Bike Lanes

Soon after an SFPD sergeant harassed bicycle advocates at a rally for safer streets at the site where Amelie Le Moullac was killed, SF Bicycle Coalition Program Manager Marc Caswell found what SFPD investigators claimed they couldn't: two surveillance cameras facing the street, one of which had footage showing the truck driver running over Le Moullac in the bike lane at Folsom and Sixth Streets on August 14.

Update: Shahum reported that SFBC staffer Marc Caswell found a surveillance camera at an auto body shop which has footage of Le Moullac's crash, even though SFPD has said no such footage could be found. More on that story later as it develops.

Stanley Roberts asked me to come out yesterday for one of his "People Behaving Badly" segments and help explain how drivers should legally make a right-turn, since CBS 5 didn't get it quite right. Roberts still didn't touch on the point that CBS got wrong -- drivers can't just jump in front of people on bikes because they got to the intersection first -- but it's good to see him devote attention to the issue.

A clear understanding of California's right-of-way laws is crucial if drivers are to avoid colliding with people using San Francisco's bike lanes. As we saw this week, a "right-hook," in which a driver turns right into the path of a bike rider, can be fatal.

The woman killed on her bike by a truck driver at Sixth and Folsom Streets yesterday morning has been identified as 24-year-old Amelie Le Moullac, SF Weekly reported this morning. Le Moullac was run over by a truck driver making a right turn from Folsom on to Sixth at about 7:07 a.m., and although SFPD says it's still investigating the crash, officers have already said they have no plans to submit case to the district attorney to investigate the case for potential charges, according to KTVU.

We've gotta spotlight this op-ed that appeared in today's edition of the SF Chronicle calling upon the SFMTA and city leaders to make Polk Street more like "a Paris street, where people saunter and stay for hours, not just one errand."

For those who dream of better transportation options on San Francisco's streets, which were engineered in the 20th century to maximize space for cars at the expense of safety and efficient transit, the lack of city leadership on two recent major re-design projects has been troubling.

After listening to city planners say there's no practical way to redesign Potrero Avenue with protected bike lanes and two transit lanes, Josh Handel didn't buy it.

The city's latest proposal to improve safety and transit service on Potrero Avenue is slightly different than earlier versions of the plan. While the redesign would expand pedestrian space, some residents at a public meeting yesterday pointed out that it could do much more to make the street safer for biking and walking.