Bay Area planners have launched numerous projects aimed at making driving more difficult. This effort, often known as “traffic calming” and “road diets” has advanced furthest in Berkeley and Palo Alto where many streets have been blocked, to San Francisco, where major thoroughfares have been closed to traffic. Re-engineering roads to reduce their vehicle capacity uses taxpayer funds to the detriment of most of us who rely on our cars to get around.

The anti-car campaign has started to meet resistance, as we have seen recently in the Sunset District of San Francisco. Last week, area residents recalled the County Supervisor over his support for converting the Upper Great Highway into a park.

Another example of anti-car overreach can be seen on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge where the Metropolitan Transportation Commission converted the upper level’s shoulder into a bike lane. After witnessing years of minimal cyclist use of the shoulder on weekdays accompanied by severe traffic jams, the Commission finally relented: restoring the shoulder’s use as a breakdown lane Monday-Thursday.

But the urbanist campaign against driving continues and has even reached Central Contra Costa County as CoCoTax Executive Committee member Denise Kalm discusses below.

If you’re concerned about the future of mobility in Contra Costa County, please take a moment to complete the Transportation Authority’s survey here: https://rebrand.ly/CCTASurvey10

Costly Treat Boulevard Bike Lane will Be Bad for Local Commuters

Have you had to drive on Treat Blvd or Ygnacio Valley Rd during rush hour lately? Local compliance with state and Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) mandates to build more housing in already overcrowded areas has resulted in unprecedented traffic on these major thoroughfares. I’ve frequently found it can take longer to drive a single mile up Treat Blvd from my house than to drive to Lafayette. And housing keeps going up!

There is no affordable way to expand either of the two major roads to allow commuters, parents and other residents to get from place to place. And we need every lane we can get. However, a small group of bikers has lobbied to convert a traffic lane to a bicycle-only lanes on Treat Blvd, even though a well-maintained path exists a short walk from Treat which parallels it. In fact, this Canal Trail intersects with the Iron Horse trail to allow access to both the huge bridges crossing Treat and Ygnacio, giving safe bike access to Pleasant Hill BART and downtown Walnut Creek, respectively.

This trail is safe, wide enough for people in both directions on various forms of transit to pass with no danger of exposure to exhaust or risk of a car clipping them. For many years, I was a bike rider, a member of Valley Spokesmen, and I always preferred a trail such as this to even a “protected” lane on a street: especially a street as congested as Treat Blvd.

The Treat Blvd Bikeway Project

This is a “special interest” project almost no one wants. Yes, I feel for the bikers when there is no safe way to ride, but there is. The Canal Trail. Right now, if you must ride a bike on Treat, everyone uses the sidewalk. No, not the best, but the alternative is literally steps away. There is NO need for this carveout, a waste of our money and a major hit to commuters. The total estimated construction cost for the proposed Treat Boulevard Corridor Improvements Project is $6,220,000. The project is a collaboration between Contra Costa County and the City of Walnut Creek and includes new bike lanes and unspecified pedestrian enhancements.

A while back, the transportation commission took away parking along Bancroft to install a very protected bike lane…which almost no one uses. I live right on Bancroft and walk around that area all the time. These lanes are so rarely used that it is just a costly perk for the few who use them.

The commission talks about the absence of “low stress” pedestrian and bicycle facilities. But is there anything more relaxing than pedaling or walking along a tree- and flower-lined path?

The Result

If they achieve this ill-planned goal, traffic will pile up on Treat or further overload Ygnacio Valley. Cars will continue to spew exhaust everywhere, gas will be wasted and people will miss appointments or simply fail to return home in a timely manner. Meanwhile, we’ll watch as a few hapless cyclists use these lanes each day.

The benefit is way too small, and not justifiable. Bikers:  get yourself onto the trail. You’ll like it much better and breathe easier. For the rest of us, complain to the city council and to the Board of Supes. It is not an “improvement,” just a wasteful solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.

Upcoming Events

Thursday, September 25^th at 6pm (note different day of week, time, and location) – Learn about Contra Costa County local government fiscal health with California Policy Center’s Boomer Shannon. And hear from Lafayette School District Superintendent Brent Stephens. We’ll be at the Chicken Pie House on Arroyo Way in Walnut Creek. Sign up here: https://cocotax.org/event-6308471

Friday, October 24^th at 11:45am – Hear Pacific Research Institute’s Steven Greenhut discuss his new book, The War on Suburbia. Sign up here: https://cocotax.org/event-6349966