Fernside Boulevard Bikeway Seeks $3.5M Design Grant

Alameda's Transportation Commission reviews a draft safety checklist Wednesday, Sept. 23, for a new two-way protected bikeway planned on Fernside Boulevard between Tilden Way and San Jose Avenue. The city needs that checklist to apply for a $3.5 million regional grant that would pay for the bikeway's full design.

• Where: Fernside Boulevard, between Tilden Way and San Jose Avenue.
• When: The Transportation Commission reviews the checklist at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23, at Alameda City Hall, 2263 Santa Clara Ave.
• Cost: The city is applying for $3.5 million to cover the full design phase, with no matching funds required.
• Who's behind it: City of Alameda Public Works and Planning, Building and Transportation staff, applying through the Metropolitan Transportation Commission's Safe Routes to Transit and Bay Trail program.
• What's next: If the grant comes through, preliminary engineering starts in 2028 and detailed design in 2029.

What would the Fernside Boulevard bikeway actually look like?

It's a two-way, physically separated bikeway running along one side of the street instead of painted lanes on both sides. The plan the City Council approved in March 2025 also adds new median islands, curb extensions, marked crosswalks and flashing beacons, plus upgraded bus stops with boarding islands and accessibility fixes at crossings. The bikeway would connect to the Cross Alameda Trail and the Bay Farm Bicycle Bridge, closing a gap in the city's bike network and in the regional Bay Trail.

Why does Fernside Boulevard need traffic calming?

The city's 2021 Vision Zero Action Plan lists Fernside as a Tier 3 high injury corridor for all modes of travel, and a Tier 2 and Tier 3 corridor for bicyclists specifically. Only 20% of Alameda's streets carry a high injury corridor label at all, which is why this stretch is getting a full redesign instead of simple restriping.

When will construction actually start?

Not soon. This round of funding covers design work only, not construction. City Council approved the concept back in March 2025, and near-term fixes like buffered bike lanes and crosswalk upgrades between Tilden Way and High Street are going in this fall as part of a separate paving project. The long-term, fully separated bikeway is a bigger job. If the $3.5 million grant comes through, preliminary engineering starts in 2028 and detailed design in 2029, with construction funding sought after that.

What happens next for the Fernside Boulevard project?

The Transportation Commission's Sept. 23 review doesn't approve or reject the project by itself. It's a required sign-off step for the grant application, which the Metropolitan Transportation Commission needs before it will consider funding the design work. City staff plan to submit the full grant application after folding in feedback from Wednesday's meeting, part of the city's broader push on Alameda's bike network.