Lamorinda Weekly highlights our bike path project
In the September 5, 2020 issue of the Lamorinda Weekly, writer Pippa Fisher reports on our dedicated bicycle and pedestrian path project after the initial proposal is presented to the Lafayette Transportation and Circulation Commission. Read the article here:
While acknowledging there are many more steps to be put in place and that it will take the cooperation of several stakeholders, the Transportation and Circulation Commission seemed enthusiastic during a presentation of a proposed new protected bike path from the Mt. Diablo Boulevard intersection with Pleasant Hill Road as far as Acalanes High School, and perhaps in a future phase, as far as Springhill Elementary.
Lafayette resident Eric Law, founder of Safe Route to Acalanes, explained the goal of the project would be to provide a safe bike and pedestrian path for students to access the high school, where right now they have to cross heavy traffic entering and exiting the four on- and off-ramps from Highway 24 - a dangerous situation that has resulted in serious cyclist-involved accidents.
Law explained that while Lafayette has great bike lanes and paths, especially the Lafayette-Moraga Regional Trail, once residents wishing to continue from that trail up the wide cycle lane on Pleasant Hill Road get to Mt. Diablo Boulevard, there is no safe way to continue to the school.
Safe Route to Acalanes High School, now a nonprofit under Sustainable Lafayette, proposes to solve the safety issue by putting a bi-directional bike path down the center of Pleasant Hill Road in place of the existing median. The pathway would be protected from traffic by concrete guard walls, and would be safely accessible from both the Mt. Diablo Boulevard traffic lights and at the Deer Hill Road lights by making them "scramble" lights, stopping traffic in all directions while bikes and pedestrians enter/exit the pathway.