Bike Lanes

Mayoral candidate Sam Liccardo and District 3 City Council candidates Don Gagliardi and Raul Peralez all sought to demonstrate their support for improving cycling conditions in the state's third-largest city at both September's San Jose Bike Party and the inaugural San Jose Bike Life Festival.

Governor Jerry Brown signed two bills on Saturday that will make it easier for California cities to build better bike infrastructure.

At two workshops last week in Oakland, attendees overwhelmingly called for a bolder plan to make Telegraph Avenue safer and include protected bike lanes. Oakland planners ditched their original proposals for parking-protected bike lanes, instead proposing buffered, unprotected bike lanes on most of the street. In Temescal, the street's most dangerous and motor traffic-heavy section, planners insist on preserving all four traffic lanes, with only sharrows added. But when asked to choose between removing parking or removing traffic lanes, it was clear that the majority of residents who attended both meetings would be willing to give up parking.

Oakland has dropped protected bike lanes from its draft proposals to redesign Telegraph Avenue, and the buffered bike lanes that are included would disappear at the most dangerous section, throwing people on bikes into mixed traffic with motor vehicles. The city will hold two open houses this week where the public can weigh in on the draft plan [PDF], on Thursday evening and Saturday morning.

How does northbound San Jose Avenue feel ever since it got a road diet and buffered bike lane? The SFMTA has launched an online survey where you can weigh in on the project. It's your chance to let planners know if you think the street's safer and calmer, and how it could be improved.

In sync with Bicycling Magazine naming New York America's best biking city, the NYC Department of Transportation released a report this week full of stats on the safety impact of protected bike lanes. It's the most robust data the city has released about this type of street design, and the results prove that protected bike lanes make streets safer not just for cyclists, but pedestrians and drivers as well.

Updated 9/5 with comment from the SFPD captain below.

A bill that would make it easier for California cities to build protected bike lanes was passed by both houses of the state legislature this week and only awaits Governor Jerry Brown's signature.

In case you're wondering why the left-turn "jug handle" connecting bike commuters on Market to Valencia Street suddenly disappeared behind construction barricades, we've got the answer. The "bike bay" is being re-built with granite curbs, replacing the original concrete curbs with materials that better match the rest of Market Street.