Hi,
My office moved from near the great mall to first and trimble. As far as I know there are only two ways for me to get from Berryessa to first and Trimble. One is brokaw , murphy and hostetter ( all the same street ) which is very bad under 880. Its horrible at night with lots of cars going fast. Montague is the other road I can take but it sucks too. Anybody know of any other routes?
thanks,
Matt
Forums:
Paul Metz
February 23, 2011 - 1:22pm
Permalink
If you mean Berryessa Road,
If you mean Berryessa Road, you could use that.
One idea: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Berryessa+Rd&daddr=37.3... but Commercial itself may not be pleasant.
Matt Murphy
February 24, 2011 - 11:33am
Permalink
alternate route
Hi Paul,
Thanks for the alternative but those roads are probably worse than Hostetter Murphy. I have to amend my comments the worst part of the ride is under 880 on brokaw. There is no bike lane there, little to no shoulder, a curve and fast moving cars wanting to get on the freeway. All the maps I've seen on SVBC erroneously show this as a bike route.
There would be an alternate way along the creek but its on a water district utility road.
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/28735998/
This is along coyote creek and may be part of the plan. It could be used now for mt bikes but for the locked gate on charcot and the homeless encampment under otoole.
I know there is a path along Penitencia creek under 680 that is very similar to what is needed here.
Paul Metz
February 24, 2011 - 12:21pm
Permalink
Yeah, it's shown on maps as
Yeah, it's shown on maps as having a bike lane, but it doesn't exist under the freeway.
Ok, here's an idea or two. Westbound, ride on the sidewalk until the bike lane reappears. Eastbound, you could get on the sidewalk when the lane disappears, then push the button as if you were going to cross Brokaw just before the overpass. When the light for Brokaw goes yellow, then continue east on Brokaw; this may lighten the traffic in the right hand turn lane.
In the (distant?) future, they are thinking of putting in a bridge to connect Charcot over the freeway.
Matt Murphy
February 24, 2011 - 12:49pm
Permalink
its part of the master plan for coyote creek trail.
http://www.sjparks.org/Trails/coyote/CoyoteAlignmentPlan.pdf
Why not just open the gates at brokaw and charcot so people can access the utility road? Its really all the trail you need!
clsgis
March 8, 2011 - 4:23pm
Permalink
you can do it
I commute there four days a week. The 880 underpass is the classic case where the only way through is to take your lane and be an equal part of the traffic.
Westbound, the right lane is wide enough for a truck and a bike side by side, and that's perhaps safer than riding in the middle of the lane, because of the blind curve. Just go fast enough that overtaking cars have enough time to notice you. Watch for the pothole just left of the utility cover, it's been there for several years. Ride over the utility cover instead.
Eastbound, the only safe way through is to take the whole right lane. Drivers under the bridge have passed the last light so they are thinking "freeway." If they are passing on your left and then turning right, you will never get through. Recently I've been sprinting away from the light at the Ford truck dealer, and I'm going 21 to 23 mph past the light on the other side. At that rate, drivers don't seem to mind that I'm in their way, because they wouldn't be going much faster anyway. I go slightly left of the middle of the lane. It's body language, indicating this is my lane and you can wait your turn. Nerve wracking till you get used to it, then it's fun.
Matt Murphy
March 14, 2011 - 4:55pm
Permalink
thanks.
Hey Cameron,
thanks for reply. I agree this is a time where taking the lane is probably the best approach if you have to be on the street. However the problem with taking the lane is you haven't taken anything. Cars own the road by virtue of their size. a bike will always lose when running across a drunk , or distracted driver. I was standing in a cross walk in front of a car which was at a stop sign. The car was looking to go right. I was ringing my bell and yelling trying to get noticed. The guy still managed to hit the gas and only stopped once he was pushing me. For me the best solution would be using the the utility road that is going to become coyote creek trail someday. The utility road goes to charcot and beyond. I'm going to the next San Jose Bike Advisory meeting to see about opening this section.
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/28735998
Add new comment