Advocacy & Safety - Should I complain to Caltrans about this?

Today I rode accross the newly built Carquinez bridge near Vallejo CA. There's a walkway/bikeway that parallels the freeway offramp -- a long, downward sloping, curving stretch of about 1/4 mile.

While it's made of concrete, it seems they've covered it with a nice, patchy layer of gravel.

My guess is that the gravel is so that pedestrians don't slip and fall when it's wet. What I don't think they realized is how dangerous this is to cyclisits. I may be wrong, but wouln't a good squeeze of my brakes cause both wheels skid?

Are you sure the transit company is responsible for this walkway? I guess you can complain but if the work involves repaving 1/4 of a mile, it could easily cost 100K! Yes, I'm not kidding!

It's already paved. It would involve sweeping up the gravel.

Today I rode accross the newly built Carquinez bridge near Vallejo CA. There's a walkway/bikeway that parallels the freeway offramp -- a long, downward sloping, curving stretch of about 1/4 mile.

While it's made of concrete, it seems they've covered it with a nice, patchy layer of gravel.

My guess is that the gravel is so that pedestrians don't slip and fall when it's wet. What I don't think they realized is how dangerous this is to cyclisits. I may be wrong, but wouln't a good squeeze of my brakes cause both wheels skid?

If you think it's dangerous, yes...you should write them a letter.

Could be a militant pedestrian trying to keep bikes off the bridge. A simialer walkway was installed on the draw bridge here, complete with funds from the Palmetto Cycling Coalition, only to have some uberactivist type out homemade "No Bicycles on Pathway" signs. Now they have gone to putting gravel on the pathway.

This highlights a fundamental problem with mixed-use bike/ped paths. It's too bad they didn't build a wider path, with a bike lane demarcation, although of course there is no guarantee everyone would follow the rules ...