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Berkeley, California (August
17, 2005) Tuesday,
August 23, from 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm the City of Berkeley will host a
Groundbreaking ceremony for the much awaited West Street
Multi-Use Pathway. The
event will take place in the Berkeley Way Mini Park, 1294 Berkeley
Way, adjacent to the route of the pathway.
Construction is expected to
take about three months
 A
dedicated route for bicyclists and pedestrians from Delaware Street
to University Avenue will be constructed with a pedestrian-activated
stoplight to allow safe mid-block crossing of University Avenue. The
asphalt pathway spans 14 feet in width, with 2 foot decomposed
granite shoulders on either side.
The remainder of the approximately 30-foot right-of-way will
be landscaped and illuminated, and at various points, auto access
will be provided for existing residences.
For years, the three
unimproved, partially fenced-off blocks of West Street, (also known
as the Santa Fe Right-Of-Way), have been a source of neighborhood
complaints for illegal parking, abandoned vehicles and other
problems.
The
City is financing the project with a $1 million Transportation for
Livable Communities Grant from the Metropolitan Transportation
Commission MTC), and $115,000 in local matching funds.
Working under contract to the City, the urban design firm,
Community Design + Architecture, held three public workshops in the
spring of 2004 to design the trail and the crossing of University
Avenue.
The
project’s second phase adds a trail segment through the new campus
of the Berkeley Montessori School (BMS) in the block between
University Avenue and Addison Street.
The City anticipates signing an easement agreement soon to
build the trail through BMS property, but construction will require
additional not-yet-identified funding.
Completion of the BMS segment will allow the pathway to reach
Strawberry Creek Park south of Addison Street, where it will link
with a planned bicycle route via the bicycle-pedestrian bridge over
I-880 to the Eastshore State Park and the Berkeley Marina.
The
groundbreaking event recognizes the MTC and the BMS for their
crucial roles in allowing the City to implement a project that
bicycle and open space advocates have discussed for more than twenty
years. For a map and background information, please call Niran Shah,
Project Manager in the City of Berkeley Engineering Division at
981-6396.
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