Show up to support a change Making A Better Bridgeway For Everyone

Sausalito’s Bridgeway serves as the southern gateway to Marin. On busy summer days, over a thousand people traverse the street on bicycles, including local shoppers, visiting tourists, commuters, and recreational riders.

While the street’s current configuration has a number of dangerous shortcomings, we have a chance to change that!

Last summer, the Sausalito City Council voted 5-0 to begin a planning process to develop alternative designs that would make Bridgeway safer and more accessible for all users. At the upcoming December 9th meeting of the Pedestrian/Bicycle Advisory Committee (PBAC), held at 6:30 PM, engineering consultants hired by the city will share data they’ve collected and several proposed designs. 

If you want to support change on Bridgeway, please (1) attend the meeting in person, (2) attend on Zoom, or (3) submit a public comment via email. We know that people opposing any changes will be turning out, and we need to make it clear that today’s Bridgeway isn’t working. 

Here are the problems we are hoping to see the plan address:

Safety for Delivery Drivers/Illegal Loading

The center turn lane (called “the median” by some residents) is frequently used as a loading zone by delivery drivers or as a pick-up/drop-off area by Ubers/Lyfts. While technically illegal, this prohibition is essentially never enforced because there are no designated delivery zones. However, this creates a dangerous situation where delivery drivers must cross-moving traffic, and their parked vehicles impede visibility for everyone using the street. We’ve been told that the proposed plan will include delivery zones, giving drivers a space to park alongside the curb to improve safety for delivery workers, a move that will also enhance sightlines for everyone.

Fire and Emergency Services Access

Another issue with allowing vehicles to park in the center turn lane is that it creates a hazard for firefighters and emergency responders traveling along this corridor. While a driver behind the wheel of their car can pull out of the way of a firetruck or ambulance, a vehicle left parked in the middle of the road would be an immovable obstacle, potentially delaying emergency response times. This would be another significant benefit to providing delivery drivers with a better place to park their vehicles. 

Lack of Crosswalks

Despite a great deal of pedestrian traffic, there are no crosswalks between 2nd St/Main St and Bridgeway/Princess St, a distance of 0.5 miles (i.e., a 10-minute walk for an able person). This results in significant crossings where drivers may not expect pedestrians, particularly in the area between Sausalito Bakery and The Trident. We hope to see improvements for pedestrian access as part of the plan. 

Bike Lanes

Last but not least, the project will consider ways to add continuous bike lanes between Golden Gate Market and Princess Street, closing a gap where people have to “take the lane” with cars. This would provide a benefit to bicyclists, who can ride safely at their own pace, and to drivers, who would no longer have to ride behind slower-moving bicyclists. 

The Next Steps

The December 9th PBAC meeting will be a critical time for the community to show support for changes on Bridgeway. Mark your calendars and please join us in person, on Zoom, or via letter to speak up for change on Bridgeway.

After that meeting, assuming the project gets the support of the PBAC, the matter will go to the Sausalito City Council sometime in January or February. While its fate there is also uncertain, the recent elections were won by councilmembers who expressed openness to change. The losing candidates, on the other hand, ran on a clear anti-change platform. We hope that this will demonstrate a mandate to the sitting council, but they will need vocal support from the community to move any project forward. 

Click here to sign up for updates on Bridgeway. We will let you know when we see the proposed designs and provide the Zoom/email link for the upcoming PBAC meeting.

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