Even though it’s as ironic as it is questionable, any kind of bike lane protection in SF is welcomed.
San Francisco is often considered the New York City of the West Coast for a reason — mainly because, like New York City, it’s incredibly dense. (Fun fact: San Francisco is the second densest major city in the United States … second to [you guessed it] New York City.)
We love transit. We love to walk. We love scooters. And we love latticing the seven-by-seven by bike.
This is how San Francisco moves forward, one street at a time, towards a city where we have a robust transportation network that connects our entire city.
Thank you to @SFMTA_Muni and @sfpublicworks for your tireless work in getting this done, and to the @sfbike coalition for… pic.twitter.com/DXoX5dCjCG
— London Breed (@LondonBreed) October 30, 2024
It’s the latter means of carbon-free transportation that remains as contentious as it does dangerous in San Francisco; the City’s Slow Streets Program produced more than 22 car-free corridors, with some now becoming permanent (or quasi-permanent), despite some San Francisco Supervisors vehemently opposing such environmentally-sound passageways; San Francisco documents hundred of bicycle-related injuries caused by factors like vehicle collision and, subpar road conditions each calendar year.
Last week, San Francisco recorded its 21st pedestrian fatality… just days after a 70-year-old man was struck and killed by a City trash vehicle.
Suffice it to say that any sort of safeguarding from fast-traveling steel is welcomed, so seeing San Francisco introduce new bike lanes just outside City Hall is welcomed. The situational satire? They use parked cars to protect bikers … from other cars.
“These latest [protected] lanes are part of our work to get things done by cutting through the red tape and putting safety first,” reads a post on X by London Breed, highlighting the new bright-neon green bike lanes outside of City Hall. Unlike more conventional protected bike lanes that use physical, static boundaries, i.e. concrete barriers and speed bumps, the one block’s worth of bike lanes utilizes parked cars to shield cycles from oncoming traffic.
That’s right: San Francisco’s newest protected bike lanes require parked cars, each needing to sit parallel to the bike lane. Thankfully, there’s buffer space between the cars themselves and the bike lane to prevent “dooring” — bike collisions involving an open driver- or passenger-side that overlaps with a bike lane, sometimes proving fatal for cyclists.
“For too long, outdated street designs and too much bureaucracy held us back from real progress,” Breed continues, highlighting the red tape and policy hoop-jumps needed to increase SF’s network of bike lanes.”But today, we’re moving forward with changes that make this city work for everyone—bikers, pedestrians, drivers, transit riders, scooter users, skateboarders, and all who call San Francisco home.”
