Cycling advocates, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (SFBC) and City leaders are hailing a City decision expected in June to double the number of bike lanes on city streets, as a three-year injunction that has frozen all physical bike improvements is finally nearing an end.
San Francisco has seen a whopping 43 percent increase in the number of people bicycling on city streets since 2006. Photo by Dustin Jensen
By Teri Gardiner
Published: June, 2009
Cycling advocates, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (SFBC) and City leaders are hailing a City decision expected in June to double the number of bike lanes on city streets, as a three-year injunction that has frozen all physical bike improvements is finally nearing an end.
The San Francisco Planning Commission will be asked to certify the required Environmental Impact Report on the Bike Plan on June 25, making way for a June 26 hearing of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board. At this hearing, the Board will vote on whether to adopt the 50-plus bike projects outlined in the City’s proposed Bike Plan. Adoption of the plan will double the City’s Bike Network by adding 34 miles of bike lanes and an additional 23 miles of on-street bike routes marked with sharrows,” or shared lane stencils, on key routes like Second, Fifth, 17th and Townsend Streets, Kirkham Ave., Alemany Blvd., and dozens of others. The plan will also bring thousands of new bike racks, signage and other improvements.
Despite the three-year injunction and lack of improvements, San Francisco has seen a whopping 43 percent increase in the number of people bicycling on city streets since 2006, according to counts by Muni. Today, 6 percent of trips are completed by bicycle in the city, a remarkable mode share for a U.S. city.
“This is a momentous time for bicycling in San Francisco as the City is poised to create safer streets for the 128,000 people who bike regularly for transportation,” says Leah Shahum, Executive Director of the 10,000-member SFBC, which promotes bicycling for everyday transportation. “We know when we build it, they will come. There is a huge latent demand for better bicycling conditions, and the improvements coming will transform our city into a truly bike-friendly place.”
In fact, according to a recent David Binder poll, 33 percent of the City’s residents say they would bike more often if the environment were made more accessible and welcoming.
“Bike lanes are long overdue on busy Fifth Street as a way to improve safety by helping to organize the different transportation modes from bikes to buses to cars,” says Riyad Ghannam, an architect who commutes by bike from his home in the area. “Once the Fifth Street bike lanes are striped, my commute from home to work will be far safer, and I expect more people to try biking because they feel safer and more welcome.”
City counts show bicycling increases, on average, by 50 percent after a bike lane is added, including the following increases: Howard Street, 300 percent increase; Valencia Street, 144 percent; and Arguello, 67 percent.
“The Bike Plan is a means to an end. Safer, more inviting streets will translate to more people choosing to bicycle—an easy way for the City to meet its own environmental, health and accessibility goals,” says Shahum.
For more information regarding Bike to Work Day and the upcoming Bike Plan decision visit sfbike.org.
In May, cyclists gathered on the steps of City Hall to show support for the 50 plus projects up for City approval. Photo by Kate McCarthy
