This bridge was made to allow bicycles, pedestrians, and wheelchair users access to the Berkeley Marina, Eastshore State Park, and the city. In the records of the city, the bridge is referred to as the “City of Berkeley Eastshore Pedestrian Overcrossing”. The bridge has two lanes for bikes, and a raised sidewalk and is wide enough to carry emergency vehicles. Crossing 14 lanes of traffic, the main span is 85 metres (279 ft) long and the elevated approaches total 100 metres (330 ft) in length
Opened on February 27, 2002, the bridge was built at a cost of $6.4 million. The bridge created an ADA compliant route between Berkeley and its Marina/waterfront park region. Prior to its construction, the only wheelchair accessible route was via an undercrossing one mile to the north. Bicycles and pedestrians could use a dark, hidden, and seldom-used path and stairwell that ran under and along the University Avenue freeway overpass.
Since opening, the bridge has seen a much higher use than the previous path and stairwell.
Berkeley artist Tyler Hoare first put up wooden replicas of the famous Peanuts characters in their airplanes, battling World War One flying aces, back in 1975 and continues to get support from creator Charles Schultz’ family. Hoare, now 74, builds the sculptures, which last five years at the most, before being washed away by the wind and waves is now installing the new sculpture at the end of a pier near Chevy’s.
At times he’s had to replace the characters as frequent as every few weeks, depending on the waves and the weather and he’s made more than 30 versions.
Hoare said he first got the idea when he himself was stuck in traffic on I-80, gazing out at the Bay.
x
x
x
x
These landmarks were missing for twenty years and were reinstated in 2012. Hoare said “I saw that post and I thought [it] really needs something. I thought for a long time a big banana or a dragon and finally the airplane thing. We went away for a holiday, came back and it was a roaring success.”
They’ve been an East Bay icon ever since. Hoare said the long-running project has been the best use of his artwork Hoare said he still shows the sculptures in museum galleries, but that this is something he does strictly for the public
x
x
x
x
x
9
x
10