Description
Hi,
I am a bike commuter who travels from West Oakland to Berkeley every day, and I spend 1.5 miles on Adeline twice a day (between 35th and 61st).
In the past year(+), I was overjoyed to see a road diet happen here. There's never much traffic following Adeline, and four lanes was overkill. It's great to have a dedicated bike lane!
I was particularly happy with the signal timing that was in place for much of last year at the Adeline/Market/57th intersection. The light would automatically give ~25 second intervals to traffic on Adeline and Market. It would only turn green for 57th if there was traffic there, which was rare. Since I was approaching the intersection on the long, flat stretch of Adeline, I could easily and gently speed up or slow down to hit a green light every time. This was perfect!
Unfortunately, late last year, it seems that the signal has been reconfigured to turn green, only when an automobile is present at the intersection. This means that unless a car is already waiting at the red light when I approach the intersection, I have to come to a complete stop, and wait for a car to approach from the same direction to trigger a green light. This adds time and effort to my ride, and is a step backward for myself, and other bicycle riders. If a car does not come, I have no choice but to put myself at risk by running the red light--something I would rather not do.
Please consider reverting the behavior and timing of the lights at this intersection.
Or, please install facilities for triggering a green light from a bicycle.
In the meantime, please label the intersection to inform other bicycle riders that it is not possible for them to trigger a green light.
Thanks,
Miles Lincoln
also asked...
Α. Other
4 Comments
Αναγνωρισμένο City of Oakland (Verified Official)
Bike BerkOakEmery (Registered User)
Thank you for reporting this issue! People have been reporting the problems for bikes at this intersection for months with no action from OakDOT.
OakDOT will probably try to close your report quickly. They have done this to me twice, saying they combined it with another ticket. I encourage you to protest and keep it open until this specific issue is resolved.
It's not rocket science. All they have to do is move the sensor so it detects bikes. If this intersection didn't detect cars, it would have been fixed in 24 hours. Bicyclists have been waiting for more than 4 months. It's time to prioritize safety, so commuters like you aren't forced to run the red light.
Also - please don't run the red light! If there are no cars, you can trip the sensor on your bike by pulling into the middle of the car travel lane. Stay safe!
Miles Lincoln (Registered User)
Miles Lincoln (Registered User)
Just got a form response from the city that they are not going to do anything about this.
Cool!