Eyes on the Street: Poles Finally Getting Removed from Fruitvale Bike Lanes - Streetsblog San Francisco

"Work is finally underway to remove telephone poles from the center of the sidewalk-level bike lane on Fruitvale Avenue, which runs from the Fruitvale BART station to Jingletown and the estuary. "The work should be done on Monday," said a uniformed AT&T worker at the intersection of Fruitvale and San Leandro. That means cutting down the old pole and filling the hole it leaves behind. As seen in the lead image, the new pole is already installed and the wires have been moved over."

"As previously reported, Fruitvale Alive was a long-anticipated project to build Oakland's first substantial sidewalk-level bike lanes. It's also part of a decade-long push to try and make it easier to walk and bike between the BART station, the residential area of Jingletown, and the shopping districts just across the bridge in Alameda. Oakland "finished" the project, but for about a year PG&E failed to relocate a couple of utility poles that were blocking the new bike lane path, as seen in the pictures."

Work has begun to remove telephone poles that occupy the center of the new sidewalk-level bike lane on Fruitvale Avenue, connecting the Fruitvale BART station, Jingletown, and the estuary. A uniformed AT&T worker said the main removal should be completed on Monday after crews cut down the old pole and fill the hole. A new pole and relocated wires are already in place. PG&E and AT&T will return to restore the temporary patch and to remove a second pole at Fruitvale and 7th next week. Crews temporarily closed the slip lane from San Leandro to Fruitvale while working despite advocates' push for permanent closure. One remaining pole still allows navigation but poses less hazard.

Read at Streetsblog