Drew Levitt

The same graffiti reported in early June (https://seeclickfix.com/issues/14649915) is still present at this intersection. Either the city failed to remove it, or the person reinstalled it.

On the bike lanes and median islands at the Hopkins/Alameda intersection, some anonymous coward has spray-painted "WHERE ARE ALL THE BIKES?" Well, sir/madam, while many people do choose to bike through this intersection as well as throughout Berkeley, many others have been dissuaded from doing so precisely by efforts like the "Save Hopkins" campaign (which prioritizes parking spaces over literal human lives), which have successfully blocked Berkeley from providing commonsense infrastructure that makes biking safer and more comfortable for riders of all ages and abilities.

This dunking on the victims of Berkeley's backwards policies is reminiscent of the way Berkeleyites first blocked the construction of much-needed student housing on specious "environmental impact" grounds, then blocked UC Berkeley from increasing enrollment because... there isn't enough housing for students. This circular logic would be laughable, if its consequences weren't so tragic.

To put a finer point on it, and in answer to the graffito's question, here are some of "the bikes":
https://www.berkeleyside.org/2022/09/09/berkeleyside-interactive-data-maps-cyclist-pedestrian-injury-crashes-2021
https://www.berkeleyside.org/2017/02/08/cyclist-dies-north-berkeley-crash
https://www.berkeleyside.org/2017/05/01/longtime-activist-69-dies-north-berkeley-crash-police-say-driver-failed-yield

How dare you mock people who are just trying to get home safe, you callous, cowardly excuse for a neighbor?

Aaaaaaanyway, City of Berkeley, please clean up this garbage.

This Amazon delivery driver was completely blocking the "protected" bike lane on Milvia St between University and Addison. He and I spoke at some length and while I was unimpressed with his indifference to the potential hazards he and other delivery drivers create when they block bike lanes, forcing bicyclists out into mixed traffic, I sympathized with his need to park *somewhere* in order to do his job. It appears that the combination of (1) the building construction at University and Milvia, (2) a lack of dedicated loading zones, (3) the bikeway design itself, and (4) other drivers' willingness to park illegally have conspired to create a situation where the "least bad" place for this driver to park was in (on?) the bike lane.

I would strongly request at least two near-term actions, especially while the building construction is ongoing:
1. Designate one or more parking spaces on this block as loading zones, so that this driver and other delivery drivers can easily park there and do their job.
2. Provide parking enforcement such that these loading zones in fact remain available for delivery drivers - and also enforce bike lane violations.
Delivery is important (this driver was dropping off 100+ packages today) and so is street safety. Neither delivery drivers nor people on bikes should be at the bottom of the pecking order and have to face potentially dangerous consequences.

Incidentally, mountable curbs like the one on Milvia are just that: mountable - and they tend to get mounted and blocked just as shown here. I would suggest that future dedicated bike lanes be protected from incursion either by car parking lanes or by jersey barriers or other, taller barriers.

Okay folks. Have you ever biked on Telegraph Avenue? About 3/4 of the time that I do it, there is at least one car (often more) illegally parked in the parking-protected bike lanes. You know, the ones that are located between the legal parking spots and the curb.

It's pretty simple: DO NOT DO THIS. It is incredibly inconsiderate and also unsafe in that it forces people on bikes to either squeeze through or else abandon the lane, thus getting in the way of adjacent car traffic and also appearing where they're not expected to be. These bike lanes, which should be a great way to get north/south on a busy street, are lovely when inconsiderate or oblivious parkers don't jam them up, but sadly it is the small minority of the time that somebody isn't illegally parking there.

I can only upload one picture, so here's one from this afternoon, with a Lexus blocking the whole lane. (The passenger called me a "@#$% @#$% @#$%" when he saw me taking the photo. Classy.) Last night it was a Tesla SUV, with only a foot between the illegally parked land hog and the legally parked car. It's a pity I can't upload multiple images because it was really impressive how the driver squeezed their car into this supposedly protected space.

So: to drivers everywhere, I plead: don't park in the Telegraph Avenue protected bike lanes. Have even a shred of respect for other people using the street - and avoid a hefty parking ticket. And to the City of Oakland, I would suggest: just get one or two traffic cops, put them on bikes, and have them ride up and down Telegraph, ticketing these idiotically parked vehicles. From my experience I can tell you you will more than recoup the officers' salaries. Why even install this high-quality facility if you can't or won't ensure that people don't abuse it?

Thanks for reading. On behalf of people on bikes everywhere: DON'T PARK IN THE FRIGGIN BIKE LANE!!!

Photo from last night - a Tesla SUV neatly blocking the entirety of the protected bike lane on northbound Telegraph Avenue. This is really inconsiderate and unsafe behavior. Please focus more resources on parking enforcement in the Telegraph Ave protected bike lanes - and people. please don't park there! That's all I ask. Come on.