Richmond Bridge bicycle lane

To Whom it may Concern:

Last week, at midday, when traffic is normally light on the approach to the Richmond Bridge, I was stuck in stalled traffic backed up three miles for more than an hour and a half at the approach of the Richmond Bridge. The traffic back up was worse than at rush-hour. It was so bad and there so long a wait that one driver in a jeep pulled over to let his young son pee on the left shoulder.

As we eked our way forward and across the bridge towards Marin, the reason for the traffic jam became clear. A van with a flat tire had nowhere to pull off, so it pulled off in the right lane as close as it could against the cement bicycle divider.

Because the van could not move out the right lane, traffic jammed up for three miles before the toll booth, and there was even more stuck traffic nearly the entire length of the Richmond bridge. No rescue tow truck was dispatched, either. I guess that’s a thing of the past. We just sat there and watched our fingernails grow. Wasted gas idling in line. And during that entire time, only one or two bicyclists used the bicycle lane.

Why are we being held hostage by bicyclists who do not need to use the bridge to get to and from work?For the most part, bicycling is a leisure-time activity, so we are subsidizing their leisure-time against our work time.

This is not acceptable. Either the bicycle lane needs to be removed, or a zipper needs to be put in allowing that third lane to be open during rush-hour and during accidents. By coincidence, my neighbor invented the golden gate zipper. And he would be thrilled if that were implemented.

Maureen Hurley