Author: Stephen Blair

Joan Gallagher here (I’m a relatively new VR member and know many of you from the Wednesday rides). I’m writing to give you information about the Bike East Bay Hazard Reporting service. Sally Goodman asked that I serve as a liaison between the VeloRaptors and Bike East Bay to improve our ability to get our road hazards fixed. I will work with Tom Willging who is on the Bike East Bay board and who is the official VeloRaptor liaison to Bike East Bay.

I realize that many of you are already familiar with Bike East Bay, but may not be familiar with the hazard reporting process. For those of you who aren’t, please review the information below:

Bike East Bay volunteers report road hazards to the responsible jurisdictions in Alameda & Contra Costa Counties, including any hazards reported via BikeEastBay.org.  They also liaise with local cycling groups – Grizzly Peak Cyclists, Oakland Yellow Jackets, Bike Walnut Creek, Albany Strollers & Rollers, Cherry City Cyclists etc–and now the VeloRaptors–as they often have local contact knowledge that helps them gain access to the right Public Works or city staff. 

In the case of Oakland, a monthly report of the Top Ten potholes (most hazardous to bicyclists) is submitted.  Several years ago, after lobbying Oakland Public Works for more action resulting from their hazard reports, they were able to get OPW to commit to fixing ten per month.  The volunteers are very vigilant to making sure that OPW follows up on their commitments. They don’t see that many Oakland potholes reported each month on their hazards site, so SeeClickFix (more info below) is checked to fill their allotment. 

Hazards include more than just potholes, though we all probably experience the most frustration from them.  Other hazards include traffic signals that don’t sense bicyclists (older intersections with “loops” are the worst); debris in the bike lane or shoulder (think Grizzly Peak Blvd) overgrowth blocking travel or line of sight (Bay Trail in Albany is a constant problem) and a myriad of other hazards such as regular double-parking, drain grates, poor bike lane striping, hazardous railroad crossings, etc.  

If you see a hazard, please feel free to contact me directly at VeloRaptors@gmail.com and I will submit it to the Committee and keep you apprised of its status.  You can also submit your complaint directly to this link: https://bikeeastbay.org/node/add/hazard

Other helpful links:

https://bikeeastbay.org/hazards_map    This is the link to the hazard reporting site. The reports that people have filed and are checked daily can be found here:  https://bikeeastbay.org/hazard_reports 

For an example, check out that link for the report on Debra Dryden’s South Park crash last September. 

SeeClickFix        This is also a good app for reporting road hazards. The limitation is that it is designed to address a wider range of concerns (including, but not limited to homeless issues, graffiti, etc). Bike-related complaints may not necessarily be their highest priority.

Don’t hesitate to contact me or report something because you think it might have already been reported. And it’s often useful to take a picture to document the exact location.

Thanks!

Joan