BFBC Position on Marin Avenue Reconfiguration
The Bicycle-Friendly Berkeley Coalition (BFBC) supports the efforts of the pedestrian, child safety, and neighborhood activists who for many years have advocated for reconfiguration of Marin Ave. from four lanes to three, plus two bike lanes. The reconfiguration is a one-year trial and is similar to other streets in Berkeley that have been similarly redesigned, such as Sixth St. north of University Ave., Henry-Sutter Sts. south of the Solano tunnel, and Marin Ave. between The Alameda and Marin Circle. The reconfiguration is being proposed because other efforts to slow traffic on Marin Ave., most notably law enforcement, have failed.
Bicycle lanes on Marin are not a high priority for BFBC in relation to the many other improvements for bicycling in Berkeley we consider important. The proposed bike lanes in the reconfiguration are ancillary to the project's main goal, which is to increase the safety of all users of the street by slowing traffic. BFBC does support the project however, because we support safer streets.
Opponents of the reconfiguration have attempted to portray it as being the work primarily of a "bicycle lobby." That is a distortion of the facts and a disservice to those who have been attempting to bring about the reconfiguration for many years, a group made up primarily of concerned citizens in Albany, including families with young children and residents on or near Marin Ave.