What: The first public outreach meeting for the Citywide Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan project

When: September 29, 2010, 6–8 PM

Where: City Hall Large Community Room at 100 Gregory Lane

The City of Pleasant Hill is developing its first comprehensive Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan. The purpose of the plan is to:

• Develop a network of bicycle and pedestrian facilities that will provide better access to transit, schools and shopping destinations
• Develop policies to provide ample bike parking and other support systems for bicycling and walking in Pleasant Hill
• Include recommended education and encouragement programs to help Pleasant Hill residents learn to bicycle and walk safely

For more information, visit: http://www.walkandbikepleasanthill.com/

Wednesday September 1st, is Spare the Air day in the Bay Area, as issued by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Update: Thursday, September 2nd will also have a Spare the Air alert in effect.

Please consider:

• Taking transit
• Carpooling
• Vanpooling
• Working from home

For more information about air quality, visit our air quality page, download our free iSmog application for iPhone or visit Spare the Air.

The giant roadheader made a small ceremonial cut Aug. 8 for a public event, but it had to back out and wait for crews to use torches and other tools to cut out metal reinforcement embedded into the hill to stabilize the east portal of the tunnel.

The giant roadheader, which has a rotating cutter mounted on a boom, started boring Wednesday and had carved out about 10 feet of the new tunnel by midday Friday, Caltrans reported. “It’s exciting to see it finally boring through the mountain, scooping up the dirt, and moving it away,” Caltrans spokesman Jeff Weiss said at the construction site just north of the existing three bores of the Caldecott Tunnel on Highway 24.

Crews will be operating the roadheader 10 hours a day this week and 20 hours a day next week.

Source:

• www.insidebayarea.com

What: BART to Livermore informational meeting
Where: City Council Chambers, 3375 Pacific Ave. Livermore, CA 94550
When: Thursday August 26, 2010 at 6:30 pm

Visit www.barttolivermore.org for more information about the project.

Caltrans will close the connector between westbound Route 24 and Northbound Highway 13 beginning at 5PM on Friday, August 27 until Monday, August 30 at 5AM. Traffic seeking northbound Hwy 13 will be detoured onto the Caldecott Lane off-ramp. Signs will guide motorists to northbound Hwy 13.

Source:

• Caldecott-tunnel.org

Today, Tuesday August 24th, is a Spare the Air day in the Bay Area, making today the second smog day issued in two days by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. On summer Spare the Air days, ground-quality ozone–or smog–levels are expected to be unhealthy and residents are encouraged to cut back on activities that generate pollution. If you are sensitive to unhealthy air, please limit your time outdoors, especially during the afternoon hours.

For more information about air quality, visit our air quality page, download our free iSmog application for iPhone or visit Spare the Air.

Today, Monday August 23rd is Spare the Air day.

Concentrations of ground-level ozone pollution are forecast to be unhealthy today due to the combination of hot temperatures and light winds, resulting in poor air quality for the Bay Area.

To help prevent smog today, please:

• carpool or vanpool
• take transit
• telecommute (work from home)
• link necessary trips and postpone errands

To monitor current air quality conditions, visit our air quality page, download our free iSmog application for iPhone or visit Spare the Air.

Upcoming Events

• Sat. 9/18 – Tracks to Trails, 10AM – 2 PM
• Mon. 9/20 - Last day to enter Spare the Air Commuter Chronicles Contest
• Mon. 9/20 – Fri. Oct. 1 – Free rides for commuters btwn Dublin/Pleasanton and Pleasant Hill BART stations

Local News (Contra Costa County & East Bay)

• Iron Horse Trail pedestrian/bike bridge near completion
• Cell phone crackdown nets hundreds of distracted driver citations in Contra Costa County
• Road work begins in Discovery Bay
• CHP targets drivers in second cell phone crackdown
• Editorial: Caldecott Tunnel project good use of federal stimulus funds

Bay Area & California News

• Cooler weather means cleaner air for the Bay Area
• Now in BART stations: spaceships, ducks & a squid
• Billions earmarked for Bay Area transportation projects
• New bridge tolls shake up casual carpool market–which type of carpooler are you?

After months of construction and more than a decade of planning, the Iron Horse Trail Pedestrian/Bike Bridge is near completion. The bridge spans eight lanes of Treat Boulevard in the Pleasant Hill BART area, linking discontinuous sections of the Iron Horse Trail. Upon its opening (rumored to be Friday, August 27th), the overcrossing will allow for pedestrians and bicyclists to safely cross the heavily trafficked road.

Construction on the $6.8 million bridge over the eight lanes of Treat Boulevard began in September of 2009 (see project timeline below). More than 1 million people per year use the Iron Horse Regional Trail, a 24-mile stretch from Dublin to Concord that runs along an old railroad right of way.

From the Contra Costa Times:

Beverly Lane, who represents Central Contra Costa County on the East Bay Regional Park District board, said she thought the bridge would have been completed 10 years ago.

“I am really ecstatic. It’s just going to be so good for the trail users and the people driving down Treat; it will enable people to go over without stopping traffic,” Lane said.

What do you think of the new bridge? Tell us by taking the short survey below.

For more information:

• Contra Costa County Department of Public Works
• The Hanna Group