New Bike/Pedestrian Bridge for River Levee
Published Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Bruce Van Allen
Bruce Van Allen, Neal Coonerty, and John Laird
open the new bike/pedestrian bridge
across the San Lorenzo River.
Life just got a little better for cyclists and pedestrians in Santa Cruz: on January 23 several dozen people ignored a chilly drizzle to cheer the ribbon-cutting that marked the opening of a new bicycle-pedestrian bridge across the San Lorenzo River.
Just downstream from Highway 1, the bridge links neighborhoods and shopping areas, improves cross-town cycling, and completes the loop of the riverway path system.
When first proposed in 1985, the bridge addressed concerns among community members over the lack of a safe crossing for bikes and pedestrians at this location. Use of the narrow ledge on the nearby Highway 1 bridge is dangerous and illegal, and the option to wade across the river puts sensitive habitat at risk. The nearest alternate crossing was previously at Water Street, over half a mile away. The lack of a crossing also exacerbated the dead-end aspect of the levee paths on both sides of the river approaching the highway, leaving a largely ignored and less welcoming zone of the city.
The bridge has been a long time coming. Funding for the original design was secured from several public sources, with then-Assemblymember John Laird playing a key role in getting an essential state grant. Later, when the project was threatened due to increased construction costs, People Power was instrumental in keeping the project alive. Members of the San Lorenzo River Committee, Public Works Committee, and Public Art Committee, along with City staff from Public Works, the Parks Department, and the City Manager's Office, quickly approved an alternative design. With local approval, the funders agreed to a redesign. The bridge was then re-bid and finally built.
Today we have a beautiful new bridge—a safe and attractive link for pedestrians and cyclists crossing the river. Special thanks to everyone in the City, especially staffers Chris Schneiter and Joe Hall who led this project to its completion.
Bruce Van Allen is a People Power member, former mayor of Santa Cruz, and longtime advocate for restoration of the San Lorenzo River.