Streetsblog San Francisco

North Panhandle neighbors gave significant support once again for a complete re-design of Masonic Avenue in an online survey completed by 377 residents. Of the total, 87 percent favored the Boulevard option as the best way to make Masonic a safer street for all users. The plan offers a complete package of traffic calming measures, including a fully-landscaped median, bus bulb outs, a separated bicycle lane, improved traffic lane configurations, and sidewalk upgrades for pedestrians.

To make the improvements, the Boulevard proposal removes parking from both sides of Masonic between Geary and Fell. The other option, dubbed the Gateway, would employ less extensive measures to improve safe travel on Masonic. Compared with the Boulevard’s 87 percent support, the Gateway garnered significantly less with 54 percent preferring it. The North of the Panhandle Neighborhood Association (NOPNA) released the results of the survey along with the raw data Saturday.

In an executive summary, NOPNA President Jarie Bolander noted that “the vast majority of respondents want to see Masonic safer and feel that something must be done.” He added that most survey respondents (66.4 percent) had not attended the community meetings organized by the SFMTA last year. Thus, the NOPNA data reflect the preference of a great many residents not previously tallied and indicates even greater support for the Boulevard plan.

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Lawyers for the family of Nils Yannick Linke have filed a wrongful death lawsuit [pdf] against Joshua Calder, the Oakland man charged with drunk driving and vehicular manslaughter for allegedly mowing down the 22-year-old as he was riding a bicycle on Masonic Avenue last August. The suit also names Calder’s girlfriend, Nicole Mairs, and her grandmother, June Soelberg, who was the owner of the 1989 Mercedes involved in the crash.

“The defendants willfully got behind the wheel of a car after an evening of drinking and struck down Nils as he rode his bike.  They left the scene of the accident without rendering any assistance or calling for help.  The result is this young man’s tragic death.  While Calder is being tried in a criminal court, all of the defendants are also guilty of negligence,” attorney Kevin Lancaster said in a statement.

The complaint, filed last week, seeks a jury trial for general and punitive damages.

“As a direct and legal result of the defendants’ wrongful acts and omissions, plaintiffs Petra Linke and Jtiergen Schneider-Linke have suffered the loss of their son, including the loss of Nils Yannick Linke’s love, companionship, comfort, affection, society, solace and moral support,” reads the court document filed by attorneys for the Linke family.

Calder, 36, has pleaded not guilty to charges of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence causing injury, DUI and leaving the scene of an accident causing injury. He is currently free on $500,000 bail and awaiting a preliminary hearing. If convicted, Calder could face up to nine years in prison.

Mairs, who according to court documents took over the wheel and fled the scene with Calder in the passenger’s seat after the crash, has not been charged. A spokesperson for the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office has not responded to inquiries about whether Mairs is still being investigated, and could face charges.

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The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s (SFMTA) options for fixing Masonic Avenue, a major north-south traffic sewer that was the scene of the city’s first and only bicycle fatality this year, have been narrowed to two designs. While each option would calm auto traffic in slightly different ways and offer different amenities for bicyclists, both would significantly transform the street into a greener, friendlier corridor for all users.

The “Masonic Avenue Street Design Study [pdf],” a collaboration among the SFMTA, the San Francisco Planning Department’s City Design Group and the San Francisco Department of Public Works (SFDPW), was presented at the third and final community workshop last night, a meeting that drew more than 100 people. City planners said the spirit of cooperation between the agencies has been unprecedented.

The first option, or “The Gateway,” would feature four traffic lanes, parking on the east side of the street, a standard 5-foot wide bike lane and “bus bulb plazas” that would place the bike lane between the bus stop and the sidewalk to eliminate conflicts between buses and bicyclists. “The Boulevard” option has similar features but would remove all 167 parking spaces and add a 6-foot wide raised cycletrack and a landscaped median, an ambitious design that has been endorsed by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (SFBC) and Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, among others.

The Boulevard would cost approximately $20 million and take 12-18 months to complete, compared to the $15 million price tag for The Gateway, which would take 6-12 months to finish. Capital funding has yet to be identified, however. SFMTA project manager Javad Mirabdal said most of the funds would be sought from state and federal sources.

While the SFMTA hopes to have a final option selected by the end of the year, it could take until 2012 to begin the capital construction and that’s only if the approval and funding processes go smoothly.  The final option will need to undergo an environmental impact report (EIR) before it winds its way to the SFMTA Board for public hearings and final approval.

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The girlfriend of a drunk driver charged with killing a 22-year-old bicyclist on Masonic Avenue a month ago is still being investigated for allegedly taking over the wheel and fleeing the scene after the crash, though a spokesperson for District Attorney Kamala Harris said a decision has not been made on whether she’ll be charged.

The woman, identified in court documents as Nicole Mairs, owned the Mercedes that ran down Nils Yannick Linke, a German tourist who had been visiting San Francisco for the first time. The crash happened at 10:39 p.m. on August 13th on Masonic at Turk Street. Linke, described by family and friends as a vibrant anthropology student with a passion for music and world travel, was declared dead at 11:24 p.m.

According to the documents (PDF) obtained by Streetsblog, Mairs, sitting in the passenger seat, tried to warn Joshua Calder that there was a bicyclist in the street just seconds before the crash by shouting “Stop! Stop! Bike! Bike!”

The defendant responded, “what?” and traveled through the intersection. The Mercedes then struck the bicycle from behind and the defendant hit the brakes and swerved. The bicycle was sheared in half and came to a rest in the street with the safety light still flashing. Mr. Linke, too, laid in the street, unconscious. The defendant pulled to right side of the road on Masonic Street at Golden Gate Avenue (which is the same block as the incident). The defendant and Ms. Mairs exited the vehicle and ran up to the victim, who lay dying in the street. The victim was convulsing and bleeding from the nose and ears. The defendant moved the victim’s bicycle onto the sidewalk and, along with Ms. Mairs, returned to the Mercedes. Neither the defendant nor Ms. Mairs called the police despite both having cell phones. When they reached the Mercedes, Ms. Mairs got into the driver’s seat and the defendant got into the passenger seat.

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More than a hundred people turned out last night to remember a man most of them never knew. His abrupt and violent death at the hands of a drunken driver on the city's streets had enraged and saddened them, and led to calls for immediate improvements on one of San Francisco's most notorious traffic sewers. 

The candlelight walk and memorial vigil for 22-year-old Nils Yannick Linke, a German tourist killed nearly two weeks ago while riding a bicycle, began in the courtyard of the San Francisco Day School. A handful of people arrived well before 8 p.m. but the crowd swelled as the hour approached. Most arrived on their bicycles, which were packed into the corner of the courtyard that had a large bike rack.

The mourners, with their dozens of candles illuminating a foggy night, walked up the sidewalk on Masonic from Golden Gate Avenue to Turk Street, the intersection where Linke was killed. There, a small contingent of SFPD motorcycle officers halted traffic to allow them to pass and gather around a ghost bike in Linke's memory, locked on the southwest corner of Masonic and Turk.

"I'm here tonight celebrating Yannick's life, thanking him for loving San Francisco, thanking him for trusting the streets of San Francisco, and mourning the fact that this young man who had an incredible future ahead of him could also have been any one of us, any one of you," said District 5 Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who first learned of Linke's death while he was visiting Uruguay last week.

"What happened in the taking of his life only underscores so much more of a challenge in an urban environment like ours of what it means to make our streets safe, no matter the heinous act that took his life, but still a reminder that on a street like Masonic, and this isn't the only one, that every day bicyclists and pedestrians risk their lives." 

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A week after a 21-year-old German tourist on a bicycle was killed by a hit-and-run drunk driver on Masonic Avenue, the first death of a bicyclist in the city this year, advocates who have been working for years to calm the major arterial are calling on the SFMTA to make immediate safety improvements.

The SFMTA recently unveiled four long-term options to fix Masonic, but in light of Nils Linke's death Friday night, and with the bike injunction finally lifted, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, Michael Helquist of BIKE NOPA and other advocates are urging the agency to take action sooner rather than later.

"We've been really happy and encouraged to see the long-range vision the MTA is putting forward in terms of the four options that have been presented at the community meetings. We think this is really going in the right direction but with the recent tragedy this past weekend we feel like it really underscores the need to make some immediate improvements," said Renée Rivera, the SFBC's acting executive director.

She would like to see buffered bike lanes installed immediately, on a trial basis, in both directions of Masonic Avenue between Ewing Terrace and Fulton Street.

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A 37-year-old Oakland man has been identified as the driver of a 1989 Mercedes-Benz who allegedly killed 22-year-old Nils Linke of Germany while he was riding his bicycle Friday night on Masonic Avenue near Turk Street, a tragic reminder that the SFMTA needs to act quickly to fix one of San Francisco's most notorious traffic sewers.

SFPD spokesperson Lt. Lyn Tomioka said Joshua Calder faces charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, DUI, felony hit-and-run causing death and no proof of insurance. Tomioka wasn't sure if Calder was being held without bail, but he was booked Friday night. Police told the Chronicle he drove away from the scene but was located two blocks from the crash, at Turk and Tamalpais Terrace.

According to CBS5, Calder was traveling southbound on Masonic Avenue around 10:40 p.m. Friday when he hit and killed Linke, who was identified as a tourist. A spokesperson for the German Consulate in San Francisco told Streetsblog Linke had been traveling alone on his visit.

For years now, advocates and residents who live on and near Masonic Avenue have been trying to get the SFMTA to turn Masonic into a complete street, replete with bicycle and pedestrian amenities that would slow traffic, and make it a safer place for everyone. At a recent community meeting, the agency offered four options to do that, including a cycle track.

As Michael Helquist of BIKE NOPA pointed out today, the SFMTA has been hearing loud calls to fix Masonic since 2008 when 500 residents signed a petition citing speed concerns. It was hand delivered to SFMTA Chief Nat Ford.

During a press conference today for new Clipper fare gates, Ford was asked to respond to concerns about Masonic.

"We've put about four options out there now to really look at how to redesign that street," said Ford. "Unfortunately, Masonic could use some traffic calming. I have to be cautious, because you can imagine, this is a very litigious situation. Our hearts go out to the family of the young man who got killed, but we have to also make sure that we're making prudent legal steps going forward in dealing with this issue."

We're attempting to get more details on the victim, the suspect and the growing calls to Fix Masonic. Look for more coverage this week.