Bicycle Infrastructure

Dick Spotswood of the Marin Independent Journal was correct when he recently stated that adding highway lanes won’t fix our traffic problems. A common adage in transportation circles compares building more lanes to doctors counseling obese patients to simply loosen their belts.

Before everyone heads out for the Memorial Day weekend, Streetsblog wanted to do a quick update on yesterday evening's successful Valencia Street human-protected bike lane protest in the Mission District.

There's no denying that the State Route 35 freeway interchange with State Route 1 is not the most comfortable place to ride a bike. Two lanes in both directions, barely a shoulder in places, and automobiles continually speeding. A cyclists was killed in the area two years ago, although it is unclear who was at fault.

As part of its ongoing efforts to create a safer El Camino Real, the City of Redwood is seeking input from the public through an online survey that closes tonight.

Robert Clark's son Gashaw, 25, died in a bike crash three weeks ago. Gashaw was riding through the large intersection at Third Street and Mission Bay Boulevard, when he collided with a car. "There were over 600 people at his memorial," said Clark, fighting through tears as he spoke to about 40 people in the Sports Basement grotto on Bryant Street in San Francisco yesterday evening, just prior to this year's 'Ride of Silence.' "He was the best kid ever."

Some 30 cycling advocates, wearing bright yellow t-shirts, stood along the southbound bike lane on Valencia Street between 16th and 17th streets and prevented Ubers, Lyfts and other cars from blocking this popular bike route during Friday evening's rush. The protest, which emulated an earlier action on Golden Gate, was intended to ratchet up political pressure for protected bike lanes on all major thoroughfares.

The streets of San Francisco were filled with thousands of exuberant and experienced cyclists and quite a few newbies this morning on this 23rd annual "Bike to Work Day." Streetsblog caught up with the convoys at the Bicycle Coalition's rally on the steps of City Hall.

It was celebrated as a victory for safety by cycling and walking advocates when the SFMTA voted last week to approve plans to add safety enhancements on Upper Market, including parking-protected bike lanes.

Few people have been so closely involved in the transformation of the city's streets over such a long period of time as Ryan Russo. So between his last day at NYC DOT and his move to the West Coast, I caught up with him to get an insider's perspective on more than a dozen years of change to NYC streets.