Bicycle Commuting

The Valencia Streetscape Improvement Project will bring major enhancements to Valencia Street that will benefit all of its users. To get there though, bicyclists and businesses will have to weather a nine-month storm of construction, which began three weeks ago. At a press conference today at ArtZone 461 Gallery, Supervisor Chris Daly and the DPW's Alex Murillo vowed to do everything possible to help make the process less painful, and business owners sought to remind residents that they will remain open throughout, even if work crews are right outside their door. 

A BART strike will leave hundreds of thousands of riders in search of an alternate commute on Monday. Since most of the region's largest transit agencies are already operating near capacity during peak hours, new riders - as well as current riders - will have to squeeze onto already-crowded buses and trains.

Andrew Bennett, the 42-year-old bicyclist who was run down with his 4-year-old son on a tandem extension bicycle by a driver who ran a red light last month on 18th Street at Valencia, expressed deep gratitude to the SFPD for making the case a priority, and said he sympathizes with the parents of the 16-year-old girl arrested in the hit-and-run case.

Now that the New York City Council has approved a Bicycle Access Bill requiring commercial buildings to allow bicyclists entry, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is ready to push for a San Francisco version of the requirement "by the end of the year." New York's bill, which is limited in its scope and contains some significant loopholes, passed 46-1 and is expected to be signed by Mayor Bloomberg.

If you've pedaled through The Wiggle in the last few weeks -- as thousands of bicyclists do on a daily basis -- you've probably noticed the disappearance of what was a rare San Francisco bike box on Scott Street at Oak. The only other bike box is on 14th Street and Folsom. On Scott, the street recently underwent a repaving but crews haven't re-striped the bike box, which gives bicyclists a head start in front of a line of cars, and is designed to reduce bicycle-car conflicts, especially in areas heavily traveled by bicyclists.

Construction begins this week on a nine-month project that could periodically disrupt Valencia Street's bike lanes. The result, residents hope, will be a greatly improved streetscape for pedestrians and bicyclists.

We get a lot of Greenversations press releases over the transom and most go right to the trash, in no small part because "Greenversations" is one of the more odious portmanteaus a government agency or corporation has yet proffered. Not quite as annoying as the idea that Ray LaHood's multi-modal transportation blog is called the Fast Lane (stay tuned to Streetsblog for more on this), but close.