Berkeley Ranks 4th in Nation For Most Commuters Who Bike to Work

Stuart baker February 4, 2013 at 03:53 pm

I suggest using a photo of a biker enjoying one of the many bike boulevards in Berkeley rather than a traffic clogged street. These boulevards are what made Berkeley such a bike friendly city.

Lucifer B Devill February 4, 2013 at 06:27 pm

I would like to support the boulevards, but find them pretty hard to use. Virginia is an excellent connector between the street I live on and the street I work on, but it is very difficult to cross San Pablo, Sacramento, and MLK at Virginia, because of the lack of stoplights and heavy commute traffic on those streets. I prefer to use Delaware, even though it has more motor traffic.

Thomas King February 4, 2013 at 06:54 pm

The planners and citizens of Berkeley deserve huge credit for making this a city in which it's easy and very practical to do almost all of your travel by bicycle. I've lived here since 1967 and I've seen the cycling just get better and better. Thanks to everyone!

John Erlich February 4, 2013 at 11:50 pm

I agree that the Berkeley citizens and planners deserve a great deal of credit for improving the ease of bicycling here. The "bicyclie-friendly" city remains a work in progress, though. The street surface on the 9th St. portion of the Bicycle Boulevard is not good. I agree that San Pablo Ave. is a diffucult problem. It's really scary to ride on, and I use side streets instead whenever possible, and even resort to riding a bit on the sidewalks on a few parts of SPA that I can't avoid (esp. at Gill Tract/UC Village). I think a major goal should be educating bicyclists regarding the need to abide by traffic laws and safety procedures, particularly using hand turn signals and not "blowing through" stop signs.

Susan Silber February 5, 2013 at 02:28 am

I ride all over Berkeley and think it is so-so for riding. A few points:
** YES please do something about the really busy streets in the middle of the bike boulevards. It's really hard to cross San Pablo and MLK at Virginia, and likewise for Dwight and Ashby while riding on California. ** Despite these challenges, it's oh-so much better than the other city I have lived in, Los Angeles. So why don't more people bike?! It's more fun AND you get exercise AND fresh air!