Richmond Bridge Vote

The bike lane on the westbound upper deck of the Richmond-San Rafael bridge

After a six-hour meeting on Thursday, the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) voted to allow Caltrans and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) to conduct a new three-year pilot program that requires reducing the bike lane’s open hours on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.

The vote was 15-2 in favor of the pilot, with one commissioner abstaining.

For the eastbound lower deck, BCDC approved continued use of the shoulder as a peak hour commute lane (from 2 - 7 p.m.). Some commissioners asked for assurances that there will be stronger enforcement to keep drivers from using the shoulder outside the permitted hours.

New Bike Lane Hours

Starting in October, the bike lane on the westbound upper deck will be open from 2 p.m. on Thursdays to 11 p.m. on Sundays. During the rest of the week – Monday through Thursday morning -- the bike lane will be closed and the barrier will be moved to create a 10-foot-wide shoulder available for emergency use.

The bike lane closure corresponds to the time when there are the fewest bicyclists and walkers using the lane – 40 to 100 per day, depending on time of year.

The bike lane will open on major holidays, including two weeks during the winter holidays.

A free bike shuttle will operate from 6 a.m. - 8 p.m. on days when the bike lane is closed.

This plan requires that Caltrans personnel move the barrier twice a week – a process that takes about two hours, according to Lisa Klein, Deputy Executive Director of Mobility for the MTC. The annual cost of moving the barrier is expected to double to $1 million from $500,000, she said.

Future HOV Lanes?

Ultimately the goal is to gather data about the feasibility and likely effectiveness of turning the bike lane into a part-time high-occupancy vehicle/transit lane during peak commute hours. A future HOV lane – if there is one – could link up with a planned HOV lane along I-580 extending from Regatta Boulevard in Richmond to the bridge.

One of the first questions to be answered is what it takes to move the barrier twice each week and how that load affects the bridge structure, Klein said. The use of free shuttles will also be studied.

Early on, data will be gathered on traffic impacts when the lane is used as an emergency breakdown shoulder, allowing disabled vehicles to pull over without blocking traffic.

Toll Plaza Improvements

Conditions – and thus data collected -- will change in summer of 2026 after planned toll plaza improvements on the Richmond side of the bridge are completed, Klein said.

Three major changes will occur then. Toll booths will be removed and lane merges will be simplified. And Caltrans will complete the HOV lane on westbound I-580 from Regatta Boulevard to the bridge, Klein said.

These improvements are expected to significantly reduce delays at the entry to the bridge.

Pilot Project Timelines

Under the permit granted Thursday, Caltrans and MTC have three years to finish the bridge pilot project and collect data for the possible HOV project. BCDC commissioners also added an intermediate deadline.

They voted to require that project managers return to BCDC in nine months to present preliminary benchmarks that will be used for analysis as well as an update on outreach, including a list of stakeholders.

Seeking Environmental Justice

Commissioners said that efforts to provide environmental justice require that project leaders reach out to blue-collar workers commuting to jobs in Marin from the East Bay and beyond.

Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia, who is also a BCDC commissioner, urged project managers to seek out these commuters and find out what they’re thinking.

“We can’t replace their judgment,” Gioia said. “Residents want to weigh in on how they feel about public access and the use of the shoulder.”

Richmond Vice Mayor and BCDC Commissioner Cesar Zepeda said he represents the people who live at the east end of the bridge and many of them have concerns about traffic and air quality near their homes.

“As we’re looking to create the future, let’s think of everyone that’s affected,” Zepeda said.

Extensive Public Comment

At Thursday’s meeting, more than two dozen bike lane advocates pleaded for full access to the bike lane to continue on the bridge every day. Advocates for the MTC proposal also spoke. One commissioner said that over the past few months he had received an estimated 25,000 emails.

Commissioners agreed that the Bay Trail is a unique asset, and several regretted stepping back from the full bridge access they had granted during the initial pilot period. The bridge bike path is part of the Bay Trail, a collection of 350 miles of trails that circle the bay.

At the same time, most commissioners said they felt the new modified pilot proposal is a reasonable compromise that offers “the greatest good for the greatest number.”

Supervisor Gioia cited data showing that about 40 to 100 bicyclists and pedestrians per day use the bridge bike lane depending on the time of year and nearly 400 use it on weekends. That contrasts with 38,000 vehicles per day on both weekdays and weekend days.

Gioia said that if it pans out, an HOV/transit lane might offer a way to get the greatest number of these 38,000 people out of their cars.

Gioia said every new transit bus in California will be zero-emission by 2029. He envisions fast-moving, efficient, and clean bus transit that would move at freeway speed in the HOV lane while drivers are slowed by congestion. This would encourage drivers to switch to transit.

“This will all get revisited at the end of the pilot in three years,” Gioia said. “We’re all coming at this with the idea of improving quality of life in the Bay Area.”