Creating safer streets for San Francisco bicyclists
Preventing bicycle related fatalities and accidents is a multi-pronged problem that somehow has not been easily solved. Progress to make streets safer for bicyclists is slow, whether due to funding, governmental support, public opponents, or inefficient solutions. All communities deserve safe roads and bike paths. By improving public transportation and bicycle paths, many cities throughout the state help to improve zero carbon emission goals to help fight climate change. Plus, improvement can prevent accidents between vehicles and bicyclists.
At a local level, some things that San Francisco is trying to improve are the number of parking-protected bike paths, especially in more accident prone areas. Following the death of Tess Rothstein, a cyclist who died after being struck by a truck while trying to avoid someone opening their car door, protestors at City Hall demanded more protected bike paths throughout the city.
Matt Haney, former District 6 Supervisor, led the protest for more bike path protections. "It's not going to hurt things or change things that much to take away one lane of traffic or one parking lane and be able to ensure that people are safe while they bike down that street.”
Doing more for bicycle safety
San Francisco currently has over 448 miles of bike paths throughout the network. SFMTA acknowledged that more work needs to be done. According to Mayor London Breed, “We need to make bicycling a safer, more viable choice for our residents, and this starts with expanding our network of protected bike lanes and keeping our current bike lanes clear. That’s why I am directing the SFMTA to double our production of protected bike lanes over the next two years and increase enforcement of violations related to blocking bike lanes.”
The SF Bike Coalition wants more protection for cyclists to be completed sooner rather than later, especially as more vehicles encroach on bike lanes to make turns or double park. "Proactive change means that we should not have to wait until someone dies to get one additional block," said Janice Li, advocacy director of SF Bike Coalition. "We need to do everything in our power to make sure we can stop the lives lost in our streets."
Another idea brought up at the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Neighborhood Services & Safety Committee meeting was to incentivize people to report double-parked vehicles. This idea was inspired by a similar bill in New York City in which reporters get a small portion of the fine.
Avoiding dooring accidents
Although it has yet to gain enough support with all stakeholders, efforts to limit cars within the bike lanes is important, especially as the parked cars force bicyclists to weave into traffic. This creates the potential for collisions or dooring accidents.
Conceptually, people can be offered cash to report violators when they submit a photo to SFMTA. However, the legality of enforcement is questionable both within the SFMTA office and San Francisco Police Department. Laws at the state level would have to be changed and the validity of the reported photos would need to be accepted.
In a SFMTA statement, "there are unintended consequences that could arise from such a program which would create the potential for inequitable harassment of individuals or groups of people or residents to report relatively minor or temporary parking problems.
Bicycle safety legislation
We are tracking the legislation and always want to ensure that equity is at the center of any enforcement effort. We want to work more closely with the cycling community to identify areas for enforcement and deterrence of bike lane blocking. We also want to work with communities to get to the root cause of double parking, which sometimes results from out of date curb regulations."
Cyclists however, want to see action and consequences for drivers who disregard the safety of others on the road. They do not expect any significant amount of enforcement being conducted to make this idea impactful or successful. Supervisor Mandelman points to the decline of SFPD officers working, which negatively impacts the manpower to conduct parking enforcement. Fewer tickets are being handed out despite the annual numbers of traffic related accidents or deaths.
Unfortunately, there are many voices that oppose street changes to create more protected bike paths. Complaints against SFMTA also stem from a lack of thorough analysis for addressing problem areas that need more attention than others. One area of debate was “a “Quick-Build Project” along 17th Street between Rhode Island and Mississippi streets that has local businesses saying, “not so fast.” The business owners were vocal over the negative impacts of reducing parking for their customers or access for commercial delivery drivers.
In government, there was little support to increase bike safety. Senator Scott Wiener and Assemblymember Matt Haney have been the most vocal supporters for safer San Francisco streets.
Senate Bill 932
Although Governor Newsom signed The Plan for the Future bill SB 932, cities now have to do their part to build and create safer roads for all. “SB 932 requires a county or city to identify high-injury streets and intersections in its General Plan and prioritize safety improvements to reduce traffic collisions.” This can help Senator Wiener and Assemblymember Haney’s efforts to make positive safety changes in San Francisco. They are still going to face challenges though. “Despite politicians’ platitudes for Vision Zero, traffic violence has stayed constant, killing or seriously injuring 230 people a year. Proposition A’s failure on the June ballot dealt a financial blow to making our streets safer and more sustainable. When the city government proposes more protected bike lanes, bus lanes, and safer streets, they are tied up in delays and opposition—often from elected officials at the behest of angry constituents.”
Bicycle organizations also struggle against powerful lobby groups at the grassroots level. Mike Chen, Chair of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Citizens’ Advisory Council, believes that bike advocates need to mobilize into a stronger political force.
Against every bike safety proposal, there is an equally powerful group that is also well organized to oppose it. “When politicians deliberate on a transportation position, they consider who supports or opposes it, and they consider the relative power of those groups to deliver votes. The forces against safe streets have political infrastructure.
For Proposition I, the “Open the Great Highway” group has provided the volunteers, Dede Wilsey provided the funding, and the De Young Museum provided a brand. Valencia Street protected bike lanes are opposed by small businesses that are well organized. That’s why these battles are so difficult to win for people who support safe streets.” It is clear that creating safer streets for bicyclists in San Francisco will be a long battle to fight.
Sources:
https://abc7news.com/san-francisco-bikes-bike-safety-sf/5207008/ -
https://www.potreroview.net/proposed-bike-lane-on-17th-street-hits-speed-bumps/
