Photos from University Avenue Pedestrian Overcrossing Construction

I just wanted to write a quick post sharing some photos I took on January 12, 2024, of the University Avenue Pedestrian Overcrossing project. My most recent update was in December, last month.

North Side

On the north side, a dirt ramp has been built which cliffs off at the end. The pedestrian bridge follows this hill.

South Side

On the south side, there has been construction work with the support beams which go pretty deep into the ground.

Conclusion

I am very excited about this new pedestrian / bicycle overcrossing. The status quo is not safe. On my way home, I biked on the existing road and it was very sketchy and I would not do it again. The road conditions are not good for bikes on the south side; I felt like my bike tire could get stuck in a groove in the ground.  Cars are weaving into different lanes to try to get onto the different Highway 101 ramps. Cars drive pretty fast if they can, and even if there is traffic, cars will accelerate to try to make it past the traffic lights before they turn red.

I have some concerns with the placement of the future bridge to the west of University Avenue. In the future when I am biking northbound on University Avenue, I will need to cross east-west twice in order to use the new overcrossing. On the south side, I would wait 3 - 4 minutes for the walk light to cross to the west side of University. Then, after crossing the future pedestrian bridge, I would need to wait another 3 - 4 minutes for the walk light to cross back to the east side of University Avenue to continue northbound. This would mean adding around 8 minutes of time to a bike ride over the Highway 101 along University Avenue.