The North Bay Leadership Council is currently an active participant in the Common Sense Transportation Coalition led by the Bay Area Council to alleviate morning traffic on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge by instituting an emergency breakdown lane on the upper deck of the bridge, eventually converting to an HOV/Transit lane in place of the current bike lane on Mondays-Thursdays. 

Every morning, over 18,000 commuters cross the Richmond-San Rafael bridge, a number of them may be employees and educators. During the same morning commute, only 20 bikers cross the bridge. As I'm sure you are aware, the current backup on the Richmond bridge of 16 minutes on average daily, and up to an hour with accidents, makes the daily commute for these workers extremely painful, and unpredictable for employers.

This common-sense measure, supported by California Assemblymember Damon Connolly, Marin Supervisor Stephanie Moulton-Peters, and over 20,000 Marin and East Bay residents, has passed the voting of two Bay Area planning commissions unanimously, with a final vote from the Bay Conservation and Development Committee to approve the plans on November 21st. We at the North Bay Leadership Council and the Bay Area Council are hoping to collect signatures from Marin businesses and employees on our letter to the BCDC, urging them to give much-needed respite to the commuting workers Marin depends on. We are also hoping to gain personal letters from commuters about their current commute difficulties caused by RSR bridge traffic. 

Please consider sending your letter to the BCDC commissioners urging them to act now to fix the Richmond Bridge. This is our final opportunity!