Tomorrow, Oct. 21, is the monthly city of Oakland Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, Monthly Meeting - from  5:30 to 7:30 p.m at Oakland City Hall, Hearing Room 4, Second Floor.

One of the items on the agenda is discussion of a proposed 53rd Street Bikeway.  Reportedly, not only is there a proposed 53rd street bikeway that would run from Adeline Street to San Pablo Ave, there's actually feedback and data about the idea that needs to be discussed.

The city of Oakland's Bicycle Master Plan (2007) proposes a cross town bikeway connecting Bay Street Emeryville, the San Francisco Bay Trail, Emeryville Amtrak and Rockridge BART, serving the North Oakland neighborhoods of Golden Gate, Santa Fe, Idora Park and Rockridge.

The proposed bikeway uses 53rd and Adeline streets, existing bike lanes on 55th Street, Vicente Way, Cavour Street and the existing bike route on Shafter Avenue. In Emeryville, to connect the route, there is a proposed bicycle boulevard on 53rd Street at San Pablo Avenue and the planned South Bayfront Pedestrian Bicycle Bridge over the Union Pacific Railroad tracks. This bridge will connect 53rd Street at Horton Street to Bay Street Emeryville and the San Francisco Bay Trail. The project is the one proposed east-west bikeway for North Oakland in between the 40th/41st streets corridor and the 65th/Woolsey streets corridor in Emeryville and Berkeley.

In June 2010, the city requested comments from residents in the vicinity of the project. In response to comments received from residents of 53rd Street, the city completed this analysis of six alternatives to 53rd Street between San Pablo Avenue and Adeline Street. Based on the comments and this analysis, the city is proposing to modify the bikeway, moving a portion of the route from 53rd Street to 54th Street between Adeline and Gaskill streets.    

However, the analysis showed that 53rd Street is narrow and filled with speed bumps - and residents feel, according to a survey, that the street is used as a cut through for traffic traveling between Emeryville and North  Oakland, specifically 52nd Street and Highway 24 in the vicinity of Children’s Hospital. In addition, some residents feel that the cut-through problem was made worse due by traffic calming measures implemented by the city of  Emeryville in the “Triangle” area (bounded by Adeline, San Pablo and 47th Street). Specifically, they feel that a street diverter at 47th Street and Salem Street is channeling traffic onto 53rd Street via 48th Street. Individuals believe that adding a bike route to 53rd Street would be unsafe given the  narrowness of the street, the prevalence of cut through traffic and the difficulties both cause for residents getting out of their driveways.

Among the alternatives, the study team recommends moving part of the bike route from 53rd Street to 54th and Gaskill from 53rd Street - this would allow for smoother riding and more room for cyclists on the route.

To learn more come to the meeting. Meanwhile, here are the documents. And did you know that the funds to cover all this work are going to come out of Federal AARA stimulus money the city has obtained?

53rd Street Bikeway Alternatives Analysis

Oakland BPAC Agenda, Oct. 21, 2010