Market Street

Just as one problem improves for bike commuters on Market Street, another arises. Some San Francisco police officers have apparently grown fond of parking their cruisers in the westbound protected bike lane on Market at Polk/Tenth Street, next to Fox Plaza.

We recently wrote about the benefits to bicycle riders that come from temporarily removing car parking at construction sites. But there are other times when construction can do just the opposite, throwing them into harm's way.

Planners presented early concepts for a new Market Street to the public yesterday, moving the discussion forward on revitalizing San Francisco's grand boulevard with features like car-free zones, raised bike lanes, faster transit, and more inviting public spaces.

Note: The Better Market Street Project will hold two public workshops on July 17 and 21, where you can provide feedback on the proposed concepts.

The SFMTA opened a new crosswalk this week along Market Street across the three-way intersection with 14th and Church Streets, eliminating the need for people to cross in a longer two-step phase. The crosswalk, which comes as part of the ongoing Church and Duboce Track Improvement Project, was installed along with a new right-turn vehicle signal to create a safe window in the traffic sequence for pedestrians to cross.

A new set of reports released yesterday by the Better Market Street Project, a coordinated effort between San Francisco city agencies and urban designers, presents ideas for optimizing the mobility, safety and overall experience on lower Market Street when it is rebuilt in 2015.

An unprecedented planning effort is currently underway to redesign Market Street, and transform it into a grand car-free thoroughfare in 2015, when it's scheduled to be repaved. But why should we have to wait that long for a car-free Market Street? There is a growing momentum to do more aggressive trials that would inform the Better Market Street planning process, and divert more private automobiles off Market to improve conditions for people who ride transit, walk or bike.

The SF Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) highlighted crosswalks and added sharrows at the intersection of Market and Sixth streets last week. The improvements should improve pedestrian visibility and help drivers comply with the mandatory right turn put in place last year.