Duboce/Church Re-Opens With New Boarding Islands, Green “Bike Channel”

Muni riders, bike commuters and pedestrians passing through the re-opened Duboce and Church junction this morning were welcomed with wider boarding islands, fresh pavement, and a newly-painted, lime-green "bike channel."

The bike channel, which runs between the sidewalk and the widened boarding island on the north side of Duboce, is coated with the same bright shade of green seen on the sharrows the SFMTA is rolling out on the rest of the Wiggle. The color, which was added using a grant from the Bikes Belong Foundation, should help clarify the right of way for bicycling and not to walk in the bike lane. The channel will be marked with bicycle stencils, and markings will also be painted to guide bicyclists over the rail tracks.

Car access onto westbound Duboce from Church is now closed. Few motorists will be affected: Left turns from northbound Church were already banned, and southbound Church begins just one block to the north.

Boarding islands were also widened on the south side of Duboce and east side of Church. The rebuilt islands, which appear to be raised higher than the old ones, received a new brick-lined treatment, as have curbs extended along Duboce. New railings are also being installed on some islands.

The junction feels a bit quieter with new tracks and smooth pavement carrying trains, cars and bikes. The center transit lanes appear to be set off more distinctly by new concrete surfacing, which also makes for smoother track crossings for bikes and strollers. The surface treatments, along with some new raised pavement bumps, should help deter drivers from using the transit lanes. New train signals also help operators take turns negotiating the busy intersection.

Crews were hard at work making the improvements during last week's nine-day shutdown of the N-Judah and disruption of the J-Church lines. They're part of the ongoing Church and Duboce Track and Street Improvement Project, expected to be completed in roughly a year. They also come as green-backed sharrows, ladder crosswalks, and daylighting are being implemented along the Wiggle.

More photos after the break.