The San Francisco Department of Transportation has released new data evaluating the first three months of the Valencia Street Center bike lane pilot project. The numbers are overwhelming.
There were 20 crashes in the first seven months of the central bike lanes, but the report did not compare that to the period before the central bike lanes were installed.
SFMTA Director Jeffrey Tumlin said the central bike lane has successfully reduced double parking and other hazards that plagued the corridor, increasing bicycle traffic by about 3 percent.
“My initial assessment is that we’ve solved all the problems we set out to solve,” Tumlin said. I also created some new questions.
Some of these problems include reduced pedestrian traffic, occasional traffic jams, and a chorus of complaints from business owners due to fewer customers and fewer central bike lanes and parking spaces. It seems there is.
Kinani Ahmed, owner of Sextant Coffee Roasters, said: “Having a bike lane in the middle and how that affects business, people not being able to park, get a coffee and go out. I have to think about it,” he said.
Even as the center lane experiment continues, there is talk of possible changes. An alternative design for the central bike lane is already on the drawing board, very similar to the design that already exists on Valencia Street.
Valencia’s curbside design from 15th Street to Market was planned to run the entire length of the street, but during the pandemic, the walkway became one of the city’s most popular parklet spots. Now many of them have disappeared.
SFMTA’s decision to revisit the design is welcome news to some of Center Lane’s most vocal critics.
“I’m really happy to see SFMTA take off and finally create a protected shoulder bike lane design,” said bike and pedestrian safety advocate Luke Bornheimer.
It could be several months before a decision is made to change the center lane and install a new design.
