Comments on: Work Begins on Divisadero Ped Upgrades, but Skinny Sidewalks Remain

By: JJ

JJ — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:02:18 +0000

ELIMINATE THE PARKING ON DIVISADERO!!!! Widening the sidewalks will create increased foot traffic which means more shoppers for existing businesses which will see a lift in sales. Making the corridor more walkable also means that new businesses will be attracted to this area. Not making it so easy to park also means people will have to get off their fat asses and actually exercise! It will force people to interact with the neighborhood and experience all the great spots. I love this area but the parking on Divis has to go to make way for revitalization of the neighborhood and a culture of involvement and interaction…screw driver convenience.

By: g

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 01:38:51 +0000

If SF wants to resolve this issue pass a new form of, or amend the “complete streets” ordinance. The wording in the SF legislation is based up an oregon law, but the SF version has no enforcement mechanism. The Oregon law kicked in when streets carrying x number of vehicle trips were reconstructed/re-surfaced, etc. In Oregon, the law was affirmed to the state supreme court. Now the state transportation agency complies and you will see three foot shoulder/bikeways even on rural roads and the transportation engineers have been known to say things like “if we don’t put in bike lanes, we’ll be sued”

By: Peter M

Peter M — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:39:01 +0000

Why did Divisadero even get a median in the first place? Does it even really need one? It would have been nice if they could have gotten rid of it altogether and widened the sidewalks instead.

Regardless, the bus bulbs will be a great improvement. They’ll finally put an end to people parking in the southbound 24 stop at Hayes to run into the Popeye’s Chicken on the corner.

By: poncho

poncho — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:20:12 +0000

why not then keep the sidewalk width as they are but add a planted buffer next to the sidewalk as part of a road diet? this way you get the road diet but the sidewalks & street furniture dont need to move.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:49:57 +0000

It would be great if all the sidewalks were widened, but at least the sidewalks will be wider at the bus bulbouts.

By: taomom

taomom — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:47:29 +0000

I never bike Divisadero. Who wants to breathe all those nasty car fumes? I always bike Scott Street. Scott is relatively calm and pleasant from the Wiggle all the way north to Presidio Heights.

To tell the truth, I never drive on Divisadero either. The continual back-up from left-hand turns make it just a miserable street all around, and I don’t see how a slightly greener median is going to help much. When only two or three cars make it through an intersection on a light, you just have pollution, congestion and unhappy people wherever you look. I suggest eliminating left hand turns on Divisadero, timing the lights at 20mph, and making Scott Street a bike superhighway closed to cars. Well, I can dream.

By: Dave Snyder

Dave Snyder — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 22:45:44 +0000

Missed opportunity, indeed. There are sections of Divisadero where the adjacent bike route is very inferior, due to grade. Divisadero will always be a popular bike route for that reason and now the only way to add bike lanes is to get rid of parking and widen the sidewalks.

By: ZA

ZA — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 23:59:05 +0000

Oh well, I guess the eventual lane diet will require an even larger median so a public park can be put there. If that’s too expensive, offer that plaza space for rent to nearby businesses. Stiff fines for breach of open-bottle laws and poor maintenance can keep those spaces clean.

By: Jamison Wieser

Jamison Wieser — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 22:38:33 +0000

Nick, the bike route is one block over on Scott Street where traffic is lighter and a couple of the major intersections have boxes to lets bikes jump ahead of cars in the traffic queue. And walking along it today, it surprising didn’t seem to be any busier even with the construction going on.

By: Josh

Josh — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 22:26:08 +0000

Thanks for pointing out what a missed opportunity this is – one that I’m afraid will only continue even after the Better Streets ~~Plan~~ List Of Easy-To-Ignore Guidelines is formally adopted.

C Chav is being similarly locked into another generation of auto-dominance, and it’s a damn shame

By: Rob Anderson

Rob Anderson — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 22:25:03 +0000

I don’t think it’s going to be a big improvement. Instead, the city seems to want to turn every city neighborhood into Noe Valley. All Diviz really needed was repaving.
http://district5diary.blogspot.com/2009/09/improving-divisadero.html

By: Nick

Nick — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:10:43 +0000

I’d advise caution when cycling on streets under construction. Check out that first photo. I was cycling there last week when a motorist tried to run me off the road. I swerved to my right to find that there was a 1/2 inch grade difference in the pavement.

And they need on street bike parking outside that cafe at Divis/Hayes.