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18657 | Chadi Chazbek replied the slowdown in the tube would be longer under one alternative versus the other. He explained that the distance would be the same, but it would take longer to travel through the tube under one of the alternatives. Commissioner Bellows replied both alternatives would have 25 miles per hour (mph) limit in the tube. Chadi Chazbek said that was correct and even when traveling 25 mph in the tube motorists' travel time would be significantly less under alternative A1: Jackson Horseshoe. Commissioner Bellows opened the floor to public comment. Jim Strehlow felt the project would take a while to get going given the existing situation with bicyclists and motorists leaving the Posey Tube. He said first, given the current conditions, vehicles coming out of the Posey Tube and into Oakland have trouble getting over to the most right-hand turn lane even when traveling 5 mph. He further explained that vehicles have difficulty crossing a solid white line to get into the two right-hand turn lanes onto 6th Street because the paint starts way too soon out of the tubes. He wondered if the project team could paint dotted lines there because technically it is illegal for motorists to cross a solid white line. He expressed the issue now so the project team won't make the same mistake with the new design. Second, he noted that he's a cyclist and when traveling out of the Posey tube he would love to be able to go onto the roadway straight onto Harrison Street instead of being on the sidewalk and having to get up to the intersection and push the pedestrian crossing button. He sensed that it would be better for him to negotiate the traffic with the vehicles side by side then to wait and get to a point to push the pedestrian button and then cross the intersection. Third, he said he was happy with the project, including the way it's been put together and announced. Fourth, he said he would be interested in knowing more about the actual elevation/slope that bicyclists would have to negotiate with the switchbacks. He would also like the switchback concept to be presented clearly within the designs and for the project team to explain how bicyclists would negotiate the short distance elevation and loop-to-loop just to get through, because he's concerned that he would not be able to do it as his age. Fifth, he believed the 25 mph limit through the Posey Tube was strange and the police could not enforce the speed when motorists want to go 50 mph. Finally, he's interested to see if there will be any anti-occupy protests and if the project team could slope some of the off ramp at a certain point somewhere between 9 or 10 degrees to make it harder for protestors to go up the ramps and into the freeway. Brian McGuire said as a Bike Walk Alameda Board member, he would normally get excited to see a $10-15 million project move forward on a bicycle and pedestrian path that would open up the west side of Alameda to Oakland. He stated that recently, Bike Walk Alameda completed its 10-year anniversary of bike and pedestrian counts through the tube and over the Park Street Bridge. Consequently, they found three reasons why people do not use the tube: 1. when bicyclists pass one another that requires one of the bicyclist to lift their bike up and over the rail; 2. There is considerable noise in the tube; and 3. There is pollution and air quality issues within the tube. He believed that opening the west side path seems to be a type of mitigation for the impacts of the switchbacks. Therefore, he did not understand how this could be considered a multimodal improvement over the current situation. He explained that he took a poll on Alameda Peeps, a Facebook group, to see how people would spend $10 million dollars to address Page 10 of 14 |