Changes coming to Richmond-San Rafael Bridge bike and ped path

RICHMOND — A bike and pedestrian path running across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge 24 hours a day, seven days a week, will close Sunday evenings through Thursday mornings beginning in October.

The change comes after a vote by the Bay Area Conservation and Development Commission, a body charged with ensuring maximum public access to the San Francisco Bay, during a meeting Thursday. The decision is likely the first time public access to the San Francisco Bay has been revoked in such a major way in the commission’s 60-year history, multiple commissioners acknowledged during the meeting.

Opened in 2019 as part of a pilot program, the protected path transformed a third lane that acted as an emergency shoulder since the 1970s into a 4-mile connection for cyclists and pedestrians traveling between Contra Costa and Marin counties and expanded the San Francisco Bay Trail.

While beloved by bike and pedestrian advocates, the multi-modal path has been a source of frustration for many commuters driving westbound into Marin County who have argued the lane has exacerbated traffic congestion at morning peak travel hours, especially after collisions or other traffic incidents because a driver has no way to leave a travel lane.

Opponents of the path have argued a vast number of people are suffering to accommodate a multi-modal lane used by only a few. About 90 to 132 cyclists commute across the bridge during the weekdays, depending on the season, according to a 2024 study by California Partners for Advanced Transportation Technology. About seven to 15 pedestrians cross the bridge daily, according to the study.

Comparatively, between 3,250 to 3,600 cars travel westbound across the bridge per hour during peak commute hours.

Having grappled with an influx of advocacy on both sides, the Bay Area Conservation and Development Commission agreed to extend the pilot program by three years and approve a requested program amendment from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

The approval means the path will remain open to bikes and pedestrians Friday through most of Sunday when use of the path has been most regular, before turning into an emergency shoulder from 11 p.m. Sundays to 2 p.m. Thursdays.

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission plans to use the three-year program extension to study the feasibility of turning one of the three lanes on the upper westbound deck into a carpool lane during weekdays.