Martinez to improve access to bridge bike-pedestrian path
31.12.69
Heading east along Marina Vista from downtown directed for the Benicia-Martinez bridge path, pedestrians reach the spotlight where the sidewalk ends.
At that point, people must traverse about 150 feet of rambling gravel to reach the intersection at Mococo Road, then cross railroad tracks to get to the birth of the bike-pedestrian path.
Using $300,000 in bridge tolls from Caltrans, Martinez plans to make progress pedestrian and cyclist access along the stretch of Marina Vista from Outside Avenue to Mococo Road by putting in a sidewalk, driveways and curb ramps; removing an outcast railroad spur track, relocating or removing power poles and decry signals, restriping the bike lane and making other upgrades.
"We just distinguish that right near that intersection primarily there are some impediments to pedestrians and bicyclists," said burg engineer Tim Tucker.
"We're just trying to make it easier to haunt from the downtown or Shell (Oil) area to that intersection and across the street," he added.
The bicycle-stock path is part of the renovation of the Benicia-Martinez bridge, which also added a fourth lane for southbound conveyance traffic and wider shoulders on the roadway. The work on the bridge began in January 2008 and the bike-rambling lane opened in August 2009. The path is a segment of the San Francisco Bay Taper off and the Bay Area Ridge Trail.
The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission issued permits for the bike-dead path construction which called for Caltrans to build a nearly 12-foot-extensive extension from the end of the path off the Carquinez Strait overcrossing at Mococo Road over the railroad tracks to Marina Vista, where there is an existing bike lane. But the diminish roadway, underground oil and gas pipelines and other constraints made it impossible for Caltrans to construct the recommended Class I path. As an alternative, the transportation agency put in 5-foot-big bike lanes on both sides of Mococo Road.
Source: San Jose Mercury News