, there will be no place for cars on the north side of the street to pull over for emergency vehicles. The dangers of driveways crossing the cycle track are greatly increased here. Another bus bulb-out is added near the southwest corner of Hopkins and Sacramento, which eliminates another important slip lane. This will likely cause serious backups onto both Gilman and Hopkins streets during peak traffic periods.

Furthermore, the bus bulb-out appears to block both the entrance and the exit to/from the parking lot of the large apartment building on that corner. As with Hopkins Court, there is no safe access to Albina Ave. from the cycle track.

Gilman to Kains

Description

At 36′ wide, this section of Hopkins is not wide enough to accommodate two bike lanes in any configuration. The cycle track will eliminate virtually all street parking for over 100 residences. Two of the three shops at the foot of Hopkins and San Pablo, just west of Kains, share a very small parking lot, but the third is entirely dependent upon street parking for its customers.

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Issues with proposed changes

When cyclists reach the Gilman split, there is no protection for merging onto Gilman, since the cycle track does not continue on that street. Cyclists wanting to travel west on Gilman will need to cross over traffic to get onto the proper (north) side of the road. If the full plan is implemented, those staying on Hopkins will continue in the cycle track all the way to Kains, just above San Pablo Ave., but they will ride past scores of driveways and intersections, encountering the same problems delineated above.

When cyclists reach the Gilman split, there is no protection for merging onto Gilman, since the cycle track does not continue on that street. Cyclists wanting to travel west on Gilman will need to cross over traffic to get onto the proper (north) side of the road. If the full plan is implemented, those staying on Hopkins will continue in the cycle track all the way to Kains, just above San Pablo Ave., but they will ride past scores of driveways and intersections, encountering the same problems delineated above.

This stretch of Hopkins is comparatively lightly to moderately trafficked. It has had no serious or fatal accidents in the last decade. Large vehicles providing city services will have no choice but to block traffic because the two traffic lanes will be a very narrow 23.5′ in total.

If the full plan is implemented, a minimum of 129 parking spots will be eliminated, including 100% of the parking from Gilman to Northside (101 spots) and in excess of 50% from Northside to Cains (another 28-31 spots). On this more than .6 mile stretch, only 23-26 of 155 parking spots would remain, mostly in the last four short blocks before San Pablo. Virtually no space would be left for cars to pull over for emergency vehicles; no places for garbage trucks or mail trucks or delivery vans to park; no reasonable access for service providers such as gardeners, housekeepers, caregivers, repair vehicles; no parking for family or guests or other visitors.

Residents will have to lug their garbage, recycling, and green bins across the two bike lanes and onto a 6″ raised concrete barrier, and everyone – drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians alike – will be dependent upon the good will of the drivers of those service vehicles to carefully replace the emptied bins on the raised barriers. Otherwise, they will end up in the bike lanes or in the lanes of traffic.

Residents of the 82-unit apartment building at the intersection of Peralta and Hopkins have a small, insufficient parking lot to serve their needs. The tennis courts at that same intersection will no longer have parking readily available. On upper Hopkins, the provision of parking at the recreational facilities was considered a matter of equity.

The City’s Plan

Sutter to The Alameda

Description

Issues with proposed changes

The Alameda to McGee

Description

Issues with proposed changes

McGee to Monterey

Description

Issues with proposed changes

Monterey to Gilman

Description

Issues with proposed changes

Gilman to Kains

Description

Issues with proposed changes