Editorials

After two years of planning and community discussion, the City of Berkeley and the University of California, Berkeley have released a co-sponsored Transportation Demand Management Study. The City and Campus will host a community meeting to present the Study on Monday, March 19 at 7 p.m. at the Trinity United Methodist Church at 2362 Bancroft Way, 

The study is the next step in a series of efforts by the City and the Campus to address traffic congestion and transit use in and around the campus area. It draws from a comprehensive Existing Conditions Report, published in Spring 2000, which details commute conditions in a study area extending roughly from Martin Luther King, Jr. to the west, Hearst Avenue on the north, Dwight Way to the south, and the eastern edge of the UC Campus/Prospect Street to the east. 

The study is intended to play an important role in informing planning programs and strategies of the university and the city such as in formulating the city’s General Plan, Southside Plan, and Campus Long Range Development Plan Update. Key findings outlined in the study suggest that employment growth in the area may be accommodated through expanding the use of alternatives to driving alone. And added parking in the area may be necessary to address impacts of commuter cars parked on neighborhood streets.  

Copies of the study are available for review at all branches of the Berkeley Public Library; on the City’s Web site (www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/planning/advance/TDM/tdmnoti.htm); and may be obtained at the City’s Planning and Development Department, 2118 Milvia Street, 3rd Floor (enter at 2120 Milvia Street). People are encouraged to take public transportation or ride bikes to the March 19 meeting.  

From the city’s press office. 

5. ated costs, implementation steps, and examples of success.  

These include items such as development of transit passes for area employees, expansion of existing shuttle systems, coordination of existing parking resources, and improved directional signage directing people to parking.  

Some of the current TDM projects involving the City and Campus include: An Events Coordinating Committee comprised of representatives from the City, Campus, local arts and entertainment venues, and athletic programs. They work together to anticipate and coordinate parking demand and traffic congestion associated with area events in the south campus and downtown area. Berkeley TriP, jointly funded by the City and UC for over a decade, which provides transit sales and services in the downtown. 

A pilot shuttle program linking the campus and the Rockridge BART Station, through collaboration between the City, UC Berkeley, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and AC Transit. A series of bicycle improvements, including the City’s new Bicycle Plan and additional bike parking and improved 

bike paths through the campus, with over $250,000 in campus investment in bicycle improvements since 1990. 

A transit “Class Pass” for UC Berkeley students, which provides students with unlimited use of the AC Transit 

system, funded through registration fees.  

The Study itself is a tool for policy makers to address issues and ensure a creative and balanced approach to reduce traffic 

congestion and encourage transit use with the goal of improving the overall quality of life in the area.  

Copies of the Study, including the Existing Conditions Report, are available for review at all branches of the Berkeley Public 

Library; at Doe, Moffitt, and the College of Environmental Design libraries on campus; on the City’s web site 

(www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/planning/advance/TDM/tdmnoti.htm); and may be obtained at the City’s Planning and Development 

Department, 2118 Milvia Street, 3rd Floor (enter at 2120 Milvia Street).  

We encourage you to take public transportation or ride your bike to the March 19th event. For more information on transit 

options, please contact Berkeley TriP at http://publicsafety.berkeley.edu/trip/ , call them at 510-644-7665, or visit them at 2033 Center Street.