Bicycle Infrastructure

As the photo shows, SFMTA is making some quick improvements to the 2nd Street bike lanes. This is a temporary fix, intended to be replaced once a full-blown makeover starts this fall.

Pleasanton, California may have just created the shortest bike lane in the state. It's one short block long, on Parkside between Cheryl and Arthur roads.

Yesterday, Streetsblog reader Adam Long was riding along Valencia when he heard screeching brakes and commotion behind him. He had his camera on his helmet and, although he didn't catch the actual collision, it's pretty easy to see what happened from the video he put together and submitted to Streetsblog's tips line:

Streetsblog checked in with the dedicated volunteers of the Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) on Monday evening at its monthly meeting. The BAC was created by an ordinance back in 1990. The group consists of appointees representing each of the supervisorial districts. It advises San Francisco on matters related to bike safety and infrastructure. The chair is Bert Hill, who is also a veteran Bicycle Education Instructor with the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (SFBC). In a pre-meeting interview with Streetsblog, Hill said he wants more attention paid to roads where cyclists generally don't ride. His argument is that some roads are so intimidating that cyclists avoid them almost completely, so they don't get considered in the criteria for which roads get bike safety treatments in SFMTA's plans. "Is the criteria that you have to get someone killed to get checked off as requiring a bike safety project?" he quipped.

The city of Waterloo, Ontario, is in the process of building a new 12-mile light rail line called Ion Rapid Transit. Now the most pressing question is how to make it a success.

Earlier this week, the SFMTA sent out a release with a progress report on the "Red Lane" paint (actually, a thermoplastic adhesive) they are applying, clearly marking lanes for Muni Streetcars and buses (and taxis):

Back in January, Streetsblog brought you news of a major expansion of the Bay Area's Bike Share system, growing the network from 700 to 7,000 bikes. Motivate, the company that manages the system, held a series of meetings to get input on good locations for the share stations. Today Motivate, along with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), released preliminary maps for locations in San Francisco and San Jose (with East Bay Locations to follow). The maps show 72 new stations in San Francisco and 13 new spots in San Jose.

The California Transportation Plan 2040 is nearing its final draft. Caltrans will accept public comments on it through Tuesday, March 29.

Supervisor John Avalos, backed by safe streets and transit advocates, and Supervisors David Campos and Jane Kim, made a push today to override Mayor Lee's veto of a proposed increase in the Transportation Sustainability Fee (TSF) on large commercial developments. But the override only got six votes rather than the eight required.