A Critical Mass: Hope for Market Cyclists After All

[image courtesy flickr photog orin optiglot]
The city's been under that dark cloud of court injunction against any bike plan improvements for two and a half years and $1 million in environmental reviews, but there may be some light at the end of the Broadway Tunnel after all. City Attorney Dennis Herrera is pushing the Super Court to fix San Francisco's bike-plan on the basis of making necessary safety improvements. The changes would come to Market, Polk, Third and Folsom streets. Herrera is giving a little special attention to the dreaded Market and Octavia intersection, where at least 15 cyclists have been hit by cars in the last three years; he wants to take out the bike lane on that stretch of Market, forcing cars and bikes to share the road, uh, harmoniously (like they do so well Portland!). But the Bike Coalition isn't so pleased with these recommendations. Their logic: why remove a perfectly good bike line at "the most dangerous section of the City"? If Herrera does succeed, though, it would be a coup for long-tabled bike improvements, and might just open the door for other bike-friendly streets improvements. Or? Even more traffic casualties next year!
· City Attorney asks for bike safety improvements [SF Examiner]
· SF Impaled on Spike in Traffic Casualties [Curbed SF]
· Bailouts for Bikers [Curbed SF]
· Bike to Work Day, Meet Market and Octavia Streets [Curbed SF]