Adjustment starts for island-bound drivers
Westbound motorists on Bay Bridge switch from left off-ramp to right to reach Treasure, Yerba Buena
Drivers speeding — or creeping — westbound across the Bay Bridge have grown accustomed to taking an odd, and short, exit from the left lane to get to Yerba Buena and Treasure islands. Starting Saturday, they’ll have to break that habit and take a new ramp from a more traditional place — the right lane.
A day later, bicyclists and pedestrians will finally have their own path to Yerba Buena Island across the Bay Bridge. Caltrans announced Friday that the path’s final stage — the island entrance — will open at
noon Sunday.
As for the new bridge exit, Transportation and CHP officials hope the public gets the word so that motorists caught unaware might not feel compelled to swerve across four lanes of traffic from the left at the last minute to get to the new off-ramp.
“We’re trying to get the word out to motorists that they don’t need to be in the fast lane anymore; they need to be in the slow lane,” said Eric Young, spokesman for the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, which oversaw construction of the ramp. “We hope we don’t have anybody trying to quickly change all those lanes of traffic.”
Drivers who miss it will have to drive the rest of the way across the bridge to San Francisco and turn around to head back to Treasure Island.
Also opening Saturday is an on-ramp from Yerba Buena Island to the bridge that will give drivers an alternative to the white-knuckle ramp that forces San Francisco-bound drivers leaving the island to come to a stop, wait for a break in traffic, step on the gas — and hope.
The old ramp will stay open for now, but eventually will be restricted to buses and emergency vehicles. The new ramp allows drivers time to smoothly accelerate and merge into oncoming bridge traffic.
“That will be a lot better,” said Carlos Rodriguez, who comes to the island’s marina to clean boat hulls and braves the westbound on-ramp. “It will be a lot better if you have space to build up speed.”
Caltrans and California Highway Patrol officials say the new ramps will improve traffic safety for drivers getting on and off the island as well as for those on the bridge.
Dan McElhinney, Caltrans deputy director for the Bay Area, said the ramps follow modern freeway standards by moving the exits to the slow lane. The ramps will have safer geometry and give drivers better views of traffic, he said.
“This will improve traffic safety on the ramps and the bridge for all of us,” said Christopher Sherry, commander of the CHP’s San Francisco office.
The new ramps aren’t just a safety improvement, said Supervisor Scott Wiener, chairman of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority. They’re also the first tangible piece of infrastructure for the redevelopment of Treasure Island as the city’s newest neighborhood.
“This is one of the first steps toward the transformation of Treasure Island,” he said.
The city’s plan is to mix 8,000 new housing units, hotels, shops and restaurants with parks and paths offering panoramic views on an island created to house the 1930 Golden Gate International Exposition and that later became a Navy base.
“We have a vision for Treasure Island,” said V. Fei Tsen, president of the board of the Treasure Island Development Authority, “and it’s a vision that’s taken us three decades to make. ... It’s incredible that we’re at the point we are starting to build the Treasure Island we’ve dreamed about.”
Some regular visitors to the island share that enthusiasm. Abdo Nasser, 45, owns the island’s grocery store, Island Cove Market, and drives daily from his home in Richmond.
“It’s exciting,” he said of the new right-hand off-ramp that comes about 100 yards sooner than the old one.
“It’s the norm. It’s what everybody expects,” Nasser said about the new positioning. “A lot of people coming to the island expect the ramp to be on the right side, not the left, and they miss it.”
As for the bike and pedestrian path, its arrival on Yerba Buena Island comes three years later than originally scheduled. Caltrans had expected to open it, along with the new east span, in October 2013 but repeated delays pushed it back.
That created a dead end just west of the east span’s signature tower — and just a tenth of a mile from Yerba Buena Island. While the path now reaches Yerba Buena Island, anyone wanting to ride or walk on it from from the island side will have a tough time getting there.
No parking exists on the Yerba Buena Island end, and the ride to and from Treasure Island, where parking is available, is difficult and dangerous.
The county’s transportation authority will run a shuttle for bicyclists and pedestrians, making trips every half hour, departing from Avenue of the Palms and Ninth Street on Treasure Island. Access from the Oakland end of the bridge will remain the same with parking available at the Caltrans yard at 210 Burma Road.
After Sunday, the new path will be open from 7 a.m.-6 p.m. with the shuttle running the same hours.
Bike advocates persuaded Caltrans to add the bike lane to the bridge, and despite the delays and difficulties, say they are excited to be able to pedal all the way.
“We've been working to make this path a reality for over two decades,” said Renee Rivera, executive director of Bike East Bay. “Since the path partially opened three years ago, it has already become a unique way to experience the bay. We are thrilled to finally be able to walk and bike to Yerba Buena Island.”