60% of Berkeley’s carbon emissions originate in our transportation sector. The Bay Area leads the nation in the number of super-commuters. District 2 abuts I-80 and contains portions of California State Routes 13 and 123. Some of Berkeley’s streets with the highest rates for bicycle and pedestrian auto-related injury fall in West Berkeley. Despite this, District 2 has access to Amtrak, bicycle routes, and AC Transit with connections to North Berkeley and Ashby BART. The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically damaged our transit agencies, with drivers and operators severely impacted on the front lines. Meanwhile, low ridership has put local transit agencies in fiscal jeopardy with potential service reduction posing the greatest threat to marginalized transit-dependent commuters.
As your District 2 City Councilmember, I plan to:
- Collaborate with regional leaders to ensure that transit agencies have the resources to maintain their quality of service and protect workers and riders.
- Protect and honor transit workers’ union labor contracts.
- Promote design standards and budget priorities aligned with Berkeley’s Vision Zero initiative to eliminate traffic fatalities.
- Advocate for safer pedestrian crossings, continuous protected bike lane networks, and minimizing parking demand from new construction along San Pablo Avenue.
- Advocate for bringing ferry service to the Marina and launch an electric fleet of fare-free shuttles serving young people, seniors, and West Berkeley commuters.
- Collaborate with Caltrans to ensure that Ashby and San Pablo receive improved infrastructure for pedestrian, cyclist and transit rider safety.
Major Legislation
- 51B BRT + University/Shattuck Corridor Mobility Improvements (passed; referred to 2025 budget process)
- Equitable Safe Streets and Climate Justice Resolution (passed)
- West Berkeley Transportation Plan (not funded)
Resources
Street Paving & Traffic Improvement Plans:
- Berkeley’s Five Year Paving Plan
- The recent update to the Paving Plan
- The Pedestrian Plan and Bicycle Plan (includes recommendations developed by staff following robust community engagement)
- Vision Zero Action Plan
To provide feedback:
- Call in to the City Council’s FITES Committee to give public comment.
- Call in to the Public Works Commission to give public comment.
- Complete the Healthy Streets Feedback Survey
San Pablo Avenue Corridor Project
The Alameda County Transportation Commission is leading three complementary near-term project components to improve safety and transit along the San Pablo Avenue corridor. The three project components are:
- Safety Enhancements Project (Berkeley and Albany). This project will improve the safety for pedestrians and bicyclists crossing San Pablo Avenue and improve transit speed by installing high visibility crosswalks, flashing beacons, pedestrian signals, median refuge islands, upgraded lighting, accessible curb ramp upgrades, bulb outs at Rapid bus stops, and bus stop relocations.
- Parallel Bike Improvements Project (Berkeley, Albany, and North Oakland). This project will implement improvements along bike boulevard/neighborhood bikeway routes that run along and connect to San Pablo Avenue, including traffic calming, crossing treatments at busy streets, and signage/wayfinding.
- Bus and Bike Lanes Project (Oakland, Emeryville, and South Berkeley). This project will improve transit speed and reliability by converting one vehicle travel lane in each direction to a dedicated bus lane and provide new cycling connections by converting parking lanes to protected bike lanes. The project will also include intersection safety improvements, bus stop consolidation, and new loading zones. Bus and bike lanes are not currently proposed in Berkeley north of Heinz Ave.
The three projects were identified as part of an extensive Phase 1 corridor planning effort between 2017 and 2020, based on community preferences expressed within the different jurisdictions.
Latest Work
- Taplin Proposes Equitable Safe Streets and Climate Justice ResolutionFebruary 9, 2021 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BERKELEY, CA —City Councilmember Terry Taplin has introduced the Equitable Safe Streets and Climate Justice Resolution, which would establish several traffic engineering policy changes to improve street safety: Adoption of the NACTO Urban Street Design Guide as the default engineering standard for city streets, while strongly restricting use of… Read more: Taplin Proposes Equitable Safe Streets and Climate Justice Resolution
- Councilmember Taplin Statement on Passing of Pedestrian Vincent KoehlerFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Diego Aguilar-Canabal (DAguilarCanabal@cityofberkeley.info) (510) 981-7120 “I’m heartbroken by the news that Vincent Kohler died this week after being struck by a drunk driver in Berkeley on August 19, as reported by Berkeleyside. Our community lost a cherished father, husband, and local business leader who would still be with us today if not for the fatal decision… Read more: Councilmember Taplin Statement on Passing of Pedestrian Vincent Koehler
- 4/29 6th St Traffic Calming WorkshopThursday, April 296:00 – 7:00pm Join Councilmember Terry Taplin in a Neighborhood Workshop for calming traffic on 6th Street. Register athttps://tinyurl.com/6thStTraffic
- 4/22 9th St Traffic Calming Neighborhood WorkshopThursday April 225:30-6:30pm Join Councilmember Terry Taplin, Matt George (Berkeley Firefighters Association IAFF 1227),& Kim Walton (District 2 Transportation Commissioner) in a Neighborhood Workshop for calming traffic on 9th Street. Register at https://tinyurl.com/9thStTraffic
- Councilmember Taplin Proposes Urgent Ninth Street Traffic Safety ImprovementsFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 4/13/2021 BERKELEY, CA – Jackie Erbe, a local mobility justice activist, was struck by a motorist on March 16 while biking with her child at Ninth Street and Channing Street and was hospitalized with serious injuries. In response to this near-tragedy and countless others like it, City Councilmember Terry Taplin (District 2)… Read more: Councilmember Taplin Proposes Urgent Ninth Street Traffic Safety Improvements