Even with planted protective barriers alongside the Oak Street bike lane, some drivers haven't got the message and continue to park or stop in it. It's not clear if the violations are happening less often, and it's still early in the learning curve, but the hope had been that the planters would send a stronger message to drivers to stay out.
The design leaves large gaps in the physical protection around curb cuts and the approaches to intersections, where turning drivers merge into the bike lane. There are no plans to expand the protective islands.
For now, San Franciscans have to rely on the SFMTA and SFPD to provide consistent enforcement against violators. That's another work in progress.
Aaron was the editor of Streetsblog San Francisco from January 2012 until October 2015. He joined Streetsblog in 2010 after studying rhetoric and political communication at SF State University and spending a semester in Denmark.
No other field would tolerate this level of death and destruction. The tragedy of West Portal is more evidence that the traffic engineering profession is fundamentally broken