Bay Bridge's $9.4 million temporary bike path to be razed

Bicyclists try out the temporary, half-mile-long path on the eastern span of the Bay Bridge on opening day in September. Bicyclists try out the temporary, half-mile-long path on the eastern span of the Bay Bridge on opening day in September. Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 22 Caption Close Bay Bridge's $9.4 million temporary bike path to be razed 1 / 22 Back to Gallery

The Bay Area Toll Authority spent $9.4 million to build a temporary entrance so the Bay Bridge's bike path could be ready when the new eastern span opened to traffic in September.

And now - after less than seven months - the half-mile-long connector is being torn down to make way for a new, permanent gateway.

That puts the cost to provide temporary bike and pedestrian access to the bridge at about $47,000 a day.

Metropolitan Transportation Commission chief Steve Heminger says the cost was higher than expected, but nonetheless defended the spending.

"This bridge has always been about access for all kinds of travel modes, not just automobiles," he said. "And if we were going to get cars on the bridge by Labor Day, then why shouldn't we get bikers and walkers on at the same time?"

The temporary ramp at the Oakland touchdown filled in for a 3,000-foot section of the elevated path that couldn't be built until part of the old eastern span was demolished and eastbound lanes were rerouted.

According to bridge project spokesman Andrew Gordon, "If we used this (temporary route) as a permanent connection, it would have cut into what eventually is going to be Gateway Park" - a waterfront greenbelt at the foot of the new bridge.

The wood structure with metal rails, stretching the length of 10 football fields, was built on Treasure Island and assembled at the eastern end of the bridge.

According to Caltrans, 3,000 bicyclists and pedestrians used the path the day it opened, and 13,000 the first weekend.

Gordon said the number of users fell off after that, but police patrolling the bridge now report steady traffic.

Officials hope the timber trestles from the temporary path can be reused, possibly by the East Bay Regional Park District or the state park system.

The newly completed path is scheduled to reopen March 31.

Gordon said he could not provide us with the price tag for the new permanent stretch of pathway, because the costs are part of several bigger construction contracts.

Cyclists and walkers still won't be able to get to Yerba Buena Island after the path reopens. The island connector isn't due to be completed until summer 2015.

In play? The Golden State Warriors intend to ask San Francisco voters in November to approve their plan to build an 18,000-seat arena along San Francisco's waterfront on Piers 30-32.

That was the message delivered by team President Rick Welts to local tourism leaders at a retreat at the Sonoma Mission Inn on March 11.

Attendees at the meeting said Welts left little room for doubt.

"They definitely said they plan to go forward on Piers 30-32," said Joe D'Alessandro, chief executive of the San Francisco Travel Association, which has endorsed the arena.

According to other sources, Welts also said the team intends to shrink its proposal for a hotel and condos across the Embarcadero to comply with the current 105-foot height limit. That would eliminate an aspect of the project that polls showed could be a deal-killer with voters.

Activists opposed to the arena have already qualified a June ballot measure to require any projects built along the waterfront to go before voters if a height variance is required.

Despite Welts' comments, City Hall officials and other sources say the Piers 30-32 ballot plan is far from set in stone. They say the team is continuing to look at its options for an arena farther south - either on the Giants' parking lot across the channel from AT&T Park or on Salesforce-owned property next to Mission Bay.

Welts did not return our call seeking comment, and Warriors spokesman Nate Ballard would say only, "We are doing what we need to do to be in a position to go to the ballot, but we have not made a final decision."

Street smarts: Oakland just agreed to pay $3.25 million to settle a lawsuit by a bicyclist who was severely injured when she flew over her handlebars after hitting a pothole on Mountain Boulevard.

Only $250,000 of the settlement will be paid by Oakland's insurer. The rest comes from the city.

Considering that represents more than a third of the city's $7.3 million budget for street and sidewalk repairs, the lesson here is that a bit of preventive maintenance would have gone a long way.