A much-criticized bike lane that runs through the middle of a San Francisco street could be relocated less than a year after it was built.

It was a bold and different plan. Cyclists would ride in the middle of Valencia Street between the traffic lanes. The center bike lane was installed last August between 15th and 23rd streets in the Mission District.

The goal was to make cyclists feel safer and create an efficient traffic artery along the Mission. But the project has since come under criticism. People in the area say there are no clear directions for cyclists or motorists, leading to confusion and danger.

The SFMTA is currently seeking approval from the city's Department of Transportation for a side-by-side bike lane. Two concepts are under discussion:

• One proposal would force cyclists to ride around restaurant parklets, bringing them closer to traffic.
• The other design would have cyclists ride between the curb and the parklets.

Some local business owners KPIX spoke to are fed up with the whole thing.

“It's terrible. It's not an attractive part of town anymore. Nobody wants to be here,” said Sahar Milani, owner of Rossi Mission SF.

Kevin Ortiz, a member of VAMANOS, a newly formed coalition against the current design of the bike lanes, expressed the community's concerns.

“We have seen 20 companies close, the latest being Los Amigos. So the question is how many more companies will have to suffer,” he said. “The problem is that the SFMTA has not reached out to our organization. We want to meet with them, but they are basically only making contact a week before the actual hearing, which is next week,” he added.

“They don’t ask us or discuss with us, and then they ask people,” says Eiad Eltaweil, owner of the Yasmi restaurant.

In fact, some business owners have filed a lawsuit with the city because they're upset about the loss of parking and other changes in the neighborhood. KPIX spoke with a cyclist today who understands their concerns but still enjoys the ride.

“From a cyclist’s perspective, it’s safer for bikes,” said Craig Sakowitz, a cyclist.

Sakowitz said that while the center bike lane reduces the risk of being hit by a car door or colliding with pedestrians, it also makes it more difficult to turn onto other streets.

All of this information will feed into the next debate on moving the lane to the curb. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency will hold a public hearing on the issue a week from now, on Tuesday, June 18.

More from CBS News

Anna Makovec

Anne Makovec is the Breaking News Anchor for the KPIX 5 Morning News. She reports breaking news from across the Bay Area and around the world every weekday from the Live News Desk and compiles reports from Bay Area neighborhoods for later KPIX broadcasts.

The post Controversial bike lane in San Francisco Mission District could possibly be moved appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Two of the most heavily used bike lanes in San Francisco intersect in the city’s Mission District, at Valencia and 17th streets, where there’s a taqueria, a police station, an upscale furniture store and a famous sex shop. 

One set of lanes cuts east-west, from the giant rainbow flag in the nearby Castro across the Mission into Potrero Hill. As with most bike lanes, these flank the parking lane, are generally unprotected from cars and, for the most part, don’t offend anyone. The other, running north-south through the ever-trendy neighborhood, has lately become a cultural flashpoint, a fight on par with the conflict over tech shuttle buses. 

Four months ago, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency relocated the north-south bike lanes along Valencia between 15th to 23rd streets from the sides of the street to the center, zipping them together for the span of eight blocks before unzipping them again. In the process, several dozen parking spaces were eliminated, too.

On that section of road, plastic bollards and firm barriers separate cyclists from vehicular traffic, with a buffer zone on either side. In itself, this “cycle track” configuration might be little more than a procedural tweak by a city that’s always tinkering with its streetscape, from lane-narrowing “road diets” to mileslong rapid transit projects for buses.

But something about this change in this place just hits different, as they say, perhaps owing to its perpetual popularity as a destination and its convenience as a through route. Here, solo drivers, Ubers, Lyfts, robotaxis, cyclists and delivery vehicles are ceaselessly jockeying for asphalt across Valencia’s 82 feet, 6 inches of width. 

Kevin Ortiz, co-president of the San Francisco Latinx Democratic Club, spoke during a protest this week criticizing Valencia Street’s center-striped bicycle lanes. | Source: Courtesy Roger Rudick/Streetsblog

Grumbling about this eight-block stretch has been building since summer. But the anger erupted Tuesday when several dozen small business owners occupied the street, chanting and holding signs calling on the city to remove the lanes, as Streetsblog first reported. 

The protest came just a few days after the bar and live-music venue Amado’s closed, with its owner claiming that sales dropped 80% after the bike lane was installed and created a hassle for musicians due to a lack of parking.

Opponents have seized on the bike lane as more evidence that the city runs roughshod over the small businesses that fill its coffers with tax revenue and give it character. But how does moving a bike lane by a few feet destroy a business? 

More Than Just a Bike Lane

Walk down Valencia, and it’s impossible to miss the pink-and-white signs in the windows of many shops that read, “This Bike Lane Is Killing Small Businesses and Our Vibrant Community.” 

Yasmin, a Middle Eastern restaurant that already endured arson and a legal imbroglio with its landlord, has one. So do two auto shops, businesses with something of a direct interest in car culture. Ditto for Curio and Amado’s, restaurants and live-music venues that serve alcohol.

“Everybody’s focused on the bike lane, but it’s really about a bureaucracy,” said Bill Dickenson, who sits on a steering committee of the San Francisco Small Business Coalition, which organized Tuesday’s protest on Valencia. “The SFMTA is a government agency that has gone rogue in many ways.”

Several businesses along Valencia Street have posted signs in their windows that read, “This Bike Lane is Killing Small Businesses and Our Vibrant Community,” with a QR code for the San Francisco Small Business Coalition. | Source: Astrid Kane/The Standard

In Dickenson’s view, the powers that be have pit cyclists against small businesses unnecessarily, and it’s a canard that the center-running bike lanes are part of a flexible pilot program that can be tweaked based on public input, which is the city’s current position. The transit agency giveth, and the transit agency will never, ever taketh away.

“It’s not a pilot!” he told The Standard. “There were millions and millions in there, and the [San Francisco] Bike Coalition kept pushing for more infrastructure. This is a misuse of public funds. A ‘quick-build’ would be chalk and paint.”

An April 2023 planning document appears to put the cost at $590,000, funded by several previous ballot measures, but SFMTA confirmed to The Standard that $1.5 million had been spent so far, with the total amount yet to be determined.

From the perspective of Valencia merchants, the past three years have been an unending nightmare of public-health restrictions, rising costs and a likely permanent reduction in people eating out. Now the same city government whose transit agency radically altered Van Ness Avenue to the consternation of merchants there and whose Department of Public Works has a multiyear corruption scandal has rammed through a project nobody seems to want. 

Asked if he and other small-business owners would prefer the previous bike lanes or no lanes at all, Dickenson demurred. But he claimed many people are unhappy with the current configuration, like senior citizens now forced to circle the block while trying to find parking near the corner grocery store. Or residents who live just off Valencia and are finding more cars parked on their streets these days. 

When pressed, Dickenson said he merely wants something that’s better-designed. Ticking off features, he described something much like Valencia’s previous iteration.

“Something with two directions on either side that allows public-safety first responders to move the way they used to, that allows cars to pull out,” he said. “Why did they put the curbs in there? A sixth-grader can look at this and say this doesn’t work.”

The center-striped bike lane—technically a cycle track—is part of a pilot program by the SFMTA that is subject to community feedback. | Source: Gina Castro/The Standard

Voicing a fairly widespread belief, Dickerson said he believes ride-share companies like Uber paid the city to remove parking spaces to free up room for pickups and dropoffs.

Reached for comment, a spokesperson for Uber told The Standard, “The SFMTA regularly reaches out about issues impacting safety and efficiency around the city. We did not discuss the removal of parking spaces.”

For its part, the transit agency says it’s heard business owners’ concerns and has restored some of the 70 parking spaces that were removed.

“We temporarily adjusted the type and duration of many of the loading zones on Valencia Street between 15th and 23rd streets and on several side streets (18th, 19th, 20th, 22nd) to create more general parking availability in the neighborhood,” SFMTA spokesperson Stephen Chun told The Standard in a statement. 

From October until this month, Dickenson was the interim operations director of Amado’s, the now-closed bar. But the bike lanes weren’t the only challenge for that longtime home for underground music and performance this year. In June, Amado’s suffered a flood, resulting in $500,000 in damages. A crowdfunding campaign that aimed to raise $50,000 toward repairs has garnered just half that.

Asked how many Amado’s patrons drove to a venue with, at most, a handful of parking spaces on the block, Dickenson responded with statistics about an unspecified competitor’s bottom line in the period during and after Covid. 

A cyclist passes Amado’s, a recently shuttered bar and music venue at 998 Valencia St., whose owner attributed its closure to the new bike lanes. | Source: Gina Castro/The Standard

“We reached out to a number of businesses and—I won’t name them—but one well-known business owner has a restaurant on Valencia and a restaurant somewhere else in the city,” he said. “The other place saw a 3% dip, and Valencia saw a 50% reduction when the bike lane went in.”

Already a Compromise

Despite the business owners’ complaints, study after study shows that bike lanes typically yield positive economic outcomes for businesses along their corridors. 

During Covid, when Valencia Street was temporarily pedestrianized, Yelp’s data concurred. But the idea that bike lanes are bad for business has entered the cultural bloodstream, seemingly as axiomatic as the erroneous belief that homeless San Franciscans mostly come from somewhere else. 

Pedestrians enjoy wide open space on Valencia Street in 2020, when it was closed to vehicles on weekends under the city’s Slow Streets program. | Source: Paul Chinn/SF Chronicle/Getty Images

The transit agency could strengthen its case by releasing promised metrics on the Valencia Street pilot project, but Chun said that it’s going to be a while.

“The data-gathering started later than anticipated,” he said. 

This opacity is clearly infuriating to small-business owners. But it is also a challenge for advocates who want to know if cyclists are using the street less or if drivers are zooming through intersections. 

“It’s incredibly frustrating that the SFMTA hasn’t given us the evaluation data they promised us at quarterly milestones,” said Claire Amable, a Tenderloin native and the director of advocacy for the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. “We’re four months in, and we were supposed to get it at three, six and nine months.”

The bicycle coalition hears feedback from its members, who seem to be evenly divided on the current state of Valencia, and the organization has offered suggestions for improvement while allowing the fire department to maintain emergency access. Amable says bike lanes are most successful when everyone embraces them but notes that the existing configuration on Valencia was the product of a protracted back-and-forth.

“This design was already a compromise based on merchant feedback from 2020,” Amable said. “It was presented as the only solution by the city because it preserved the most parking options, and SFMTA recently converted loading zones back into parking spaces, which we hope alleviates merchant concerns. But the answer is not more cars, but more people-centered spaces.” 

No Amount of Parking Can Solve the Problem

John Oram, a tech worker and sometime blogger known as Burrito Justice who came up with his own “Burrito Plan” for Valencia Street, sees a simple explanation for the business owners’ grievances.

“They based their business on double-parking, and now, they can’t do that. As soon as somebody double-parks, it blocks traffic,” he told The Standard, adding that since the changeover, some opponents have shown their hand. “Every single complaint about the bike lane, the next thing they say is, ‘Oh, I have $200 in tickets.’”

To him, Valencia Street’s primary issue is one of scarcity, with too many types of users competing for too little space. 

“There’s no number of parking spots you can add to solve this problem,” Oram said. “We’re in a city, and by the way, there are several 200- to 300-parking spot garages right off Valencia.” 

In 2022, Oram penned an opinion piece for The Standard, outlining his Burrito Plan as an “equitable way to distribute the three main road users—cars, pedestrians and cyclists—that involves minimal disruption and low-cost barriers.”

It called for converting Valencia to a one-way street, with bike lanes moved to one side and fully protected, and the remaining space allotted to ride-shares, delivery vehicles and people running errands—the users who shout, “I’ll just be here for a minute!” when parking enforcement turns around the corner. 

Over the summer, the cycle track’s buildout was criticized for being slow and haphazard, but some brave riders used it despite the warning signs. | Source: Jeremy Chen/The Standard

“In study after study, time after time, city after city, in any dense area, business owners grossly overestimate the number of people who are driving,” Oram said. “Who says, ‘Oh, I’m going to drive to Valencia because parking’s really easy’? It’s always been difficult! It’s just a little more noticeable 1702069577.”

Even as many locals push back on the idea that the city is in a doom loop, they’re quick to suggest the city seems to be creating one in the Mission. As Oram wryly noted, the cry that “Valencia is dead!” may be a poor marketing strategy, and some merchants seem intent on alienating the potential customers who are pedaling past their establishments twice a day. 

It’s worth noting that most of the major streets that parallel Valencia have been reconfigured in some way. Folsom Street was narrowed and restriped a decade ago, South Van Ness Avenue not long ago went from four lanes to two, with pocket lanes for easier left turns. For its part, Mission Street got mandatory turn-offs and “red carpet” lanes meant to give packed buses the right-of-way—and small businesses hated that, too.

Valencia Street is one of several major north-south thoroughfares in the Mission District whose layout has been remade in recent years. | Source: Justin Katigbak/The Standard

Why Do People Hate Cyclists So Much?

People hate bike lanes, at least in part, because people hate cyclists. And in fairness, many cyclists give non-cyclists more than a few things to hate. They pedal against traffic. They blow red lights. They wear expensive-looking Lycra jerseys that feel like flashy overkill on city streets. The stereotype skews toward six-figure-earning, middle-aged neckbeards mansplaining about derailleurs. And there’s that eternal whiff of superiority embodied by those “One Less Car” signs sometimes taped to the backs of bike seats, which manage to pack eco-smugness and a grammatical error into three syllables. It should read, “One Fewer Car,” if you want to be like that.  

At the same time, San Francisco is home to many physically fit, environmentally conscious people, plus the city charter’s explicit transportation policy is to prioritize alternatives to driving. And, whatever elitism may cling to cyclists, it’s simply true that every ride in a San Francisco bike shop will be cheaper than any new car at the dealership. 

Ostensibly, the changes to Valencia were largely undertaken for the benefit of cyclists. Several riders The Standard spoke with seem to appreciate the rejiggering of a heavily trafficked, high-injury corridor. In particular, the terror of being “doored” has been minimized.

But just as it’s possible to lament how all cars look alike while mocking the Cybertruck, it’s possible to be a daily cyclist while hating the Valencia Street cycle track, which was so haphazardly installed that pranksters installed guerrilla signage. 

Valencia’s current configuration has received mixed reviews from riders, including Sohan Murthy, right. | Source: Gina Castro/The Standard

Even fully built, many riders dislike the new layout, with its awkward flow, overdesigned signals and a general feeling like they need to crane their necks in an owl-like, 270-degree fashion in order to make a left. When ambulances use it—and it’s pretty hard to argue they shouldn’t—it’s difficult to get out of their way safely. 

“I’ve still seen some crazy stuff, like a car hopping over and doing a U-turn, or swerving in here,” said Sohan Murthy, a West Oakland resident who was riding to a friend’s house. “I don’t know if this is better than before.”

The post San Francisco Valencia Road Bike Lanes Unhealthy for Enterprise? appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

A woman in San Francisco filmed herself totally “losing her mind” because an ambulance is parked in the bike lane.

She’s already at “peak frustration” when she confronts the driver and guilts them into pulling away. It must be something she experiences a lot because she keeps saying, “They’re killing us, they’re killing us.”

Thunderstorms can be both fascinating and scary, with their electrifying displays of lightning and booming thunder. However, not everyone knows that there are certain things you’re not supposed to do when there’s a thunderstorm.

During the summer months, thunderstorms occur frequently due to the high humidity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 73 percent of lightning-related fatalities occur in June, July, and August. According to the National Weather Service, an excess of moisture in the atmosphere, atmospheric instability, and a triggering mechanism are the conditions that lead to thunderstorms. When these elements are combined, they can unleash a powerful symphony of heavy rainfall, thunder, lightning, strong winds, and even hail.

Being prepared for thunderstorms

The American Red Cross has some advice on how to get ready for those wild summer thunderstorms. Taking preventive measures like subscribing to local government emergency alerts, equipping your home with backup batteries, and devising a family plan for hazardous weather situations can all prove invaluable during emergencies.

Thunderstorm myths and misconceptions

When it comes to thunderstorms, there are plenty of myths and misconceptions about what you should avoid doing. One of the most common misconceptions is that wearing rubber-soled shoes or being inside a car with rubber tires makes us immune to lightning strikes. Unfortunately, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Lightning can still travel through the ground or the metal frame of a car, even if it has rubber tires.

Many people believe that as long as they’re not directly under the storm cloud, they are safe from lightning strikes. However, lightning bolts can extend horizontally for significant distances, reaching as far as 10 miles away from the storm. And also keep in mind that trees, especially tall ones, are prime targets for lightning strikes due to their height and conductivity.

Along with getting prepared and knowing thunderstorm myths, you have to know what not to do during a thunderstorm.

Here are 5 things you should never do during a thunderstorm.

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SAN FRANCISCO — A two-way bike lane down the center of busy Valencia Street in San Francisco’s Mission District was supposed to make it safer for cyclists, but the unorthodox design has caused confusion and is even being blamed for some crashes.

Bruce Halperin lives near the corner of Valencia and 23rd Street in San Francisco. He doesn’t own a car. His main form of transportation for both him and his dog is his bicycle.

“I do all my shopping, I patronize restaurants and what not on Valencia Street. It’s my main route to work on days when I work downtown. So yeah, I use Valencia for basically everything,” said Halperin.

Halperin says Valencia Street has long been an issue for cyclists. The often busy thoroughfare’s narrow lanes and limited parking all combine to create safety concerns.

ALSO READ: Bike lanes coming to middle of busy Valencia Street in San Francisco

Earlier this year, San Francisco officials announced the launch of a pilot program to test out a new center-running bike lane on Valencia between 15th and 23rd Street.

It’s a design they said they believed would make the street safer for all. 

“We’ve restricted the ability of drivers to make left turns. So banning left turns and separating the traffic with the center running bike lane reduces the risk to pedestrians. Somebody was killed at this intersection walking across the street with a green light just a few months ago. Secondly, we’ve physically separated the cyclists from the moving traffic,” said SFMTA Streets Director Tom Maguire.

Halperin says he was nervous about how well the new design would actually work, but he initially tried to keep an open mind.

“Once it was approved, I was willing to give it a chance and the rollout has been an absolute disaster I think,” said Halperin.

He says in just the few weeks the bike lanes have been fully open, he has already witnessed multiple crashes.

“In one, the woman was injured. She has a gash in her head and had to be taken away by ambulance. And I think that’s going to keep happening,” said Halperin.

He said the center lanes make it difficult for cyclists to get on and off the road. He also has already seen multiple cars driving over the protective barriers and down the bike lanes.

But the worst part he says are the turn lane boxes that force cyclists to stand within inches of passing cars.

“And the car traffic is just whizzing right by you and there’s no physical protection whatsoever. It’s really scary,” said Halperin.

Still, SFMTA officials are standing by the design. They argue that, in the long run, this design will be a safer option.

“We think that this a big step forward for safety on Valencia. It does not solve every single problem and it’s not perfect, but it’s a big step forward,” said Maguire.

Halperin still doesn’t agree. His hope is that the city removes the center lanes as soon as possible and goes back to a more traditional side-lane design.

Until that day, he says he has no choice but to use the lanes since they’re right outside his front door.

“I’m young. I’m relatively confident as a cyclist, but it’s still scary,” said Halperin.

The pilot program is expected to last a year. SFMTA says the first report on how the lanes are working will come out in the fall.

More from CBS News

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Note: GJEL Accident Attorneys regularly sponsors coverage on Streetsblog San Francisco and Streetsblog California. Unless otherwise noted in the story, GJEL Accident Attorneys is not consulted for the content or editorial alignment of the Sponsored Content.

Long-delayed construction of an elevated, sheltered bike path on a section of Fruitvale Avenue connecting BART to the Jingletown neighborhood is finally underway. From a city publication:

Fruitvale Avenue between E12th Street and Alameda Ave is a critical gap in the city of Oakland’s bike lane network. This stretch of road connects commuters and residents of Jingletown and the City of Alameda with the services, amenities and quality public transportation available around the Fruitvale BART station. This corridor is home to numerous railroad crossings, the I-880 underpass, and wide lanes that encourage high vehicle speeds. From 2014 to 2016, this corridor was the focus of a community planning and design initiative that saw the city hold several public meetings in the Fruitvale neighborhood.

Oakland’s first protected sidewalk-level bike path, entrance. Photo: Streetsblog/Rudick

While it’s great that it’s happening, the Fruitvale Alive project is really lagging behind. Even the city’s information page shows that construction should begin in the summer of 2022. In fact, studies and reports on this project began back in 2005, as evidenced by this tweet from Bike East Bay’s Robert Prinz.

Yes, community engagement with the project began in 2014 and funding came in 2016. The original Fruitvale Alive report was completed in 2005.

— Robert Prinz (@prinzrob) June 1, 2023

Streetsblog has reached out to the Oakland DOT to find out when the project will be complete and will update this post. Right now, “I heard ‘2024,’” Prinz wrote in an email to Streetsblog. “But nothing more concrete and no recent accounts.”

Big plus points of the project: the protected lane, of course. And the new connection to the Bay Trail, as shown in green on the map below. Currently, the Bay Trail is inaccessible from Fruitvale Avenue and the estuary without significant tracing. Even if someone wanted to overland it, thanks to the disused Union Pacific tracks, there are large fences blocking access.

Note the Bay Trail connection below in green.

“East Bay Parks is working on a separate Bay Trail connection project that will be built at the end of the Fruitvale project,” added Prince. “A protected Jughandle cycle path will be added between these two projects, which basically serves the same purpose as a protected crossing.”

A protected crossing is also planned at the intersection with East 12th. Unfortunately, none of the other intersections will be protected—and even on East 12th, according to the blueprints, only two of the four corners will have a protective island.

The only protected intersection is on East 12th. And only one side of it is protected.

Two of Fruitvale’s dangerous slip curves are removed, but others remain, apparently due to objections from AC Transit. Additionally, no provision has yet been made to protect the bridge over Fruitvale Avenue – cyclists will either be forced to dismount and use the sidewalk, as they must now, or have to contend with car traffic and no bike lane at all.

This sad situation will not be resolved. Photo: Streetsblog/Rudick

“Alameda is also working on its own project to continue the bike path over the Fruitvale Bridge and down the Tilden Way to Clement and Broadway,” Prince wrote. More on that in a future post.

Also, as is all too often the case, traffic control seems to have paid little attention to the needs of cyclists and pedestrians during construction, as Streetsblog found when photographing and surveying the area. Construction barriers that could have been used to protect cyclists and construction workers are instead used only to protect construction workers.

Photo: Streetsblog/Rudick

And not only could the crew not bother to create a pedestrian detour, they didn’t even put up the sign they were told about the closed sidewalk:

Photo: Streetsblog/Rudick

Of course, routes for cars are preserved because in the Bay Area, only drivers count (grrrrr).

No provision was made for pedestrians during construction.

Aside from the urgent work that was needed on Fruitvale Avenue, it’s great that this long overdue project is finally getting underway. In a year or two things should be a lot better for hikers and bikers between Fruitvale BART and Jingletown.

The post Development of Fruitvale Ave’s Protected Bike Lane – Streetsblog San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

It was raining and chilly that Saturday morning and it was so tempting to stay under the covers. But the long-awaited bike link from the Oakland Bay Bridge to Treasure Island was due to have a ribbon cut, so the old bike was pulled out and a good breakfast inhaled.

We knew that the ribbon cutting was really about the new on and off ramps from the highway to the island, and we had no illusions that we would find a Bike Eden. Finally, in recent years, the bike connection to the island has been cut off at weekends to allow the cumbersome ramps for cars to be built, and not because a bike connection would be complicated or expensive.

The rain subsided, forming a mist in the background, and it proved to be a perfect day for driving up the long, slow incline of the bridge. It was very quiet this morning; So far, only a few riders or hikers have been on the road – they probably stayed under the covers. Still, it was a surprise to see from a distance that there were no waiting media vans, no cameras, and no dignitaries assembled at the designated location. Was everyone afraid of getting wet?

We did not expect that one of the dignitaries would arrive by bicycle. This project is entirely within the city of San Francisco, but there is still no way to cycle from San Francisco to the islands. The current route benefits day riders from Oakland, Emeryville and Berkeley, Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Island, as well as people who bring their bikes in transit from San Francisco.

A cyclist stopped at the designated spot for the ribbon cutting and looked at his phone. Another driver stopped by because he was checking out the rest of the route. We all traveled from the East Bay to witness the ribbon cutting: a city planner, a longtime cyclist and advocate, and myself.

We joked that a little rain sent the dignitaries inside, but after waiting a few more minutes we realized it wasn’t a joke – they might have settled elsewhere. So we made our way along the designated bike route to the Treasure Island administration building, where we found a couple of fancy shuttle buses waiting to carry people.

We arrived at this fabulous Art Deco building—which would offer stunning views of San Francisco if it weren’t for the cars parked in front of it—just in time to hear SFCTA Director Tilly Chang address the thanks to supporters of Bike East Bay and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition for their contribution to the bike path. Those advocates weren’t in attendance — some of them have taken on other jobs after years of meetings with the agency. But we were there! Two of us made it, we stood in the back with our bikes.

We missed most of the speeches and missed even more when a member of staff offered us coffee and snacks. As a working journalist on a small salary, I appreciate a good Costco croissant, but believe it or not, that wasn’t what fascinated me on a cold, wet Saturday. I wanted to celebrate the opening of the cycle path seven days a week and see the route.

On the way there we had raced over the small mountain of Yerba Buena Island. The Bay Bridge Freeway cuts through a tunnel in the heart of the hill, but the bike route — and the ascents and descents — winds uphill and over the mountain before dropping to the flat sea level of Treasure Island. We were distracted by the stunning views of San Francisco and the rush to find the event.

But on the way back there were no distractions. The steep hill rose high before us. At the bottom, beautiful new landscaping helped make a short set of switchbacks more enjoyable than the rest of the ride, which was merely a steep uphill tarmac track alongside the road. I had to walk; My cycling colleague was able to stay on the pedals, but we rode at the same speed.

People: It’s steep. I came back a few days later to check out the route to town (by ferry). My first impression – that this isn’t a hill for someone not quite sure if their brakes are working properly – was confirmed when I encountered a cyclist standing to one side, contemplating the way down. Ahead, Macalla Road turned so steeply that it disappeared from sight. The driver was equipped with cycling gear; she had a high quality racing bike; she looked prepared. But when I pulled up next to her, she said everything that had been on my mind since that first Saturday ride.

A camera just can’t capture the steepness here. Photo: Melanie Curry/Streetsblog

“I’m terrified,” she said. “How did that come about? What were they thinking? San Francisco needs one or two employees who actually ride bikes to realize they need to build something better than that.” In the end, she turned around and refused to walk down the hill, even though the ferry to San Francisco was right there .

It cannot be overstated that this descent to Treasure Island is not for the faint of heart; It is not suitable for cargo bikes, children or families. It’s definitely not for e-bikes with potential braking issues. If you’re a confident mountain climber, you’ll have fun, but definitely don’t skip the ABC quick check (air, brakes, crank and chain, quick release, fast ride) before you head out.

Take this warning seriously.

The view back down the Strait from the Treasure Island Ferry. I still can’t really describe how steep it is. Photo: Melanie Curry/Streetsblog

On Saturday, both of us, who had cycled all the way there, raced back to the viewpoint on the shuttle buses (slowly up the hill). The ribbon had already been ceremoniously torn with scissors several times in the administration building, but there were more speeches and a “photo opportunity” in the park with a view of the bridge.

Again we waited in vain. Obviously this reinforced my belief that bikes are better as we got there well before the buses.

But when they finally arrived, the shuttle drivers dropped them off at a spot far above us – and completely unreachable from the bike path. To get to where the event was to take place, the dignitaries would have had to cross a high-speed ramp and walk around the outside curve for a few hundred yards. how much fun How dangerous! Welcome to my world!

At least you can see us in the background of their photos. There we are, way down in the background, behind a fence. It looks like we photographed the event.

Happy to be photo bombarding this motor vehicle centric event with bikes together with @currymel.@prinzrob pic.twitter.com/i7zfoLEtIl

— gregm123456 (@gregm123456) May 7, 2023

That was absolutely the perfect metaphor for the day. Bikes were never the focus of this project. The bike route is attached to an existing vehicle route and while parts of it are great, like the switchbacks at the bottom of the hill, much of it is impossible.

It’s also obviously not finished yet, so hope shouldn’t be given up. On my follow-up ride I could see that at a point where cyclists are supposed to switch places on a sharp bend and cyclists are going in the opposite direction – it’s painted green but very confusing – another cycle link is being built across the underpass.

It’s just not open.

It’s well marked but if a few more cyclists come out here there will be chaos. To the right, on the incline, the two directions switch places. Photo: Melanie Curry/Streetsblog

And this is an “intermediate project”. These on and off ramps were built to allow the other, more gently sloping road on the other side of Yerba Buena Island to be closed and its bridges rebuilt. The SFCTA says cyclists will one day have the choice of either safely navigating a gentler climb or choosing an improved two-way bike route over this steep trail.

Also, one day there will be a bike path on the west side of the bridge.

At least that’s the current plan. Proponents who have been working on it for years, including Bike East Bay’s Dave Campbell — who is among those who have turned to other ventures — describe plans changing constantly as the actual building of a busy road up this steep incline has met unexpected obstacles . Yes, as Caltrans director Tony Tavares said when I asked him about it, there were certainly “space constraints” when planning this transition route. This is in the nature of the building infrastructure.

However.

Access to these islands by car is already very easy. Housing is expanding on both Yerba Buena Island and Treasure Island, and San Francisco has made it possible for people to hop on and off with private vehicles (even if they discuss congestion pricing, which is fair, since the only way to do this is by car). to reach or leave the island is a boat or a bridge). ).

But as usual, bike access was not taken seriously. The restriction of 24-hour access for the cycle path – but not for the car path next to it – is condescending and dismissive. It’s ridiculous to pretend that a 17 percent gradient is a reasonable compromise for any bike route. The assumption that nobody wants to ride a bike becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when bike routes end like this.

This is the only warning sign of what lies ahead. That’s Alcatraz Island out there in the bay. Photo: Melanie Curry/Streetsblog

But people drive it. We met two young men who were floating down the bridge on e-bikes on the “wrong” route – the south side of Yerba Buena Island, which is “closed” to bikes and will soon be closed to all vehicles for several years. They knew exactly what they were doing. They grew up on Treasure Island, and one of them still lives there, mulling over the $3,000 her family was offered to move out of their affordable rental home.

According to too many traffic planners, people like her don’t really exist. At least they don’t matter, especially compared to people who travel by car.

The new driveways are really nice. This is the bridge in the background (looking east here) Photo: Melanie Curry/Streetsblog

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SAN FRANCISCO — New bike lanes are planned to emerge in one of San Francisco’s busiest corridors, but instead of traditional bike lanes to the right of traffic, these lanes will run right down the middle of Valencia Street in the city’s Mission District.

The new bike lanes will begin at the intersection of 15th Street and Valencia and extend eight blocks south to Valencia and 23rd. This is a pilot program that will last at least a year.

The city believes moving bike lanes to the middle of the street will improve safety by helping cyclists avoid any cars and trucks that stop to load and unload on that stretch of street. However, many cyclists fear the lanes will create new safety issues.

This reporter spoke to a local cyclist about what she thought of the project. Caetie Ofiesh has been cycling around San Francisco since she moved here 10 years ago.

“I use this bike to get to the grocery store, to work, to wherever I go, to restaurants, almost every day,” Ofiesh said, adding that she loves how convenient cycling is, not to mention that it’s just fun too.

“Sometimes, especially when I’m on my way home from work, that’s the best part of the day,” she said.

But San Francisco is a busy city. cars, buses, trams and pedestrians; They all have to share the road with cyclists, which can cause some problems.

“I avoid something almost every day,” Ofiesh said. “I’ve been hit by a car before. Luckily only once.”

For years, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has tried to find creative solutions to keep everyone on the streets safe.

In April, the SFMTA approved a new pilot project that will move the Valencia Street bike lanes from the curb to the middle for eight blocks.

“If we just look across the street from here. Instead of the bike lane I’m currently standing on, which in turn is often full of double-parked cars, the bike lane will be where the bus is currently parked,” said SFMTA Streets director Tom Maguire.

He says the project will not only help cyclists but also pedestrians, as cars will no longer be allowed to turn left after the bike lanes join the centre.

“It’s going to get cyclists away from parked cars and ban left turns so we protect pedestrians from those turning vehicles,” Maguire said.

But not everyone is convinced the plan is a good idea. Ofiesh said she and many of her cyclist friends had concerns.

“You know at the intersections, if a car has to turn left or a cyclist has to turn right, what does that traffic sequence look like and is everyone prepared at each and every intersection?” said Ofiesh. “The other thing I worry about with the middle bike lanes is that cyclists clash without much margin for error and you know we’re not locked in steel boxes, we’re just on our bikes.”

Maguire says he just hopes everyone gives the project a shot.

“We’re committed to going back to our board and coming back to the public with a lot of transparency and robust data on what’s working and what’s not working,” Maguire said. “We would not be proposing this unless we felt it would represent a significant improvement in safety over the way the road looks today.”

Ofiesh says she understands SFMTA is trying and despite her concerns she will still try the new lanes once they are built.

“I’d like to be wrong. I’d love for this to work and be an improved experience for everyone, but I’ll definitely be careful,” Ofiesh said.

The city says construction on the project is expected to begin in late April, with lanes due to open to cyclists in mid-May.

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Two decades ago, the Vancouver Critical Mass was a scene and forced change for the better in the Canadian West Coast city. Cyclists were furious and took to the streets to let those in power know it was time to take cycling seriously and put in place the infrastructure to keep people safe. It worked, and Vancouver has long invested heavily in creating a bike-friendly city that is recognized as one of the best in North America. And then it wasn’t. So back to the bike barricades and a return to critical mass.

It’s not hard to see what happened. A Conservative mayor took over, and the Overton Window began not only to shift, but to close.

A few years ago, if there was a debate about creating, or even maintaining, a protected bike lane in Stanley Park or some major street somewhere, there was a good chance that the city’s coin toss would fall on cyclists’ heads. But that’s just not the case now.

“In the early 2000s, Critical Mass in Vancouver was huge. I had just moved here from Montreal where I had done a few rides. The rides here were bigger, much bigger, and people had all kinds of crazy bikes — tall bikes, lazy boy bikes, tandem drum bikes,” says one of the Vancouver Critical Mass organizers, who chose to remain anonymous for this article to stay . “The energy was contagious and I fell in love. The rides got so big and disruptive that they made the front pages of newspapers a few times, the city couldn’t ignore us anymore. This, combined with a changing political landscape, set the stage for major change.”

Nice to see so many Park Board, Council and School Board nominees supporting the Stanley Park Mobility Study and speaking out about accessibility for all. pic.twitter.com/Z2UaiCuRuX

— Lisa Corriveau (@spokesmama) October 9, 2022

Critical Mass bike rides are a form of social movement that began in San Francisco in the late 1980s. The rides were originally conceived to reclaim public space for non-motorized locomotion and to raise awareness of the benefits of cycling as a mode of locomotion. The first Critical Mass ride took place in 1992 and involved a small group of cyclists who gathered at Embarcadero Plaza in downtown San Francisco. Since then, the rides have spread to cities around the world and have become a symbol of the cycling community’s fight for recognition and respect on the streets. The rides have also been the subject of controversy and litigation, with some cities attempting to ban them while others embraced them as a way to promote sustainable transportation and community building.

Vancouver once invested heavily in the best cycling infrastructure at the False Creek seawall, the Burrard Bridge and the Georgia Viaduct, to name just a few places.

“During that time, Critical Mass lost their most active organizer (who returned to Montreal) and their raison d’être…with an ally in the mayor’s office working hard on bike infrastructure, there was less to get excited about. The war was won, at least that’s what we thought,” he said.

Last year’s municipal elections brought a big change in Vancouver, and for the first time in a long time one of North America’s more progressive cities found itself with a very conservative mayor.

“For the first time in a generation, we have a far-right mayor at the helm of the city,” he said. “A mayor whose first major action was to remove a popular All Ages and Abilities (AAA) protected bike path from Stanley Park. The removal came with an estimated bill of between $225,000 and $400,000. The mayor cynically ordered that the move should be paid for from the cycling infrastructure budget.”

Unfortunately, that seems to be just the beginning. Right now, the city is working on a new vision for the absolutely massive and important Broadway Avenue corridor. It stretches for hundreds of blocks across town. And currently, the idea of ​​lining this important transport corridor with safe and segregated bike lanes has been knocked off the table.

Was glad we had the critical mass (despite the rain) for a trip to Vancouver City Hall and a return trip down Broadway to protest the decision to eliminate active transit lanes there. #CriticalMassVan #BikeYVR pic.twitter.com/JUSDkjINj0

— Chris Hubick (@hubick) April 1, 2023

For those who don’t know, a huge section of West Broadway is currently being excavated for the construction of subways and upgrading of plumbing and electrical infrastructure. The area has been repurposed for high-rise housing and the plan calls for more than 75,000 new housing units over the next 30 years.

“Now would be the most cost-effective and least disruptive time to change the traffic pattern and add these active transit lanes,” he said. “During the public hearing before the vote, 95% of the speakers supported the protected lanes and their benefits, such as: B. Safety, accessibility to mass transit, making Broadway a “Great Street” with reduced traffic, courtyards and a destination for pedestrians, less pollution, better for local businesses, meeting climate goals.”

But the new regime in Vancouver said no, not interested.

Not surprisingly, then, cycling advocates will do what they have to do. And the Vancouver Critical Mass is back.

“The plan is to once again expand the rides to the point where we can no longer be ignored,” he said. “We need protected separate lanes on all major roads. We need planners and politicians to understand that drawing a line or a bike on the pavement makes cyclists less safe, not safer. Study after study shows that drivers drive faster and closer to cyclists when there is an unsecured bike lane.”

Three different Critical Mass rides are currently scheduled in Vancouver, including a monthly Critical Mass on the last Friday of the month, which takes place at 6:00 p.m. at 6:30 p.m. at the Vancouver Art Gallery. There is also a weekly Broadway Mass on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd Friday of each month (Meet Vancouver City Hall Broadway, Meet 5:30pm, Drive 6:00pm). And there is also a weekly Stanley Park ride every Sunday, meet at the Park Board Office (2099 Beach Ave.) 1:00pm, ride 1:30pm

“Whoever is at the front of the crowd decides the route, leaving the authorities in the dark and preventing the crowd from being trapped,” he says. “Viva la Veloution!”

For more information, follow the following social channels: Critical Mass Vancouver Instagram, Facebook.

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With two special people in mind, Thomas “Tommy” Taylor and John “JD” Norton have embarked on a bike ride that will take them from Santa Monica to Boston, with a special stop in Barstow.

During the drive, which began Friday, Taylor will honor his late wife, Thokozile “Thoko” Kesiilwe-Taylor, a nurse who served at Barstow Community Hospital. Thoko, 60, died two years ago after being diagnosed with sarcoidosis, an immune system disorder characterized by the growth of tiny clusters of inflammatory cells in parts of the body.

Taylor will be raising money for the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research, the country’s largest nonprofit dedicated to finding a cure for the disease.

Norton, 69, will be riding to raise awareness of organ donation and on behalf of his 8-year-old grandson, Broderick, who is in need of a new kidney.

reunion tour

The longtime friends, who grew up in upstate New York, have kept in touch via social media.

“In 1972, JD and I were a bunch of hippies hitchhiking from New York to San Diego,” said Taylor, 70, who lives in Barstow. “We haven’t seen each other for a while, so I guess you could call that a reunion tour.”

The duo plan to arrive at Barstow Community Hospital by 10am Tuesday, where the men can share their journey and celebrate Thoko’s time at BCH, hospital spokesman John Rader told the Daily Press.

“After leaving the Santa Monica Pier, we’re going east most of Route 66 towards the Midwest and then to Boston,” Taylor said. “We hope to spread our messages online and in person as we head to the East Coast.”

The hospital’s CEO, Adam Loris, said that when Taylor approached the hospital about the opportunity to host the reception, BCH jumped at the opportunity.

“Although I didn’t know his wife, Thoko, since I only recently started at Barstow Community Hospital, what I understand from our staff is that she was one of our beloved nurses,” Loris said. “I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Thoko while encouraging Tommy and his riding partner JD Norton in their purposeful cross-country ride.”

Memory of Thoko

“Tuesday would have been our 14th wedding anniversary,” Taylor said. “Thoko was a quiet, compassionate person who loved life and had a heart to serve others.”

Raised in “black oppressed” South Africa and under the cloud of apartheid, Thoko was politically active, voting in the first democratic vote in 1994, Taylor said. Thoko became a US citizen and worked hard to get her nursing license before working in Barstow. She would later buy a house, Taylor said.

I owned my own plumbing business and we had an account with the Barstow Community,” Taylor said. “I met Thoko while doing a job. We started talking and eventually got married.”

After being diagnosed with the disease, Thoko’s lungs were affected. The couple made numerous trips for treatment at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

While the couple worked towards getting Thoko a lung transplant, her health continued to deteriorate.

“Thoko passed away in August 2021 and we brought her back to South Africa for her funeral,” Taylor said. “She has a wonderful family and a strong Christian faith. She loved South Africa and her homeland in the US very much.”

Two weeks before his wife died, Taylor’s 23-year-old son Jason, who had a heart transplant as a child, died suddenly. Taylor also mourned the loss of his sister’s son, Joshua, 41, who died in a motorcycle accident.

As the world came crashing down on Taylor, his nephew told him that as part of his healing, he needed to get out and “do something epic.”

“It was April 7, 2022 when I decided to write JD, who I hadn’t seen in 40 years,” Taylor said. “I asked him if he wanted to drive across America.”

Norton happily agreed to ride along, not just to accompany his friend, but to ride on behalf of Broderick and anyone in need of an organ.

“April is National Donate Life Month to encourage organ donor registration,” Norton said. “It’s a perfect time for riding.”

Norton rides for his grandson.

“Broderick had a traumatic birth, he was born prematurely, which affected his liver and kidneys,” said Norton, an Army veteran who lives in Colorado Springs. “His liver recovered, but one kidney failed and the other remained partially functional.”

Broderick battled COVID-19, but the virus continued to damage his remaining kidney, Norton said.

“If we don’t get a kidney, the goal is for him to get into his teens before dialysis,” Taylor said. “My daughter is helping Broderick with medication and diet, but he is in Stage 4 Chronic Kidney Disease.”

Do something epic

In order to ride 3,000 miles, Taylor sold his business, bought a touring bike, and began long-distance training.

“Part of my training consisted of getting dropped off in Las Vegas and driving about 150 miles back to Barstow,” Taylor said. “The mindset on this journey is to ride 3,000 miles piece by piece.”

Before retiring, Norton was a dedicated bike commuter and worked in the semiconductor industry.

“I also love mountain biking, so I’m always up for a challenge,” said Norton. “I bought a steel frame touring bike and started riding 50 miles about three or four times a week.”

Taylor said he’ll be thinking of Thoko every inch of the way from California to Massachusetts.

“Thoko loved life and she was the love of my life,” Taylor said. “I will always remember our life together.”

To raise funds, Taylor created the Sarkoid Bike Tour GoFundMe account and online site, sarkoidbiketour.com.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz can be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz

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The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is considering a plan to move bike lanes on busy Valencia Street.

It’s one of the busiest spots in the Mission District and is currently the focus of a proposal to move sheltered bike lanes to the middle of the street.

“Here’s what we’re excited about: left-turn restrictions for vehicles, use of sturdier materials like the K-79 bollards and 4-inch high rubber curbs over the usual dual soft-hit posts typically included in the quick build projects. said Janelle Wong, executive director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.

The plan calls for the elimination of 70 parking spaces along the eight-block stretch in favor of loading zones.

Many entrepreneurs and employees in the area had serious concerns about the proposal.

“I think it makes it more dangerous for cars and bikers,” said Eiad Eltawil, owner of Rossi Galley.

He said Valencia already had a shortage of parking spaces, which became even more extreme when parklets were added during the pandemic.

He said his customers, who come from all over the city, are already having a hard time finding a place to park and shop.

Other business owners say erecting bollards and raised curbs in the middle of the street and restricting vehicles from turning left will make navigating Valencia all but impossible for delivery drivers — especially since busy parallel streets already have left-turn restrictions.

Not only companies raising questions about the setup of the bike lanes in the middle of Valencia Street, but also cyclists are critical.

“I don’t think the space has any way of accommodating that many types of lanes and it just sounds very dangerous to put people in the middle of traffic,” said cyclist Joseph Roseberry.

“As a cyclist, I don’t want to be in the middle because traffic comes and goes, and to do that would basically be pinning a person,” said Debbie Wiggins.

The proposal was presented to the SFMTA board on Tuesday and drew many public comments – both for and against.

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