Editorial: Marin support for Richmond Bridge bike-lane compromise makes next step clear

The numbers tell the story when it comes to deciding the best use of the third westbound lane on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.

Since 2019, the lane has been devoted to bicycles and pedestrians, but there has been no mobile version of “Field of Dreams,” especially on weekdays.

Hoping for an “if you build it, they will come” success story, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission pushed through a four-year $20 million trial of turning a westbound lane into a bike lane, protected by a moveable barrier.

The story has been less than successful.

The goal was sound, completing the Bay Trail, giving commuters a healthier way to get to and from their jobs and taking cars off the road. But the question of how many people would use the lane was always an unanswered part of the equation during the process that approved the trial. The trial was even extended for a fifth year. Today, the lane is used by a weekday average of only 140 bike trips, compared to 80,000 motorists who drive across the Marin-to-East Bay span every day.

But MTC is not ready to completely give up on the trial. Instead, it is advancing a two-year trial, a compromise, where the bike lane could be used as an emergency “breakdown” lane Mondays through Thursdays, while still being reserved for bikes and pedestrians Fridays through Sundays.

Using the lane for emergencies would provide room for accidents and stalled vehicles to be moved out of the two traffic lanes.

Use of the bike lane rises to an average of 360 daily on Fridays, weekends and holidays, according to MTC’s counts.

Public demand to be able to pedal across the bridge is slight compared to the Golden Gate Bridge, which attracts 3,000 riders per day on weekdays and 5,500 on weekends.

The Marin Board of Supervisors voted recently to support the weekday “breakdown” lane trial, which needs approval from the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. The regional commission is involved because the bridge bike lane is part of the Bay Trail, a longtime BCDC goal.

But the reality is that there is a better use for the lane, one that could serve a greater good.

For those still riding their bikes, Caltrans will be providing shuttles to give those weekday bicyclists rides across the span.

Fully opening the lane to cars and trucks would seem to make sense, but Marin transportation officials have cautioned that it could create traffic problems on the Marin side of the bridge during the morning commute. In addition, Caltrans says the bridge will need structural strengthening to handle a full three westbound lanes of traffic, which has grown significantly in recent years.

MTC’s focus has been on the lane being opened for emergencies as a remedy to a significant increase in accidents that have occurred during the bike-lane trial.

It’s a step in the right direction and could help reduce accidents and the increased congestion it causes.

Marin employers, and representative groups, have voiced their support for measures that could improve the flow of westbound traffic across the bridge and back MTC’s plan.

Those include the Bay Area Council, the North Bay Leadership Council, the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce, Kaiser Permanente, MarinHealth, BioMarin, Marin Sanitary Service and the Marin County Office of Education. The Marin Association of Public Employees also backs the proposal, according to the county report.

Many of the groups cited the growing number of workers they have that commute from the east side of the bay and the frustration – both for workers and their employers – that their morning drives are often delayed by gridlock.

The proposal has drawn opposition from the Marin County Bicycle Coalition, Save the Bay, the Sierra Club San Francisco Chapter and the cities of Richmond and Albany.

Given the numbers, it’s hard to justify having a lane set aside for so few bike riders.

The proposed change is a compromise, a short trial worth considering, providing Caltrans time to work on the span and remedy anticipated traffic snags on the Marin side.