Bike to Work Day Comes With Unprecedented Growth of Bike Infrastructure

Cycling San Franciscans have plenty to be happy about on the streets this Bike to Work Day, with new and greened bike lanes, new bike parking, sharrows, bike boxes, and traffic signals to make riding a little easier.

“This is by far the most work we’ve done in a span of time like this,” said the SF Municipal Transportation Agency’s (SFMTA) Mike Sallaberry of the Sustainable Streets Division, which has been at the forefront of innovative bike improvements in the city.

“San Francisco has a lot to celebrate on this Bike to Work Day as more people than ever are bicycling,” said Leah Shahum, executive director of the SF Bicycle Coalition, which has been hard at work over the years pushing city agencies to improve the streets for bicycling.

“We know that [the city] shares the goals of making it easier to move around – more accessible, more affordable, more business-friendly and family-friendly,” she said.

Here’s a summary provided by the SFMTA of the improvements that riders can see on the ground today since the bike injunction was lifted in November 2009:

Bike Lanes

• Green bike lanes separated by safe-hit posts have been implemented on Market Street from 8th Street to Octavia Boulevard.
• Separated bike lanes were also installed on Division Street, Portola Drive, and Laguna Honda Boulevard.
• 43 percent (14.5 miles) of bike lanes in the San Francisco Bike Plan have been implemented since the bike injunction.
• 40 miles of shared lane markings, or sharrows, have been implemented on 104 different street segments.
• Five green bike boxes were installed on Market Street in April, adding to the two existing bike boxes at Scott and Oak Streets (green) and 14th and Folsom Streets (non-green).

• Bicycle traffic signals were installed on Fell at Masonic and Shrader Streets. A left turn signal was recently installed to help riders turning left from Scott Street, where the city’s first post-injunction, left turn bike lane was painted.
• The Fell Street bike lane was painted green, reducing blockage from drivers.
• The Valencia Street bike lane was enhanced with a permanent green wave, synchronizing the traffic signals to a bike-friendly 13 mph.

Bike Parking

• The SFMTA has installed over 650 sidewalk bicycle racks since the bike injunction, providing 1300 bicycle parking spaces. There are now a total of 2150 racks with 4300 spaces.
• The SFMTA has installed 13 on-street bike corrals to accommodate high bike parking demand in commercial areas, providing 8-12 spots for bikes in each former car space.
• The SFMTA operates and maintains 52 bicycle lockers in six separate downtown parking garages.

On the way:

• Separated bike lanes on Alemany Boulevard are currently being installed.
• “Green-backed” sharrows along portions of eastbound Market Street between Van Ness Avenue and 8th Streets. The sharrows will be re-painted on top of green rectangles to improve visibility.

Have we missed any improvements that caught your eye? Let us know in the comments.