Public Works Agency

Contacts:
Kathryn Hughes
Public Works Agency
(510) 238-6493

The City of Oakland is conserving energy by leaving the car in the garage and biking to work. Many Oakland citizens and City employees will ride their bikes to work on May 17, 2001 as the City holds its 8^th annual Bike to Work Day in front of City Hall with a pancake breakfast, coffee from Tully’s, and prizes galore!

Mayor Ron Dellums will greet cyclists along with Vice Mayor Jane Brunner and Council Members Nancy Nadel and Danny Wan. All day free valet bicycle parking will be provided by the East Bay Bicycle Coalition (EBBC), and RIDES for Bay Area commuters will distribute bicycle tote bags, blinking bike lights, and other goodies. The City of Oakland’s Public Works Agency sponsors this event in conjunction with EBBC and RIDES.

Oakland’s Bike to Work Day supports two projects generating a great deal of excitement - the MacArthur Boulevard Bike Lane installation and the Grand Avenue Greenlink Project. Both projects reduce traffic to one lane with the intent of slowing speeders down and offering a safe venue for cyclists and pedestrians.

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Oakland’s Bike to Work Celebration Page 2

Bike lanes on MacArthur Boulevard between Lincoln and Coolidge were completed this month, and construction of lanes from Coolidge to 35^th Avenue are now under way. This project could not have been completed without the help of Council Member Dick Spees who generously supported the MacArthur Boulevard project.

Phase 1 of the Grand Avenue Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Parking project, which runs from El Embarcadero to Market Street, except in the downtown area between Telegraph and Webster, was also started this month. Council Member Nancy Nadel worked with community groups, local residents, businesses, bicycle and pedestrian safety advocates, and city staff for two years to get this project off the ground.

In addition to city officials, speakers will include Colin Jones, Caltrans Public Affairs Officer who will talk about bike lanes on the east span of the new Bay Bridge, Luna Salavar, Bay Area Air Quality Management District, Robert Raburn, East Bay Bicycle Coalition, and Claudette Ford, Public Works Agency Director.

AC Transit will provide a demonstration of its new bicycle racks and give away free bus tickets. Prizes for the Bike to Work Day event include a round trip for two to Seattle on the Amtrak West’s bicycle-friendly Coast Starlight train and a commuter bicycle, along with merchant gift certificates to local stores and restaurants. To be eligible for prizes, participants must be on a bike and obtain a ticket stub for the raffle.

For more information about the City of Oakland Bike to Work Day celebration, check out Public Works Agency’s website at www.oaklandnet.com/bicycling or call Kathryn Hughes at (510) 238-6493.