Bay Bridge to test 24-hour bike and pedestrian path

Cyclists arrive at Yerba Buena Island from Oakland last year on the Bay Bridge path, which will be open all night as a test. Cyclists arrive at Yerba Buena Island from Oakland last year on the Bay Bridge path, which will be open all night as a test. Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle 2017 Buy photo Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle 2017 Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Bay Bridge to test 24-hour bike and pedestrian path 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

For 10 days in May, bicyclists will be able to take a midnight ride across the east span of the Bay Bridge. Pedestrians will get to take moonlight walks, too, weather cooperating.

The span’s 2.2-mile bike and pedestrian path, which travels from Oakland to Yerba Buena Island and is now closed between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., will open for 24 hours on Thursday and stay that way until 9 p.m. May 19.

The all-night hours are intended as a test to see what will be needed to make 24-hour operation permanent, which has been the plan since transportation officials agreed to include a bike path on the bridge’s replacement span in the late 1990s.

“We’ve been discussing it for a long time, and this will give us an idea what we need as far as lighting, additional CHP officers and anything else,” said Bob Haus, a Caltrans spokesman.

While the bike path officially opened in September 2013, a few days after the first cars crossed the new east span, it has been available to bike riders and walkers only during limited hours.

Until last year, the path stopped just short of Yerba Buena Island, and was open only on weekends. To the delight of cyclists and walkers, it was extended to the island and been open daily.

Bicycle advocates, who persuaded Bay Area transportation officials to build the path, have been working with Caltrans and the CHP to extend its hours.

Dave Campbell, advocacy director for Bike East Bay, said the group is pleased that the path will stay open for 240 consecutive hours starting May 10, which happens to be Bike to Work Day, and looks forward to when it will be open around the clock permanently.

“Caltrans calls it a pilot, but a dress rehearsal is what we prefer to call it,” Campbell said.

Bridge officials have concerns about overnight safety on the bike path, which is patrolled by the CHP, and also whether there’s enough lighting to keep bicyclists and pedestrians safe.

“They want to make sure it’s safe and secure,” Campbell said. “Caltrans, like many organizations, can move cautiously, so we’re working with them. We’re confident it will eventually be open 24/7 all the time, just as it is for cars.”

While the demand for late-night access to the bike and pedestrian path may not be overwhelming, Campbell said, he does hear from riders who want to ride earlier than 6 a.m. or later than 9 p.m.

“We get enough inquiries to know that we have to make this happen,” he said.

After the 10-day test, Haus said, Caltrans and the CHP will review what they’ve learned and make plans for a permanent opening. There’s no estimate for when that might happen, he said.

Even more uncertain is whether — and when — a bike lane might be added to the west span of the Bay Bridge, allowing cyclists to pedal between San Francisco and the East Bay.

Tentative plans call for a lane to be attached to the side of the existing western half of the bridge, but connections between Yerba Buena Island and the bridge, as well as the landing in downtown San Francisco, need to be designed. The biggest challenge will be finding the money to pay for a project estimated to cost as much as $300 million.

“Since there isn’t a funding source, this is not really a project yet,” said John Goodwin, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

A west-span path, he said, “would be a big piece of the uncompleted bike network puzzle, a big piece in the uncompleted Bay Trail. This is a project that, if there were an identified source of funding, would go a long way toward accomplishing some long-standing regional goals.”

Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan