The concrete cord simply ends. It's a common problem faced by bicyclists. There is no regional network of bicycle lanes, trails and transit, making it difficult to navigate the nine-county Bay Area. So the Metropolitan Transportation Commission is undertaking a regional bike plan. Officials imagine a future where biking is so simple that people casually use a combination of bike and transit to get from, say, Marin to Berkeley, perhaps looking up routes on special bike-transit maps.
Bikes are an integral piece of a regional transportation plan.
Making the connections Eight Bay Area counties have existing bike plans, and Contra Costa County is drafting its plan. The MTC hopes to link those bike paths by identifying, then closing, the gaps. The agency also wants to design consistent bike signs among the counties, make bike paths connect with transit hubs and have bike racks and lockers available at transit stations. That marriage needs to be strengthened, bicycle advocates say. Bikes are banned from most Bay Area bridges, and many transbay buses carry only two bikes at a time.