Note: GJEL Accident Attorneys regularly sponsors coverage on Streetsblog San Francisco and Streetsblog California. Unless otherwise noted in the story, GJEL Accident Attorneys is not consulted for the content or editorial alignment of the Sponsored Content.
Long-delayed construction of an elevated, sheltered bike path on a section of Fruitvale Avenue connecting BART to the Jingletown neighborhood is finally underway. From a city publication:
Fruitvale Avenue between E12th Street and Alameda Ave is a critical gap in the city of Oakland’s bike lane network. This stretch of road connects commuters and residents of Jingletown and the City of Alameda with the services, amenities and quality public transportation available around the Fruitvale BART station. This corridor is home to numerous railroad crossings, the I-880 underpass, and wide lanes that encourage high vehicle speeds. From 2014 to 2016, this corridor was the focus of a community planning and design initiative that saw the city hold several public meetings in the Fruitvale neighborhood.
Oakland’s first protected sidewalk-level bike path, entrance. Photo: Streetsblog/Rudick
While it’s great that it’s happening, the Fruitvale Alive project is really lagging behind. Even the city’s information page shows that construction should begin in the summer of 2022. In fact, studies and reports on this project began back in 2005, as evidenced by this tweet from Bike East Bay’s Robert Prinz.
Yes, community engagement with the project began in 2014 and funding came in 2016. The original Fruitvale Alive report was completed in 2005.
— Robert Prinz (@prinzrob) June 1, 2023
Streetsblog has reached out to the Oakland DOT to find out when the project will be complete and will update this post. Right now, “I heard ‘2024,’” Prinz wrote in an email to Streetsblog. “But nothing more concrete and no recent accounts.”
Big plus points of the project: the protected lane, of course. And the new connection to the Bay Trail, as shown in green on the map below. Currently, the Bay Trail is inaccessible from Fruitvale Avenue and the estuary without significant tracing. Even if someone wanted to overland it, thanks to the disused Union Pacific tracks, there are large fences blocking access.
Note the Bay Trail connection below in green.
“East Bay Parks is working on a separate Bay Trail connection project that will be built at the end of the Fruitvale project,” added Prince. “A protected Jughandle cycle path will be added between these two projects, which basically serves the same purpose as a protected crossing.”
A protected crossing is also planned at the intersection with East 12th. Unfortunately, none of the other intersections will be protected—and even on East 12th, according to the blueprints, only two of the four corners will have a protective island.
The only protected intersection is on East 12th. And only one side of it is protected.
Two of Fruitvale’s dangerous slip curves are removed, but others remain, apparently due to objections from AC Transit. Additionally, no provision has yet been made to protect the bridge over Fruitvale Avenue – cyclists will either be forced to dismount and use the sidewalk, as they must now, or have to contend with car traffic and no bike lane at all.
This sad situation will not be resolved. Photo: Streetsblog/Rudick
“Alameda is also working on its own project to continue the bike path over the Fruitvale Bridge and down the Tilden Way to Clement and Broadway,” Prince wrote. More on that in a future post.
Also, as is all too often the case, traffic control seems to have paid little attention to the needs of cyclists and pedestrians during construction, as Streetsblog found when photographing and surveying the area. Construction barriers that could have been used to protect cyclists and construction workers are instead used only to protect construction workers.
Photo: Streetsblog/Rudick
And not only could the crew not bother to create a pedestrian detour, they didn’t even put up the sign they were told about the closed sidewalk:
Photo: Streetsblog/Rudick
Of course, routes for cars are preserved because in the Bay Area, only drivers count (grrrrr).
No provision was made for pedestrians during construction.
Aside from the urgent work that was needed on Fruitvale Avenue, it’s great that this long overdue project is finally getting underway. In a year or two things should be a lot better for hikers and bikers between Fruitvale BART and Jingletown.
