Bike plan must balance street infrastructure with emergency response, accessibility: Op-ed
It's the last day to submit input on the draft Berkeley Bike Plan.
Editor's Note: The Scanner publishes guest essays from community members on issues of concern. Today's piece was written by Mike Cole, East Bay Center for the Blind; Michai Freeman, Center for Independent Living; and Nancy Rader and Kathleen Kelly, both leadership members of the Berkeley FireSafe Council.
Berkeley's update of its Bike Plan presents an opportunity to evaluate proposed new street infrastructure for unintended and undesirable consequences.
As advocates for people with disabilities and wildfire safety, we support the proposed commitment in the July draft Bike Plan update to study separated bikeways and other street designs for their impacts on transit operations, emergency response, parking and roadway capacity for evacuations.
Further, proposed new street infrastructure should be found to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") before projects are approved.
The city is accepting written comments through Friday, Sept. 26. Send them to bicycleplan@berkeleyca.gov.
Emilie Raguso
Public safety studies are not "red tape"
In an Aug. 18 guest essay, leaders of Walk Bike Berkeley characterized the proposed studies on emergency response and evacuation as “red tape” that will unnecessarily delay separated bike lanes and other street infrastructure.
This single-minded focus on separated bike lanes fails to consider the impact of those lanes on the needs of everyone who dials 911 and the needs of seniors and people with disabilities. Moreover, a Fire Department representative at a recent Transportation Commission meeting stated that these studies can be readily performed.
A city-commissioned 2023 study found that the Fire Department’s response performance already exceeds best practice by two minutes for first-unit arrival and by over seven minutes for arrival of an effective response force. Most Berkeleyans can appreciate that every minute of response time counts in an emergency. The study cited traffic congestion as a contributor to the slow response times.
The city’s recently completed Evacuation Time Study found that Berkeley’s roadways are not designed to handle the full volume of traffic in a large-scale evacuation. Further, increased density will "compound an already high-risk baseline, where current conditions could result in some evacuees being overtaken by fire." The study recommended that the city consider roadway capacity when planning future roadway infrastructure.
The Walk Bike Berkeley representatives argued that "many cities have shown" that bicycle safety infrastructure can improve emergency access. Such a contention is no substitute for studying specific proposals in the context of Berkeley’s unique conditions.
Kate Darby Rauch
Street infrastructure blocks access for seniors and the disabled
Over the past few years, the city has installed protected bike lanes as part of "Complete Streets" projects without fully considering the impacts they would have on seniors and people with disabilities, who comprise over 25% of Berkeley’s population.
Separated bike lanes often introduce new barriers to accessibility rather than eliminate them.
These projects have obstructed or eliminated access to transit, parking, pedestrian routes, businesses, medical services and community venues. As one example, the loading zone on Dana Street in front of the First Congregational Church of Berkeley was eliminated, and the sidewalk is now blocked by a two-way cycle track and a cement barricade. In addition to church services, this venue hosts many public events.
Cycle tracks with island bus stops are unsafe for visually impaired people. The American Council of the Blind has called for a moratorium on floating bus stops until more research is completed.
For people with disabilities, a more accessible environment is a necessity, not a luxury. Berkeley is the birthplace of the independent living movement, where people with disabilities are not viewed as the problem.
It is disheartening to see how far Berkeley has strayed from this vision. If not corrected, Berkeley seems destined to re-segregate people with different abilities back into their homes, unable to move around their community independently.
Guest Essay
There need be no conflict between safe biking and public safety
Studies may find that separated bike lanes on major corridors would impair emergency response or evacuation times and conflict with the ADA. In that event, cyclists can still rely on Berkeley’s extensive bicycle boulevard system on quiet streets. This network does not present such conflicts, and it can be extended and enhanced far more cost-effectively than re-engineering our streets.
As it finalizes its Bike Plan, the City must find an appropriate balance that meets the needs of everyone in Berkeley.
The East Bay Center for the Blind and Center for Independent Living are both affiliates of Berkeleyans for Accessible Rights-of-Way.
The Scanner publishes guest essays from community members on issues of interest or concern. Authors who are not already TBS members will receive a complimentary membership in return. Submit your guest essay ideas to TBS.
