Starting Monday, Aug. 15, people needing to get between Oakland and Alameda will have a new option.

A free Estuary Crossing Shuttle will begin service with three stops: at Lake Merritt BART station, the College of Alameda and Marina Village (an Alameda satellite campus), doing so about every 30 minutes.

Intended primarily to serve commuters, the shuttle will run between 7 and 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. The buses themselves will be able to hold 24 people and 13 bicycles at a time.

Currently, getting between Oakland and West Alameda without a car is a challenge for all but the daring. Without the pedestrian bridges of East Alameda, the only western options are the Webster and Posey tunnels that extend along Webster and Harrison streets. Both tunnels contain two same-way traffic lanes and one or two narrow walkways. People riding bikes must either dismount and walk through the tunnel or ride in traffic among cars traveling at highway speed. The new shuttle offers a safer option. 

“Providing pedestrians and bicyclists with an alternate access to the Posey Tube has been a goal of the city of Alameda for many years,” Alameda’s Mayor Marie L. Gilmore said.

To commemorate the unveiling of the new shuttle, the city of Alameda will hold an official ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. - at the Ralph Appezzato Memorial Parkway shuttle stop - on Aug. 15.

The shuttle is funded by a one-year grant from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District - or BAAQMD, pronounced BACH-mid - which granted similar funding to the free "B" Broadway Shuttle in Oakland. Like the Estuary Crossing Shuttle, the B also began as a service primarily for commuters, but the B recently received enough funding to expand its hours. The cities of Alameda and Oakland, Peralta Community College District, BART and Bike Alameda applied to BAAQMD together and are eligible for more funding if the first year proves successful.

What's in Alameda, anyway?

USS Hornet

707 W. Hornet Ave.

Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week; closed most major holidays

$15 for adults, $6 for youth; children 4 and under are free

The USS Hornet played a key role in two of the United States' greatest accomplishments of the 20th Century. The aircraft carrier was part of both World War II and the Apollo 11 manned space mission. There are special events all year-round, two of which are later this month. They include: Living Ship Day, Saturday, Aug. 20, where event goers can sit in the cockpit of a fighter jet and watch simulated flight operations; and on Friday, Aug. 26, people can experience the Hornet after hours in a special "night ops" tour.

Check the USS Hornet website for more information.

Pacific Pinball Museum

1510 Webster St.

Open 2 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday; 2 p.m. to midnight Friday; 11 a.m. to midnight Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.

$15 for adults, $7.50 for kids under 12

This nonprofit is dedicated to preserving and teaching "science, art and history" through pinball. Admission buys you access to almost 100 pinball machines from the last 60 years, as well as art, tournaments and special collections. It even has a 1879 Montague Redgrave Parlor Bagatelle on display.

Visit Pacific Pinball Museum site for more information.

Crown Memorial State Beach

Eighth Street and Otis Drive

5 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week

Parking is $5 per car, $2 per dog; people and bicycles are free

This 2.5-mile stretch of beach is lined with sand dunes and a bicycle trail on one side, with wind and water on the other. The beach is shallow enough, and warm enough, to allow even the most cautious swimmer to get their feet wet in the Bay. Look for bathhouses and changing rooms on the west end, but be warned: there are no lifeguards. On the eastern end, the Elsie Roemer Bird Sanctuary shelters aquatic and salt marsh creatures. The Crab Cove marine reserve and visitor center, on the north end, are part of a marine preserve. Conveniently, the 51B stops nearby.

Crown Memorial State Beach is part of the East Bay Regional Parks District.