Southside: Now safer and easier to walk, bike, take transit

Overhaul of Southside streets improves safety, ease and reliability - while connecting to city, regional bike and transit networks.

On the south side of campus, you can now bicycle or scooter up, down, and across the area using bikeways protected from cars by concrete curbs and parked vehicles.

On southside sections of Bancroft Way or Durant Avenue, hop on a bus, and you'll glide through transit-only lanes with traffic signals that prioritize buses.

On foot or for people using a wheelchair, raised intersections in the area not only slow traffic and increase visibility of those travelers, but they also more comfortably transition those in wheelchairs from sidewalks across streets.

These permanent changes made block by block along a core set of roads create a network that allows for efficient movement through one of the region's densest areas for 45,000 students, 12,000 staff, and many others.

The southside transformation prioritizes modes that best share the public space, reduce congestion, and maximize mobility for all. In doing so, it's easier than ever to come to and through the area.

Come to the Southside. Walking, rolling, or riding a bus, your trip will be safer, more efficient, and more reliable.

Safer and easier to bike and scooter

Three interconnecting streets in the Southside neighborhood use concrete curbs, parked cars, and bus boarding islands to separate cars from bicyclists:

• Bancroft Way, from Piedmont Avenue to Milvia Street
• Dana Street, from Bancroft Way to Dwight Way
• Fulton Street, from Bancroft Way to Dwight Way

Protected bike lanes dramatically reduce all manner of threats from drivers, like sudden turns or merges without signals or opening of parked car doors. While many bicyclists ride any street, protected bike lanes encourage use for all ages and abilities. They get more people on bikes - the most reliable, efficient, equitable, and sustainable mode for most trips in Berkeley.

The bike lanes along Bancroft Way, Dana Street, and Fulton Street also use video detection cameras to recognize bicyclists and change traffic signals. The unimpeded ride helps keep momentum, especially when biking uphill on Bancroft.

These new bikeways also connect to Berkeley's bike boulevards, a gridded network of bike-friendly streets extending to Berkeley neighborhoods in all directions, as well as neighboring Oakland and Albany.

Jump on your bike or scooter - or grab a shared one - and take a ride through the Southside.

New bus lanes improve reliability and speed

Climb into any one of the public or private buses that serve and cross the Southside, and you'll move with greater ease.

The primary East-West roads - Bancroft Way and Durant Avenue - now each have dedicated bus-only lanes along with signals that prioritize their route.

The weight of cars, trucks, and buses wears down roads. To plan for a long-term, transit-rich street, the Bancroft Way bus lane was paved at 21 inches deep - compared to the typical 2- to 5-inch depth of a typical road. The lane's specialized asphalt also lasts longer and provides a smoother ride.

All this paves the way for one of the county's major transit corridors, bringing in students, staff, nearby workers, and visitors from the Bay Area. Bancroft Way alone serves:

• AC Transit bus lines 6, 22, 27, 36, 51B, 52, and F
• UC Berkeley's Bear Transit shuttle routes
• Berkeley Lab shuttle's Orange Route

Get on a bus to the southside, and you'll now get there faster and more reliably.

On foot or in a wheelchair, safety and ease improve

For those in wheelchairs and on foot, the southside improvements make it easier to cross key streets, be more visible to motorists, and also transition on and off sidewalks.

• Bancroft Way and Telegraph Avenue: At the main entrance to campus, the entire intersection is raised to increase visibility and smooth the sidewalk to street transition.
  • New bicycle-only traffic signal phase and extended pedestrian-only traffic signal phase added to this intersection.
• Bancroft Way and Fulton Street: A reconstructed and elevated pedestrian 'slip ramp' makes those walking or using a wheelchair more visible to drivers.
• Bancroft Way and Barrow Lane: A new traffic signal gives those on foot or in a wheelchair an alternate way to stop traffic to cross into campus.

In addition, new yellow textured curb ramps - following federally recommended guidelines - help vision-impaired pedestrians identify intersection crosswalks along the protected bikeways on Bancroft Way, Dana Street, and Fulton Street.

Roll by in your wheelchair or stroll through on foot.

southside plan invites less congestion

For those coming from around the region, these changes to the Southside invite people to visit using modes that are sustainable and efficient, reducing congestion. They easily connect to regional transit.

Take one of seven AC Transit lines, make the short walk from the Downtown Berkeley BART station, or use a shared bike or scooter.

Biking or rolling to southside is also safe and easy: ride on a quiet bike boulevard such as Milvia Street, Channing Way, or Hillegass Avenue to avoid mixing with car traffic. Shared electric scooters and Bay Wheels bikes are available for one-way rentals without the worries of maintenance and theft that come with ownership.

The project to improve southside mobility was funded through various local, state, and federal sources, including a one-time federal aid grant, which covered half the total cost. The improvements made at Southside are in line with existing City policies on pedestrian and bicyclist safety, transit priority, and ADA compliance.

Whether you roll in by bike or wheelchair, trot through on foot, or cruise in on a bus, the City's changes to the Southside better share the roads for all people.

links

• Southside Complete Streets Project webpage
• Oct. 1 Ribbon-cutting ceremony
• City-adopted policies
  • Vision Zero Action Plan
  • Climate Action Plan
  • Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan
  • Pedestrian Plan
  • Bicycle Plan
  • Transit First Policy
• Bike boulevards
• AC Transit Planner
• BART Trip Planner
• Shared bikes and scooters

Keep up with City of Berkeley news via our news page, email, Bluesky, or Instagram.