On the Issues
Traveling across Newark
Moving from One Place to Anther Predictably
No matter where you are going, if you are a Newark resident, you will be relying, to some degree, on the City of Newark’s transportation network to get there. We need to make sure that the transportation network works for all road users, whether cars, buses, bicycles, or pedestrians.
As a Council Member, my goal has been to increase efficiency for all road users. Intersections are the sources of danger and congestion, especially when they are unpredictable. Predictability is a key metric for the safety of all road users and the efficiency of the network as a whole. An example of a success in increasing predictability is in the recent extension of the left turn lane at Cedar Boulevard and Mowry Avenue. Cars are moving more effectively and predictably, increasing the safety of students biking and walking to school through that intersection. The extension also helped the efficiency of other north/south routes, especially Cherry Street.
We can make our transportation network more effective for the majority of users on the road in cars while making it safer for non-automobile travelers because of the impact of predictability. Over the next four years, I will advocate for additional opportunities to make our intersections more predictable.
Moving Across a Planned Transportation Network
One of my priorities was updating our City’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan to better reflect the current needs of our community. The result will be the Active Transportation Master Plan, which has undergone a robust public input process, and a draft will come before the City Council shortly.
One of my priorities in the Active Transportation Plan will be supporting safe routes to schools. As a member of the City of Newark/NUSD Liaison Committee, I advocated for greater data sharing on how students are getting to school. As the Council looks to prioritize projects within the Active Transportation Plan update, I would like to see the City emphasize these routes to best protect the youngest users of our transportation network. It should be safe to get to school no matter how a family wants to travel, and the City should use the Safe Routes to School Data and our Active Transportation Plan to make that aspiration a reality.
The City of Newark has recently secured $850,000 from the Federal Government through the work of Congressman Khanna to resurface the pavement and provide for the construction of new bicycle and pedestrian facilities on a 2.2-mile segment on Cedar Boulevard between Stevenson Boulevard and Thornton Ave. We need to ensure that these funds are used in a way that truly encourages people to travel that corridor by ways other than a car by making it safer and easier to use.
In accomplishing that, we also need to make sure not to upset the flow of vehicle traffic; if it becomes less predictable, it would undermine our goal of increasing safety for walkers and bikers.
Another priority that I would like to see as a part of the Active Transportation Plan is improved bicycle storage options at businesses, restaurants, and public spaces. Newark residents are unlikely to get out of their car and bike to do their errands or have a meal if there is no way to keep their bike safe while doing so. Existing city codes often require businesses to provide places to secure bicycles safely, but the requirements need to be stronger and more consistent. The City should update these requirements, support businesses that want to provide storage solutions, and ensure that bicycle storage in public spaces sets an example for the private sector.
Moving Toward Dumbarton Rail
The Dumbarton Corridor is one of the most important transit corridors in the Bay Area. The Dumbarton Rail Bridge was built in 1910 and was the first structure to span the San Francisco Bay when it opened. The original car bridge opened in 1927 and was the first car bridge over the Bay. The corridor has always been necessary for cross-bay travel but has been neglected by state and regional partners for the past decades.
The rail bridge was last used in 1982. Since that time, the number of jobs and people on both sides of the bridge has grown significantly (with housing options for those workers not keeping pace). Various attempts have been made to restore passenger service, with each unsuccessful attempt requiring the next attempt to start from square one.
I believe that we should be able to have the same level of mass transit as Newark Residents did close to a century ago during the Great Depression. As a start, I would like to see greater protections of funds if promised for this project again. Dumbarton Rail has been funded through voter-approved measures in the past, only to see those dollars redirected. I would also like to see an emphasis on solutions we know can work, even if they are currently cost-prohibitive. The most recent attempt included recommendations for technologies that do not currently exist at the needed scale, and while that can be fun to envision, it makes it less likely to succeed.
To be candid, this will not be a project where any meaningful progress will be made in the next four years, but that does not mean the City can not be a part of laying the groundwork to support the next attempt. In order to do that, we will need to work together with the Federal Government, the State Government, and a nearly endless number of municipal governments and agencies. However, I remain confident that with patience and collaboration, we can finish the project, improve public transportation across the Bay, and make the commutes of Newark residents who work on the Peninsula a little bit easier.