San Francisco Neighborhoods

Update (Sept. 11, 7:53 p.m.): The pro-meter petition now has 197 signatures. ENUF's anti-meter petition has 199.

A car-free, 12-unit condo and retail development was approved unanimously yesterday by the SF Planning Commission, despite opposition from some residents. The project will include no car parking and 28 bike parking spaces.

We reported last week that the SFMTA is considering testing out a two-way bike lane on the Embarcadero during the next America's Cup races in October, according to an agency report. However, America's Cup spokesperson Jane Sullivan tells us that the lane will only serve one-way traffic in the northbound direction, and no trial bike lane will be provided in the southbound direction.

We should never have to report about a traffic injury in Golden Gate Park, but as long as cars are allowed, there will be stories like this one.

A two-way protected bikeway along the Embarcadero could get a trial in the coming months. The SF Municipal Transportation Agency is considering implementing a temporary two-way bikeway along the waterfront during the next America's Cup events in October, according to an agency report. The agency is also developing plans for a more permanent bikeway along the Embaracdero near Pier 39, from Kearny to Powell Streets.

Last summer, we wrote about a package of overdue streetscape improvements planned for the neighborhood around McCoppin Street, which would include a public gathering space called the McCoppin Hub adjacent to the Central Freeway.

Sunday Streets returns to Chinatown this weekend with a car-free route running along Grant Avenue and east toward the Embarcadero. It'll be Sunday Streets' second run in Chinatown, following a highly popular event last year, but the route will be different: Rather than running into North Beach all the way to Coit Tower, it'll turn east at Jackson Street toward the waterfront.

San Francisco's first on-street, two-way protected bikeway is nearly complete, featuring bicycle traffic signals and green intersection bike markings. The bikeway, which is separated from motor vehicles by a fence and concrete median, provides a safer connection from Bayview and Hunter's Point to Third Street and the north-south bike lanes on Illinois Street.

The SF Planning Commission unanimously approved a major housing development at 55 Laguna Street yesterday, despite an excessive amount of car parking that livable streets advocates say should be lowered under stricter parking maximums.