Re: [Ebbc-Talk] Naming of Alexander Zuckermann path mentioned in SF Chronicle

It's very unfortunate and ironic that Alex provided ammunition to the 
anti-cyclist faction in CalTrans and the public.
I'm very pleased that the path is named for him.
Now, we have to get the rest of the way.

73, doug

On 08-Sep-13 14:14, Zach Kaplan wrote:It's very inf
> http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/Naming-Bay-Bridge-span-after-Willie-Brown-in-works-4795722.php
>
> The first half of the article is about naming the new bridge after Willie Brown, here is the relevant part of the article:
>
> Cycling twist: The "Alexander Zuckermann Bike Path" on the new Bay Bridge span is getting a lot of attention, but just as interesting is the inside story on how the 2.2-mile-long lane got its name.
>
> The official version is that it was named for the founding chair of the East Bay Bike Coalition because of his tireless efforts to persuade Caltrans that the path (whose price tag grew from $50 million to $200 million) should be included.
>
> What isn't mentioned is that Zuckermann had an after-hours bike accident on the bridge that left him in a wheelchair and resulted in a $1.7 million payout.
>
> In October 2002, three Caltrans engineers invited the then-81-year-old Zuckermann - a onetime Oakland planner known to his family as a "thrill seeker" - to join them on a nighttime ride across the old Bay Bridge's upper deck while it was closed for retrofit construction.
>
> The idea was to come up with ideas for making the bridge safe for bikes.
>
> Two hours into the ride, at 3 a.m., Zuckermann's tire got caught in an expansion joint - sending Zuckermann over the handlebars.
>
> He slammed into the pavement, cracking his helmet and suffering a severe brain injury that had him in a coma for weeks.
>
> "The irony is he was felled while probably going 5 mph," said his oldest son, David Zuckermann.
>
> Mentally impaired and using a wheelchair, Zuckermann was eventually moved to a skilled nursing center in Oakland and later to Berkeley.
>
> His family sued Caltrans to help pay for his care, and after years of negotiations the two sides reached a confidential settlement in 2006. Caltrans officials, however, now confirm the $1.7 million award.
>
> He died less than a year later at age 86.
>
> "One blessing is that he didn't remember what happened to him and was not quite aware of his limited capacity," David Zuckermann said.
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