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Latest News
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Campaign Central
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Act Now to Help Get Separated Bikeways on Fell and Oak in 2012
Want to help get separated bikeways on three blocks of Fell and Oak Street between Scott and Baker? Take a few minutes today and ask Mayor Ed Lee and SFMTA Director Ed Reiskin to connect the Panhandle to the Wiggle with separated bikeways. As the SFMTA nears the end of it’s community outreach and planning process and narrows in on likely options, it’s important for our city leaders to hear your story and why separated bikeways on these three blocks of Fell and Oak are important to you. Click here to read the SFMTA’s detailed project information and presentation
Please email mayoredwinlee@sfgov.org and Ed.Reiskin@sfmta.com today. We’ve prepared the following email to help you voice your support. Please also cc: neal@sfbike.org.
Your email is important to show the diversity of support for three blocks of separated bikeway on Fell and Oak Street between Scott and Baker. The SFMTA is currently summarizing neighborhood feedback and narrowing in on options for this project. Stay tuned for updates and more ways you can help. Contact neal@sfbike.org for more information or to be added to our Fell and Oak email list.
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JFK Drive Separated Bikeway Construction Begins
Thousands of daily commuters, weekend visitors to the Academy of Science and de Young Museum, and explorers of Golden Gate Park will be enjoying 1.5 miles of separated bikeway on the eastern half of JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park in a matter of weeks! Construction will begin this week (January 23rd) on fixing the drainage issues in many locations along JFK Drive, allowing for a pond-free bike ride during the rainy season. The city will also be adding new curb ramps and adding addition van-accessible blue zone parking stalls – making JFK Drive more accessible for some mobility-impaired visitors. After 3 weeks of curb ramp and drainage construction, restriping will begin. These improvements come after many months of the SF Bicycle Coalition, the SFMTA, the Mayor’s Disability Council and other working together to create a design that will be safer and more inviting for everyone.
The JFK Drive separated bikeway design includes a continuous painted buffer between the bikeway and moving vehicles, with parked automobiles adding an additional buffer in some sections. This project will be on JFK Drive from Transverse Drive to Stanyan Street, including improved connections to the Panhandle Path. The SFMTA is also adding new curb cuts along JFK Drive, to improve access to the curb for many visitors using wheelchairs and scooters.See the SFMTA’s JFK Drive project page for more specific information on the design.
Parking-protected bikeways have been in the ground in cities across North America and around the world for many years with many promising benefits. People biking enjoy an extra level of comfort being separated from motor vehicles – helpful for both seasoned bike commuters and those new to urban biking – and the SF Bicycle Coalition is thrilled to see this first example go in on JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park.
People traveling on JFK Drive should take care of the following once the new design is in the ground:
- Enter and leave the bikeway at intersections and stay clear of the buffer zone.
- Be alert for people crossing the bikeway to enter or exit parked vehilces.
- Be aware of people with disabilities who may need to use part of the bikeway to exit vehicles.
- Obey all signs and markings and yield to pedestrians.
- When driving, be alert for people biking and walking and yield to pedestrians at intersections.
- When driving, park away from the curb along the buffer zone and use the buffer to enter and exit your vehicle. Watch for people on bikes when crossing the bikeway.
Watch this instructional video from Portland, Oregon that shows what to expect when biking, driving, or walking on parking-protected bikeways:
On the Right Track from Mayor Sam Adams on Vimeo.
A special thanks goes to Mayor Lee, Supervisors Mar and Mirkarimi, the SFMTA, the Concourse Authority and the Recreation and Parks Department and Commission for conducting extensive community outreach for this redesign. And special thanks to the hundreds of SF Bicycle Coalition members for sharing your personal stories and speaking up at public hearings in support of this SFMTA project.
The SFMTA will begin construction in January 2012 and should be completed in mid-February. The JFK Drive separated bikeway will be testing out many design features that the SF Bicycle Coalition would like to see replicated across the city on streets like Fell and Oak between Scott and Baker, Polk Street, Masonic Avenue, and more. Stay tuned for ways that you can provide feedback on the JFK Drive separated bikeway directly to the city once it’s in the ground.
Email Neal@sfbike.org if you have any questions about the JFK Drive separated bikeway, and watch our Connecting the City video that shows how this idea can grow in the coming years in San Francisco and connect you to neighborhoods across the city by bike.
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Hundreds come out for December’s Open House for Fell and Oak Separated Bikeways
On Saturday December 3, over 250 people came out to the SFMTA’s Open House to discuss various design options for separated bikeways on three blocks of Fell and Oak Street between Scott and Baker.
Community members were invited to drop in anytime during the four-hour Open House, allowing for even more people to fit this community meeting into their schedule. All the parents on bikes with their kids in tow on bikes, senior citizens living nearby, workers from Divisadero Street and scores of everyday commuters found a window of time to come and add their input.
The SFMTA presented a wealth of information about the leading options to add a separated bikeway on three blocks of Fell and Oak Street – developed from national standards and field research and influenced by the community goals brainstormed at the first community meeting in September. On December 3rd, the SFMTA presented more details on the bikeway designs, and stated that they are prioritizing their planning efforts only on the options that maintain the current number of automobile travel lanes.
The SF Bicycle Coalition is thrilled to see the SFMTA’s attention on improving these three blocks of Fell and Oak Street. Neighbors have been asking for calmer neighborhood streets for decades, and our members consistently cite these three blocks of Fell and Oak Streets as some of the scariest to bike on now and a priority for safety improvements.
This project and community meetings have benefitted from extensive community outreach including door-to-door business and resident outreach before public meetings, prominent signs on the road, mailers to local residents, and a strong partnership with many of the community groups in the area. All these activities have brought a large and diverse crowd together to share their experiences and ideas for improvements at every step of the process. With input from from neighbors, commuters, pedestrian and disability activitists, and SF Bicycle Coalition member at these meetings, we are confident we’ll all move forward to make swift fixes to these three blocks of Fell and Oak Street.
Stay tuned for more updates on this project in the coming weeks. We’ll be posting specific information about the design proposals when they become available and make sure you’re notified on opportunities to weigh in on the design and speak up in support when decisions are being made.
Please contact Neal Patel at neal@sfbike.org or 415.431.2453 x312 if you have any questions or if you want to be added to our Fell and Oak email list for timely updates on how you can get involved.
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December 3rd Open House Will Shape Separated Bikeways on Three Blocks of Fell and Oak Street.
Mark your calendar for Saturday, December 3 from 10am to 2pm for an SFMTA Open House to discuss separated bikeways on Fell and Oak Streets between Scott and Baker Streets. For the tens of thousands of you who live, work, or pass through this area, it’s very important to take some time to drop by the SF Day School (350 Masonic at Golden Gate) any time during the Open House to learn about the latest proposals, offer your input, and help support these important safety improvements. These three blocks represent a crucial link for safe and comfortable biking across town on the popular Bay to Beach route, and neighbors have been working for decades for calmer streets.
At the first community workshop in September, over 100 people came out to help shape the SFMTA’s plans for a separated bikeway on Fell and Oak Streets between Scott and Baker Streets. Members from the North of Panhandle, Alamo Square, and Lower Haight Neighborhood Associations, the Wigg Party, local business representatives, and many neighbors and SF Bicycle Coalition members came out and the discussion was lively. After a break-out session, those in attendance stressed that the main goal of this project should be to prioritize safety of all road users.
The SFMTA presented 5 options for a separated bikeway on these three blocks of Fell and Oak Streets. The first three options (shown below) involve one-way bikeways on both Fell and Oak Streets, while the other two include a two-way separated bikeway on either Fell or Oak Street. Click here to download the SFMTA’s full presentation.
These design concepts come from decades of community efforts at calming streets in the neighborhood, and a robust community outreach process in 2011 for these specific proposals, including the following recent activities:
June 2011 – Businesses on Fell and Oak Streets between Scott and Baker surveyed about ideas and concerns of general separated bikeway concept.
July – August 2011 – Alamo Square, Inner Sunset, and North of Panhandle Neighborhood Associations discuss preliminary concepts for Fell and Oak Separated Bikeways at their monthly public meeting. All residents and business on Fell and Oak between Scott and Baker received flier of these neighborhood meetings on their door.
August 2011 – Outreach about project details and upcoming Community Workshop at the Inner Sunset Farmer’s Market and Alamo Square Flea Market.
September 2011 – 1st Community Workshop for Separated Bikeways on Fell and Oak Streets between Scott and Baker Streets attended by over 100 community members and business representatives. All businesses and residents in a 20 square block around the project are received notification of the Meeting by hand-delivered and/or mailer.
At the December 3 Open House, the SFMTA will present more detailed information about each design and will be soliciting feedback – your input is crucial to make sure the project moves forward with the most community input on the design and in a timely manner.
The SF Bicycle Coalition will be providing free bike valet at the Open House from 10am to 2pm, so you know your bike will be safe while you participate. There will also be a free bike education workshop immediately following the workshop at 2pm, as an introduction to safe urban cycling.
Contact neal@sfbike.org (or 415.431.2453 x312) if you have any questions, and we’ll see you on December 3rd.