Contents: 

• Monthly Traffic & Safety Commission Meeting, Plus: Happy Hour
• Fix the Berkeley Bike Plan
• Report Sidewalk Hazards to The City of Albany
• Be Seen With AS&R's Reflective Leg Bands
• Joe Hurlimann Memorial Ride
• Calendar

Monthly Traffic & Safety Commission Meeting, Plus: Happy Hour

Thursday, February 23rd, 7pm, Council Chambers, Albany City Hall, 1000 San Pablo

• Review of the draft parking management plan
• Public art along  Codornices Creek

Fix the Berkeley Bike Plan

Share Your Voice at the February 28th Berkeley City Council Meeting

The Berkeley City Council will be considering the proposed Berkeley Bike Plan update for the first time at its February 28th meeting. The current draft includes an extensive cycle track network, which has resulted in far more people choosing to ride in other cities. Yet AS&R finds the plan could be improved further.
 

The plan calls for continuing the implementation of Berkeley's bicycle boulevards, as existing boulevards are deficient from too many stop signs and lack of crossing protection. Unfortunately, the plan currently calls for rectangular, rapid flashing beacons at most boulevard crossings. While these are great for sidewalk users, Berkeley staff has stated they provide no legal protection for people biking. If someone riding activates one, crosses thinking they have right of way, and then gets hit by a motorist, they are actually at fault. Consequently, AS&R is calling for eliminating these from the plan because they are unsafe.
 

The plan also does not accommodate the diversity of people biking, focusing only on people desiring relaxed routes. While these people are certainly in the majority, Albany is showing it is possible to accommodate both this majority and the minority of people that prefer rapid routes. This is why Buchanan has a path as well as a lane and Masonic has sharrows parallel to the Greenway path. AS&R is calling on Berkeley to plan a rapid network as well as a relaxed network to accommodate this diversity. The lack of such accommodation in the plan has led to emerging conflict between rapid and relaxed cycling advocates in Berkeley, which is unfortunate and unnecessary.

You can read other items AS&R is advocating in its letter to Berkeley last December. These include completing remaining connections between Albany and Berkeley and using uniform signage along each network, rather than signage that varies by type of biking facility. Please email the Berkeley City Council members in support of any of AS&R's points, particularly if you live in Berkeley, and come to the February 28th Berkeley City Council meeting to share your voice. The Bike Plan is the first item on the agenda after the consent calendar, and should be addressed early in the meeting, as soon as 7:10.

Important Berkeley Bike Plan Links:

• February 28th Council meeting details
• Berkeley City Council member Emails
• Full Berkeley City Bike Plan
• AS&R's letter to Berkeley 
• What AS&R is doing to help

Report Sidewalk Hazards to The City of Albany

Public Works Developing Sidewalk Repair Through Early March

The 2017-18 Sidewalk Repair Plan is in the works, and the City of Albany Public Works is taking your reports of sidewalk hazards to evaluate for planned repairs. Repairs are funded in part by Albany's new P1, Save Our Sidewalks Tax. The measure passed on the November 2016 ballot with 79% Albany voter approval and provides about $200,000 a year for sidewalk repairs.

It's an easy process: Measure the maximum uplift from one slab to another, or how far the cement arches out of line with the level cement around it (like the left-hand side of the crack in the photo). Note the address. Call Public Works at (510) 524-9543 and leave the information in person or as a voicemail.

Thanks for helping get Albany sidewalks repaired!

Be Seen With AS&R's Reflective Leg Bands

12" long leg and arm bands provide nighttime visibility

It gets dark early, so whether we're biking or walking, we all have to do more to be seen by drivers! That's where AS&R's latest safety project, our reflective leg and arm bands, come in.

Joe Hurlimann Memorial Ride

Sunday, February 19th, 9 - 11 AM, 1506 Walnut St., Berkeley 

We lost a woodworker, stamp collector, and dedicated cyclist, Joe Hurlimann, to a car crash on February 8th. Joe never owned a car in his life, instead biking everywhere in any weather and time of day. Join us in his memorial ride this Sunday to honor his life as a fellow cyclist and Bay Area citizen. 

Additional details are on the Facebook event page, and you can read more about Joe Hurlimann's life at Berkleyside.

Calendar

Events for cycling and walking in the East Bay