An errant driver destroyed the parklet in front of the Sugar Lounge bar in Hayes Valley last weekend. This comes two weeks after a motorist slammed into the Napper Tandy Sports Bar parklet in the Mission, sending several people to the hospital. This is the second time a driver has destroyed the Napper Tandy parklet.
And Streetsblog just learned that the Marigold parklet, also in the Mission, was also destroyed, a day after the recent crash at Napper Tandy:
"In light of the police chase resulting in a tragic collision, agencies are working together to evaluate whether additional measures should be implemented to enhance safety," wrote SFMTA spokesperson Michael Roccaforte, in an email to Streetsblog referencing the Napper Tandy crash.
There is currently no requirement for any kind of solid protection for parklets in San Francisco. Roccaforte sent the following details on what is required:
Among the current safety guidelines, outlined in the Shared Spaces manual, required before a final permit is issued are:
- Reflective tape is required on the four corners of the structure to bolster visibility.
- There must be daylighting at intersections, meaning structures must be set back a minimum of 8 feet to create better visibility for cars and pedestrians.
- In instances where a parklet may obstruct a City stop sign, the sponsor must install a stop sign on the parklet structure.
- Parklets must have 3-foot safety gaps every 20 feet of the structure to allow access for first responders.
- Clear visibility above 42 inches is required to allow first responders to have visibility of the adjacent sidewalk and business frontage.
- Parklets are not permitted on streets with speed limits in excess of 25 miles per hour.
Contrast that to the meaty parklet protections required by the city of Alameda (see photo below of the parklet for Cafe Jolie at the corner of Santa Clara and Webster):
"After COVID hit, we launched the initial parklet program to help our small businesses serve customers outdoors. Parklets are located on Park and Webster, and extend to some side streets like Santa Clara," explained Alameda spokesperson Sarah Henry.
"Originally the barriers we placed were white plastic and filled with water. During that time we did have an incident where an impaired driver crashed their SUV into a barrier in front of La Penca Azul, causing the barrier to move and minor injuries," explained Henry. "When staff brought the program back for review, the City Council directed staff to install concrete barriers for both safety and aesthetic reasons." They painted them "patio green,” as seen in the above picture, she added.
Streetsblog also reached out to Oakland's DOT and will update this post. Its published guidelines, meanwhile, only require concrete protection on streets with a posted speed limit of 30 mph (above that parklets are banned). An Oakland parklet was obliterated by a driver in 2022. As to the likelihood of Oakland requiring concrete protection at some point in the future, "The city hasn't yet even been able to enforce their existing parklet design guidelines," wrote Bike East Bay's Robert Prinz in an email to Streetsblog.
From Streetblog's view, the recent destruction of three parklets in San Francisco and the general tendency of drivers to crash into them (and everything else on and off the street) also speaks, again, to the total absurdity of putting in plastic posts to "protect" bike lanes.
If drivers are regularly slamming into giant stationary parklets covered with reflectors, how are soft-hit posts sufficient to protect cyclists?
Streetsblog hopes the takeaway by San Francisco and other cities won't be that parklets are too dangerous and have to go. The danger is from reckless drivers and subpar street safety standards that tolerate them.
“These crashes are awful and the destruction, even with no serious injuries, is unacceptable. They’re symptomatic of street design that prioritizes speed and allows people to drive recklessly. What we need is proven traffic calming measures to be implemented citywide that make it impossible to drive this fast or carelessly—which would create safer conditions for everyone who shares the streets, including business owners and their customers, and people walking and biking," said Christopher White, Director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.
"Installing concrete barriers or planters next to each parklet would protect local business owners’ investments and the people in parklets," wrote Streets Forward's Luke Bornheimer in a statement about the latest incidents. "Mayor Lurie and the Board of Supervisors should take action to make our streets safer and more economically vibrant by protecting parklets from cars through City-funded infrastructure."
