Bike Lanes

The watered-down re-design of Polk Street is expected to go up for approval by the SFMTA Board of Directors in March. But support seems stronger than ever for a bolder plan that includes protected bike lanes along the whole length of the corridor, as many residents and merchants call for safety to be a higher priority than car parking.

The southbound Embarcadero bike lane was re-aligned and painted green this week to smooth out a tricky junction where people on bikes have to merge with right-turning drivers between Sansome and Battery Streets.

San Francisco may get its first downtown parking-protected bike lane on 13th Street this spring. The SFMTA will be taking comments on the plans at a hearing tomorrow morning.

After rejecting the idea as too ambitious in 2012, Redwood City transportation officials last week recommended a road diet on Farm Hill Boulevard as a one-year pilot project.

The already watered-down redesign of Polk Street, with a protected bike lane only on one segment, will begin construction in Spring 2016 -- a full year behind the original schedule. The SFMTA announced that final approval of the project is approaching with a preliminary hearing next Friday, January 30, followed by a vote at the SFMTA Board of Directors in February or March.

This is the second in a two-post series about Dutch suburbs.

The SFMTA recently made some upgrades to bike lanes and pedestrian crossings around Valencia Street and Market Street.

This post is part of The Green Lane Project, a PeopleForBikes program that helps U.S. cities build better bike lanes to create low-stress streets.

Michael Andersen blogs for The Green Lane Project, a PeopleForBikes program that helps U.S. cities build better bike lanes to create low-stress streets.