Additional Bike Lanes Approved For Busy San Francisco Thoroughfare
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency has unanimously approved a plan to add separated bike lanes between the Golden Gate Park panhandle and Lower Haight neighborhood.
Advocates have been pushing for the added lanes for more than a decade. San Francisco Bicycle Coalition Executive Director Leah Shahum said the stretch of Oak and Fell streets is known for a high rate of collisions.
KCBS' Anna Duckworth Reports:
"You've got these three critical blocks that really are a deterrent because of the fast traffic and there's no safe, comfortable separation for people biking," she said.
But Shahum said that will change with the SFMTA board's decision to add separated bike lanes between Scott and Baker streets.
"When you create dedicated, physically separated spaces for people biking, you not only see more people riding, but you see a greater diversity of people riding," said Shahum.
Local resident Dean Hartley spoke against the plan arguing that the loss of 55 street parking spaces will cause new problems for drivers.
"They basically spend more time driving around and around and around the neighborhood burning fuel," he said.
The $1.6 million project, which will be covered by a street improvement bond, is scheduled for completion by early next year.
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