The adopted Bay Trail alignment travels on seven of the eight toll bridges in the region.  (The lone exception is the Antioch Bridge, which crosses Suisun Bay, east of the Bay Trail alignment.)  All the bridges are owned by the State of California and administered by Caltrans, the state Department of Transportation, with the exception of the Golden Gate Bridge, which is owned and managed by the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District.

Following is information regarding public access on the seven toll bridges on the Bay Trail alignment.  For more information on this topic, including approaches to the bridges and bike-rack-equipped buses on the bridges, visit www.transitinfo.org/bikes/bike_bridge.html.  Finally, Bike the Bridge! Coalition is an advocacy group dedicated to securing public access on the Bay Area’s bridges (510/273-9288 or jmeggs@lmi.net).

Carquinez Bridge: Bicyclists and pedestrians are not allowed, and Caltrans’ bike shuttle has been discontinued.  Vallejo Transit operates buses equipped with bike racks (800/640.2877 or www.vallejotransit.com).  A two-way, 12-foot-wide separated path for cyclists and pedestrians will be provided on the new span of the bridge scheduled to open in 2003.

Benicia-Martinez Bridge: Bicyclists and pedestrians are not allowed, but Caltrans operates a bike shuttle weekdays 6:00 am- 6:30 pm, and weekends and holidays 9:15 am- 5:30 pm (November-March) and 9:15 am-6:30 pm (April-October); call 510/286.0589.  A new span of the bridge will be constructed by 2004, at which time the existing span will be restriped with a two-way, 12-foot-wide separated path for cyclists and pedestrians.

Dumbarton Bridge: There is a two-way, eight-foot wide separated path for cyclists and pedestrians on the south side of the bridge; the length is 3.4 miles.

Golden Gate Bridge: Bicyclists and pedestrians are allowed to cross using the sidewalks; check www.transitinfo.org/bikes/bike_bridge.html for restrictions dictating which sidewalk must be used depending on the time and day of the week.  The length of the bridge is 1.2 miles (1.7 miles including the approaches).

San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge: Bicyclists and pedestrians are not allowed.  Caltrans operates a bike shuttle during weekday commute hours between San Francisco’s Transbay Terminal and MacArthur BART Station in Oakland; fare is $1 (call 510/286.0876 or 510/286.0669 for departure times).  AC Transit operates buses equipped with bike racks (510/839.2882 or www.actransit.org).  Public access advocates, working as the Bay Bridge Bicycle and Pedestrian Access Committee (BBBPAC), have secured a firm commitment for a path as part of the new span being planned for the east stretch of the bridge (from Oakland to Yerba Buena Island).  The BBBPAC has also obtained legislative support, and are working to secure funding and approval, for a path as part of the seismic retrofit of the west span (Yerba Buena Island to San Francisco).  Contact the Bay Trail Project for information about the BBBPAC.

San Mateo-Hayward Bridge: Bicyclists and pedestrians are not allowed, and Caltrans’ bike shuttle has been discontinued.  The planned widening of the east-end trestle will not provide a path but it will include a bike shuttle and several projects to improve public access from this bridge to the Dumbarton Bridge on the Alameda County side.

Richmond-San Rafael Bridge: Bicyclists and pedestrians are not allowed, and Caltrans’ bike shuttle has been discontinued.  Golden Gate Transit operates buses equipped with bike racks (415/923.2000 or www.goldengate.org).  In December 1998, a public access feasibility study was completed, which recommended near-term use of the existing shoulders for nonmotorized uses, and, in the long term, a separated two-way path.