Emeryville Critical Mass Rides Again: Visits Lake Merritt

Emeryville Critical Mass rode from the MacArthur BART station on May 26, 2007.

The new ride was unusually small due to the holiday weekend. Participants elected to visit Lake Merritt in Oakland instead.

Jason Meggs of the BCLU and Wheels of Change Productions recorded interviews on a cell phone. Sound and image quality are lacking as a result.

WARNING: THIS FOOTAGE HAS BEEN EDITED!! OMIGOD!

Highlights:

1) The 7-person mass is joined by an 8th rider;

2) Discussion of access for bicyclists and pedestrians around Lake Merritt, including a swoop through the center of the southbound portion of the very scary "shortest freeway on earth," various considerations of upcoming plans to redesign the perimeter (mostly not caught on video), as well as an idea for providing bicycle services and rentals oriented towards accessing the lake as a boon for bicycling and economic development in Oakland both;

3) Geese in the road ("Geese Critical Mass" -- without allusion to the similarities between geese and CM);

4) A participant describes being hit by a driver who happens to be a senior citizen within blocks of leaving the May 11, 2007 Critical Mass Berkeley (the ride that ended with the now infamous attack by Mr. Head, who crushed three bicycles and injured at least two riders);

5) The issue of how the undemocratic car-dependent transport system has harmed access for both young and old alike is discussed briefly.

Note that because this was a smaller ride, the demonstrators elected to stay in one or at most two lanes.