511 Contra Costa

AMGEN bike tour,How to make transit fun, New Bay Bridge photos

URGENT: FINAL WEEK OF THE COMPETITION! SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY SOON!

Competition Deadline: 4:30 PM, Monday, May 7, 2012

The Fourth Bore of the Caldecott Tunnel will bring congestion relief to busy State Route 24 between Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. The Caldecott Medallion Design Competition will provide the children of these two counties an opportunity to play a role in the design of an important architectural detail of the Fourth Bore. In order to be considered in the competition, it is crucial that participants submit their entries no later than 4:30 PM on May 7, 2012.

The Caldecott Fourth Bore will have three “medallions” cast out of concrete on each side of the tunnel. The medallions will be located above the tunnel openings on the east and west sides and will become a part of this regional landmark for years to come.

All schoolchildren (K-12) who live in Alameda or Contra Costa Counties are asked to contribute artwork for the Medallion Design Competition. The competition deadline is only days away! Time is running out, and participants are strongly urged to submit their entries either to one of two drop off locations, or by U.S. Mail.

Drop Off Addresses (Must be received by 4:30 PM): Caltrans, District 4 Attn: Medallion Design Competition 111 Grand Avenue Oakland, CA 94612

Caldecott Construction Office Attn: Medallion Design Competition 3390 Mount Diablo Blvd Suite 200 Lafayette, CA 94549

Mailing Address (Postmarked by May 7th): Caltrans, District 4 Attn: Medallion Design Competition P.O. Box 23660 Oakland, CA 94623-0660

Three (3) winners from each county will be selected; the winning artwork will be used to design the molds which will create the Fourth Bore medallions. Children of the Fourth Bore Project Team and Caltrans employees are welcome to participate in the design competition.

Contest Theme: Art Deco Revisited

The theme for the Medallion Design Competition was selected by Bay Area residents via an online survey on the project website. As a tribute to the original Caldecott medallions that were created in the 1930s, the theme for the competition will be “Art Deco Revisited.” Students are encouraged to exercise their creative imaginations around the theme to explore ways that the past and present styles come together. Click here for more information about Art Deco.

Visit www.caldecott-tunnel.org/medallion for competition details.

How to Enter…

• Download the Contest Entry Packet Here
• Review the Contest Rules and Guidelines Here
• Fill out the Artist Information & Release Form – Please be sure to sign it!
• Adhering to the contest theme “Art Deco Revisited,” create your masterpiece on the Contest Entry Form – Don’t forget to write your “artist’s statement.”
• Drop off or mail your entry by Monday, May 7, 2012. (See contest guidelines for entry requirements and submission locations)

Visit www.caldecott-tunnel.org/medallion for details and more information on the competition.

Questions can be emailed to: medalliondesign@caldecott-tunnel.org

The Caldecott Fourth Bore Project is a partnership between the Federal Highway Administration, the California Department of Transportation, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Contra Costa Transportation Authority, and the Alameda County Transportation Commission

If you’ve ever taken BART to get anywhere, you’ve probably seen the most common map of the Bay Area– that displaying the iconic transit system’s network. But have you seen the Bay through the fascinating map filters of the region created by the San Francisco based Stamen Design? Stamen has developed three amazing ways to see the Bay:

Toner…

“These high-contrast B+W (black and white) maps are featured in our Dotspotting project. They are perfect for data mashups and exploring river meanders and coastal zones. Available in three flavors: normal, no labels, only labels.”

…Terrain….

“Orient yourself with our terrain maps, featuring hill shading and natural vegetation colors. These maps showcase advanced labeling and linework generalization of dual-carriageway roads.”

…. and Watercolor

“Reminiscent of hand drawn maps, our watercolor maps apply raster effect area washes and organic edges over a paper texture to add warm pop to any map.”

The pictures above are just stills, so if you want to see more go ahead and check out the cool, interactive maps yourself!

What is a commute? We often think of it as a frustrating time going to and from work. But a commute can be so much more than time spent in traffic or waiting for a bus or train,  it can be an opportunity to…

Photo credit: Steve Rhodes

…catch up on some reading, perhaps the day’s newspaper or a book…

Photo credit: East Bay Bicycle Coalition

…get a little exercise…

Photo credit: Aaron Baltierra

… or try out those new apps on your phone.

These are just a few ways to spend a commute, what do you like to do on your commute? Let us know by May 31st, in this poll or in the comments, we will be selecting one entry at random to win a $20 BART ticket!

Curtis Corlew, 2012's Bike to Work Day Commuter of the Year for Contra Costa County, CA

Curtis Corlew, an art and journalism professor at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg, has won 2012 BTWD Bike Commuter of the Year award for Contra Costa County.

Curtis Corlew bicycled when he was younger and then he stopped. “Boy was I getting big,” Corlew says. “I was over 190, and I’m a small person.” Corlew’s wife convinced him to get back on a bike in 2004 by starting her own bike commute. Now Corlew rides every day, he’s down to about 140, and is so enthusiastic about riding that he incorporates bike consciousness into his teaching.

This year, for example, as one his graphics class assignments, his students have created Bike to Work posters for the Los Medanos College community, urging students, administrators and faculty to bike commute to school on May 10.

Corlew’s route to the college is mostly on the canal bike path. He’s ridden the 16-mile round trip every work day – except one – this year. “The best thing about the commute is how you’re in touch with the seasons and the aromas of the day,” Corlew says. “So as the seasons change you smell flowers or grasses or lavender or somebody’s cooking bacon in the morning. And every day you notice that the days are longer. You’re not sealed off but rather are a part of the world.”

He adds, “Because I’m a teacher I can keep my bicycle in my office. So people see it and they ask me about it. You do something like this and you realize, gosh this is so great! I get better parking. It’s like a free gym membership. We live in the suburbs. We have a car. But it sits in the garage all week long not using gas, and not getting dirty and not having the sun beat down on it. It’s going to last a long long time. And that’s a real cost saving.”

Julie Haas-Wajdowicz, who nominated Corlew wrote, “On campus everyone knows him by his bicycle and asks him for advice on purchasing a commuter bike, bike routes, and bicycle vacations. Bike commuting morphed into vacation cycling: he and his wife cycled Oregon, Washington, Canada, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming last summer. Curtis’s life has changed for the better, just because he started riding his bike to work.”

For Curtis’s full story click here.

Don’t miss out on Bike to Work Day this year, May 10, 2012! Read more about the event and how you can participate.

Image credit: Carl

What

In partnership with the Contra Costa County Spare the Air Resource Team, Transit and Trails will lead a workshop that provides tools, tips and tricks for planning a hike or a camping trip. The workshop is free, and refreshments will be provided.

If you’re in Contra Costa County and you want to take groups outdoors, this is the workshop for you!

When

May 19, 2012
10:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Where

Concord Library: The Meeting Room, 2900 Salvio Street, Concord

View Larger Map

Register

Registration Link

Contact

Jessica Williams, jwilliams at communityfocus dot org.

Below is the anticipated schedule of upcoming westbound ramp and lane closures associated with work on the Caldecott Fourth Bore Project for the week of April 30-May 4, 2012. Please note that inclement weather may cause schedule changes.

Monday, April 30 – Friday, May 4

• Overnight Westbound Fish Ranch Road Onramp Closures (in Orinda): Occurring nightly, 9 PM – 5 AM
• Overnight Closures of right lanes on Westbound State Route 24 from Camino Pablo Onramp (in Orinda) to Bore Three (towards Oakland): Occurring nightly, 9:30 PM – 4 AM
• Overnight Bore Three Closures (towards Oakland): Occurring nightly, 10 PM – 4 AM

Friday, May 4 – Saturday, May 5

Please note: On Friday night (May 4) closures of the above lanes and ramps are planned to begin one hour later than the Monday-Thursday schedule. The anticipated reopening times are:

• Westbound Fish Ranch Road Onramp in Orinda expected to reopen at 8 AM on Saturday, May 5.
• Westbound State Route 24 right lanes between Camino Pablo onramp in Orinda and Bore #3 expected to reopen at 7 AM on Saturday, May 5.
• Bore #3 (towards Oakland) expected to reopen at 7 AM on Saturday, May 5.

In addition to the excavation of a 3,400-foot-long tunnel north of the existing three bores, the $391.8 million Caldecott Fourth Bore Project includes traffic improvements on the eastern and western sides of the tunnel.

For more information on the upcoming closures visit the Caldecott Tunnel Traffic Page.

Caldecott Traffic advisory, AC Transit Hydrogen Fueling Facility, Car- Free adventures

TRANSPAC (Transportation Partnership and Cooperation) has released a call for projects for a funding opportunity for transportation services for seniors and people with disabilities in Central Contra Costa County.

TRANSPAC is the Regional Transportation Planning Committee (RTPC) for Central Contra Costa. It is composed of elected representatives, planning commissioners and technical staff from the six Central Contra Costa jurisdictions including the cities of Clayton, Concord, Martinez, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek and the unincorporated area of Central Contra Costa County.

The call for projects can be found on the TRANSPAC web page at the following link: http://transpac.us/other-documents-and-information

The City of Richmond’s Via Verdi Repair Project is nearing commencement. Starting on May 1, 2012 and lasting up to eight months, El Portal Drive will be temporarily closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic between the Church of Christ parking lot and Barranca Street. Changeable Message Boards have been placed in the I-80 corridor to provide advance notice of the temporary road closure to drivers. Note: El Portal Drive / I-80 Ramps can still be accessed from El Portal west of the temporary closure.

Detour area:

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Driving detour routes (click to enlarge):

Eastbound El Portal Drive Detour

Westbound El Portal Drive Detour

Detour from I-80 to Locations East of Closure

Detour to I-80 for Traffic East of Closure

Also beginning May 1, 2012, there will be a temporary detour route for AC Transit bus lines “L” and “74.”

AC Transit detours (click to enlarge):

AC Transit Detour Plan for El Portal/Via Verdi Construction

AC Transit Pedestrian Access Plan for El Portal/Via Verdi Construction

AC Transit Line 74

During the course of the Via Verdi Repair Project, you can receive project updates via Twitter (@CoR_Engineering) or Facebook (City of Richmond).

You can access the City of Richmond, CA Facebook page by simply clicking on the Facebook symbol in the top right corner of the City’s main website: http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/

Via Verdi Repair Project webpage: http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/index.aspx?NID=2135