Not cool: Drivers are parking in new protected bike lanes

Whether with or without human drivers, vehicles have overtaken the city of San Francisco now more than ever. So much so that, usually in violation of law, drivers seem to assume carte blanche membership when it comes to roads. The most recent and worrisome example: the abuse of new protected bike lanes along Valencia Street in the Mission.

New protected bike lanes (which seem to merely be painted khaki) are supposed make clearer distinctions between the driver, the cyclist, and the sidewalk. Alas, the drivers aren’t getting the hint.

One primary cause for the confusion are the remaining parking meters. The San Francisco Examiner explains, “There are no signs posted to explain how to use the bike lane, and the parking meters appear to be causing some confusion.”

Enter a social media response.

The Examiner continues, “The saga began when twitter user @adaman797 sent out the above photo last Thursday, with the caption “No one predicted this would happen! Maybe @sfmta_muni hasn’t finished the lane yet?”

Soon thereafter, other cyclists shared their own tales of woe, posting images of cars parked in the newfangled bike lane.

Behold:

In response, District 9 Supervisor Hillary Ronen tweeted, “[SF MTA] will bring out parking enforcement today for new bike lanes on Valencia btwn Mission & Cesar Chavez...Next steps include working with [SF MTA] to create safe barriers for the new bike paths on Valencia.”

• Oblivious drivers pack SF’s first raised, ‘parking-protected’ bike lane with cars [SF Examiner]