Plus everything you wanted to know about the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge but were afraid to ask March 20th Is The Day – Decision on Richmond Bridge
In the spring of 2024, we learned that the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) planned to take what is currently a 24/7 multiuse path on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge and convert it to a shoulder/breakdown lane for cars every Monday-Thursday. This would mean the bridge would only be open to biking/walking on Friday through Sunday, significantly curtailing its use for people commuting or making weekday trips. (A shuttle will be provided in the near term, but we have concerns about that, as explained below).
The future of this five-year pilot will be decided next month at the March 20th meeting of the Bay Conservation and Development Commission. How they vote will determine whether people can ride across the bridge seven days a week or just three.
Having an Impact
If you want to speak in favor of the multi-use path on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, click here to sign up to give a public comment. Whether you’re able to show up in person, give a Zoom comment, or write an email, we’ll provide you with step-by-step instructions to make it as easy as possible. We can text you when the comment period starts so you don’t have to sit in a long Zoom meeting. If you are authorized to speak on behalf of a group or organization, please note that in the survey linked above.
If you have not already done so, please take a moment to sign Bike East Bay’s petition, which is linked here and is now joined by over 4,000 people. 
Frequently Asked Questions
We’ve covered this project in depth before (see this post from last summer), so we will not rehash everything here. We will provide a list of frequently asked questions to dispel some of the myths surrounding the project.
Will removing the path improve traffic?
Many people are confused about MTC’s proposal and think that removing the bike path will mean there will be a third westbound lane on the bridge. That is not what is currently being proposed. If the current proposal goes ahead, there will still be two westbound lanes on the bridge along with a shoulder, meaning that the same traffic jam that happens every morning will continue. The one meaningful difference is that on days when there is a disabled vehicle or crash where the car can still be moved into the shoulder, drivers will still be able to use two lanes instead of dropping to a single westbound lane. The upshot is that MTC’s plan would not affect typical traffic but would likely improve worst-case scenarios.
Who is deciding the future of the path?
The entity making the final decision on the multiuse path is the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), a public agency that has jurisdiction over San Francisco Bay and the land fronting it. Unlike MTC, whose purpose is facilitating travel in the Bay Area, one of BCDC’s primary goals is to provide “maximum feasible public access” to the Bay. We believe that the 24/7 multiuse path, as currently constituted, provides that public access. The proposed cut to three days a week would represent a significant diminution of that access.
How likely is the vote to go one way or the other?
We wish we knew the answer to this. The BCDC board has 27 members, many of whom have alternates who typically attend in their place. The mix of commissioners and alternates who attend the March 20th meeting may ultimately determine which way the vote goes. We know the pathway has supporters and skeptics, but most commissioners have held their cards close to the vest.
How would the proposed shuttle work?
The shuttle MTC proposes to run would operate between 6 AM and 7 PM Monday-Thursday. In the peak AM period, there would be two shuttles running, which would mean one would come every ~15 minutes. Outside of those hours, a shuttle would come every ~30 minutes. The pick-up zones would be at the Castro/Tewksbury bus stop in Pt. Richmond (location here) and at the Pt. San Quentin viewing area (location here). Beyond that, the details are light with respect to bicycle accommodations.
MTC has said they aim to accommodate a wide range of bicycles. Still, we worry about whether this would include non-standard cycles, such as recumbents, adaptive cycles, tandems, cargo bicycles, family bikes, etc. Depending on the configuration, some bicycle trailers struggle even with bicycles equipped with racks and baskets. After the shuttle operating hours, riders would need to rely on the Golden Gate Transit Route 580 bus, which would make three hourly trips after the shuttle ceases operations. Between 10 PM and 6 AM, there would be no way to cross the bridge without using a private car.
Isn’t the path just for wealthy, recreational cyclists?
A majority of multi-use path users indeed report that they are making a recreational trip. But so are a large share of drivers on the bridge, going for a hike on Tam or driving up to wine country. Recreational trips are important, too! Every time you go for a walk or a ride on the Bay Trail, it is technically a “recreational trip,” but we aren’t targeting any other sections of the Bay Trail for conversion into a road.
Is MCBC the only one pushing for this?
No, not at all. Throughout this process, we have been working in close partnership with Bike East Bay, Rich City Rides, Trails for Richmond Action Committee, and the Bay Area office of the Rails to Trails Collaborative, a national organization. Additionally, a number of East Bay cities, including Richmond, Berkeley, and Albany, as well as the West Contra Costa Transportation Commission (WCCTC, their version of the Transportation Authority of Marin), have voted unanimously to maintain the pathway 24/7.
Will there ever be a third westbound lane on the bridge?
This is a complicated question. MTC is currently evaluating the feasibility of a third westbound lane on the bridge (which would either be for general use or as an HOV lane). They will likely attempt to move this project forward, but it will take a number of years to implement and would be very expensive. Because there are only two lanes on I-580 in Marin, adding a lane on the bridge would only move the backup to Pt. San Quentin without additional widening in Marin. This was studied several years ago, and the cost would be well over $100M in today’s dollars. Suffice it to say that there will not be a third lane on the bridge for at least 5-10 years at the soonest, even if elected leaders decide to move in that direction.
Would a third lane improve traffic?
In a word, no, at least not for long. Decades of research have shown that adding new capacity to congested freeways does not result in long-run congestion relief. The most famous example of this is the I-405 freeway in Los Angeles, which was widened at the cost of $1.6B, only to see worse traffic than before, only a few months later. Marin’s employers should understand this. They say that they cannot hire East Bay residents because the traffic is so bad. We don’t doubt this. But if traffic gets better and they successfully hire a couple thousand people from the Richmond side of the bridge, the third lane will fill up, and the congestion will return.
Would that third lane be compatible with a bike path?
If a third lane eventually goes forward, we believe that bicyclists will be totally barred from the bridge, even on weekends. Caltrans inadvertently admitted this in responding to the question of whether the proposed shuttle could drive in the shoulder/breakdown lane proposed in the near term. They answered that it could not, as the presence of the pathway barrier, even pushed against the right side bridge railing, takes up enough space that is not room for three lanes of travel on the upper deck.
Isn’t there already a project to reduce traffic on the bridge?
Because the toll plaza is no longer staffed, MTC has a designed and funded project called RSR Forward to remove the toll plaza on the east side of the bridge and replace it with “open road tolling” overhead gantries that photograph your license plate. This will simplify the approach to the bridge and relieve some congestion in the near term. Currently, drivers go from three lanes on westbound 580 to seven lanes through the toll plaza and back down to two on the bridge itself. This creates additional friction, slowing traffic. This change is slated to take place in early 2026.
We worry that if the multiuse path is removed and this change takes place shortly after, the public will believe that the pathway’s removal was the reason that traffic improved. If MTC truly wants to study the bridge, it should follow the tenets of good research and only change one variable at a time.
If you have other questions, please email Warren at warren@marinbike.org, and we will update the post accordingly.
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