Behold, in the photo above, San Francisco bicycle infrastructure, at the end of St. Charles way, where it deadends at Brotherhood Way in Oceanview. There's a walking path at the end that leads to Brotherhood Way. There's a large curb.
Exactly what this sharrow marking is supposed to accomplish is difficult to imagine. Perhaps a Streetsblog reader has an idea. Most likely, the sharrow is painted there simply because a crew was told to go paint some sharrows--because, cycling.
Tomorrow is Bike to Work Day throughout the Bay Area. It's an opportunity for everyday cyclists to encourage their bike-curious friends and for new cyclists to ride with a group. It should also be a great deal of fun. Streetsblog California did a great breakdown of all the events in the Bay Area.
It is, of course, all about getting more people into the healthy habit of cycling. But promote cycling all you want, if the infrastructure is sub par, we're never going to turn cycling into what it could be--a hugely significant and perfectly safe transportation option for everyone, including children and the elderly. You know, like it is in much of Northern Europe. That's why Bike to Work Day presents another opportunity for Streetsblog readers: let's use it to take a look at how the Bay Area is doing.
What are you seeing when you ride your bike? Do you see signs of improvement all over? Or are things in your district not advancing the way they should? Send your observations to tips@sf.streetsblog.org or drop us a line on Facebook or Twitter. Let us know, with photos preferably, where is Bay Area infrastructure working? Where is it failing? And what could be better?
Streetsblog will be riding from Oceanview to City Hall tomorrow morning with a commuter convoy. Come say hello.
After the page break, enjoy some examples of our favorite bike infrastructure fails (and a couple of successes).
