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Bay Farm residents press council over McCartney Road redesign and safety; council hears mixed views
Summary
Multiple Bay Farm residents told the council Jan. 6 they oppose lane reductions and new bike lanes on McCartney Road (Phase 43), citing traffic, accident data and lack of council-level approval; advocates from BikeWalk Alameda defended the changes as safety-driven and noted a 2023 traffic death.
Residents of Bay Farm Island urged Alameda leaders on Jan. 6 to reconsider parts of the Phase 43 McCartney Road redesign, saying lane reductions and new bike lanes will increase congestion and risk for neighborhood residents.
Speakers including Ray Greyber and Steve Bondi said engineers and community members had raised concerns that staff used a long time horizon for accident data (15 years) and that the project had not been approved by council prior to construction. "It is what can be termed as possible cherry‑picking," Greyber said, urging the council either to bring the project before the council or explain why it did not.
Donna Marie Pharaoh and William Morrison described Bay Farm as a longstanding, close-knit neighborhood and said residents were not adequately engaged before striping and repaving work began. Several speakers said existing railroad tracks and other local features were being altered without clear public discussion.
Maria Piper, Bay Farm resident and president of the Bay Farm PTSA and a BikeWalk Alameda board member, disagreed with opponents on safety grounds. Piper said the city’s Complete Streets, Vision Zero and active-transportation policies prioritize slower vehicle speeds and safer crossings for children and people walking to school. "The previous design did not work. It encouraged speeding and... it created hazardous conditions," Piper said, noting a traffic death in 2023 as part of the rationale for the new design.
Councilmembers took public comments but did not take immediate action on the McCartney project at the meeting. Several asked staff to provide more information and to continue community engagement.
Why it matters: The dispute pits neighborhood access and perceived traffic impacts against citywide safety policies that favor slower traffic and protected bike/ped facilities, with potential implications for school crossings and ferry access.
What's next: Council asked staff for more information; no formal vote or policy change occurred on the McCartney design during this meeting.
