Berkeley cyclists are slated to take to the streets Thursday for “Bike to Work Day,” an annual event to raise awareness about the benefits of bike commuting with “energizer stations,” a ride with the mayor, a happy hour after work, and more.
From 7-9 a.m., more than 20 “energizer stations” have been planned around Berkeley. According to Bike East Bay, an advocacy group that spearheads the organization of the event, “Stations are open all morning with refreshments, free Bike to Work Day bags and high fives for everyone riding by.”
At 7:30 a.m., go on a bike ride with Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín and other council members. Meet at Hearst Avenue and Arch Street in North Berkeley.
Free breakfast will be available from 7:30-9:30 a.m. at the Berkeley Bike Station energizer station at 2208 Shattuck Ave., south of Allston Way.
After work, cyclists will meet for a “Bike to Work Day Happy Hour” (5:30-8:30 p.m.) with “Food trucks, beer, live music, and games for all ages.” That car-free event, at Derby and Milvia streets in South Berkeley on the Milvia Street Bicycle Boulevard, is hosted by Sports Basement.
The city of Berkeley, in a statement released this week, described 2017 as “a big year for bicycling in Berkeley.”
According to the city, “Berkeley is celebrating the City Council’s approval on May 2 of the updated Berkeley Bicycle Plan, the planning for the launch of bike share in July, [and] new parking-protected bikeways, which use a physical separation such as parked cars to give extra protection to bike lanes.” Last year, the city opened its first protected lane on Fulton Street, at Bancroft Way, after a cyclist was nearly killed by a driver there.
Bike East Bay says other exciting bike-related plans in Berkeley include the Bancroft Way protected bikeway and bus-only lane pilot project, to be completed in June; new bike rack and corral installations coming in the fall; the Hearst Complete Streets project, to be completed this summer; Berkeley’s first HAWK Beacon, at Hillegass and Ashby avenues, coming this summer; the expanded new home of the Bike Station in the Center Street Garage, opening in spring 2018; and “funding for Southside bicycle and bus pilot projects as well as the Milvia Street Bicycle Boulevard protected bikeway, all coming over the next few years.”
Planning to bike to work Thursday? Bike East Bay invites you to “take the pledge” to ride to be entered in a drawing to win a Bike East Bay Beautiful Machine T-shirt.
Curious about other Bike to Work events outside Berkeley? Check out the Bike East Bay website for much more information.
