Show up to support a change Making A Better Bridgeway For Everyone – Updated
On Monday, December 9th at 6:30 PM, the Sausalito Pedestrian-Bicycle Advisory Committee (PBAC) will be considering a plan to reconfigure Bridgeway between Golden Gate Market and Princess Street. This is a plan that MCBC has been helping support for several years, and we need your help to get it across the finish line.
Limits of the project, from Golden Gate Market to Princess Street
The Plan
In 2021, the City of Sausalito received a grant from the San Francisco Bay Trail to provide bike lanes on Bridgeway between the intersection of 2nd St/Richardson Street (at Golden Gate Market) and Princess Street (right before the turn to the ferry).
Over the last year, professional traffic engineers have studied the road and come back with recommendations that address the many demands of the corridor.
Bike Safety
Today, riders using Bridgeway (ranging from locals, commuters, rec riders and tourists) all have to share the lane with motor vehicle traffic. This plan provides a designated bike lane in both directions.
Bridgeway – Current Configuration
Bridgeway – Proposed Configuration
Pedestrian Safety
Spend five minutes on Bridgeway and you’ll see someone darting across traffic between The Trident and Sausalito Bakery, pausing in the painted center turn lane, hardly a safe strategy. This plan provides a crosswalk near the Trident, along with another long-requested crosswalk at Golden Gate Market.
Loading
Today the center of the road, which is designated as a center turn lane (but called “the median” by many locals) is a de facto loading zone. This is far from ideal, as it requires delivery drivers to cross moving traffic walking to and from their vehicles. It also impedes visibility and prohibits drivers from passing slow-moving bicyclists. This plan provides loading areas on the southbound curb for drivers serving the local businesses. For Scoma’s and The Trident, drivers will be able to use the new crosswalk.
Emergency Access
Skeptics of change point to the need for the center turn lane (aka “the median”) as being needed for emergency vehicle access, for example if a fire truck or ambulance needs to reach south Sausalito or Alexander Avenue. This is a valid concern! But today, the center turn lane is nearly always blocked by a delivery truck (sometimes up to three)! What could be a bigger barrier to quick emergency access than trucks parked in the middle of the road? By moving delivery vehicles to the curb, this will allow any drivers to pull into the bike lanes in the event of an emergency, allowing quick and easy access for our brave first responders.
How is a fire truck supposed to use this lane?
The center turn lane is often blocked by multiple vehicles
How to make a public comment
In-Person
The PBAC meeting will be held at Sausalito City Hall, 420 Litho St. The entrance is on the southwest corner of the building (near the intersection of Bee Street and Bonita Street), down a short flight of stairs from the parking lot. There is limited bicycle parking available, but more can be found near the Parks and Rec entrance on the west side of the building near the basketball courts (on Bee Street between Caledonia Street and Bonita Street).
If you plan to give a public comment, you can fill out a speaker card and hand it to the clerk. Make sure to conduct yourself professionally, no matter the behavior of other attendees. There may be people there looking to engage in a debate. but I urge you to avoid conflict and keep things positive. If you see other pro-bike attendees getting into an argument with detractors, gently remind them of these goals.
On Zoom
You can watch the meeting remotely on Zoom by clicking this link after 6:30 PM on 12/9 and entering password 123456. When the time for public comment comes, click the “raise hand” button on Zoom. It might be hiding in a tab called “React.”
Via Email
You can email a public comment using this address, PBAC@sausalito.gov, or click here to open an email with the address and subject line populated. Written comments need to be received by 5 PM on 12/9.
What to Say
The key is to keep your comment brief, relevant, and positive.
Brevity
While you likely have two minutes to speak (it could be less if a ton of people attend), that is a limit not a goal! Keep it quick so everyone can speak and so that we’re not there all night.
Relevance
Make sure to emphasize your personal experience on the road and the safety benefits this plan would bring about for you or your family. We know there are other parts of Bridgeway that still need work, but this project focuses on this half-mile stretch, so keep your comment there too.
Positivity
As mentioned above, there may be skeptics/detractors present. Limit your comment to highlighting the benefits of this project, because that is what we need to show the city council.
A few talking points you can draw on:
- Today the center turn lane is regularly blocked by delivery trucks or Ubers/Lyfts, blocking the way for emergency vehicles. By moving loading to the curb, this creates space for fire trucks and ambulances to safely pass drivers.
- The plan improves pedestrian safety by adding two crosswalks, where today there is half a mile between legal crossings.
- By making loading zones on the curb, delivery drivers will not have to cross moving traffic outside a crosswalk.
- This segment of Bridgeway is on Sausalito’s “High Collision Network” meaning that more people are injured here than on other roads in the city. Bike lanes and crosswalks are both proven safety countermeasures.
- The regional government is willing to give Sausalito $500k to repair the road if these improvements take place. Any other plan would require Sausalito taxpayers to foot the bill.
Next Stes
Assuming the PBAC recommends the project advance, it will go to the city council for an ultimate decision. We do not know exactly when that decision will take place, but we will keep you in the loop! We have no doubt that it will be a contentious meeting, and the only way the city council will consider a change is if people show up to say today’s Bridgeway isn’t working for the people of Sausalito.
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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