Dear San Franciscans who regularly drive cars, trucks, and vans (CTVs) —
Have you heard the news? This Tuesday, April 1, the San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Agency (SFMTA) board convenes once again, and will vote for a rushed proposal called the “Oak Street Quick Build Project.” What’s this? You’d be smart to ask. Per the latest from ConnectedSF to its members: “The proposal includes adding a bike lane [along the north side of Oak Street] from Stanyan St to Baker St, removing an automobile lane (except for between Ashbury and Masonic), painted safety zones for daylighting and shortened crosswalk distances.” This is very bad news: more potential street design confusion, constriction of flow, and added congestion.
The galling aspect of this ramrod project is that two-wheelers already have not one, but two adjacent, safe, and well-established eastbound options. The first, directly one block to the south, is Page Street, already a designated “Slow Street.” The second is the pleasant ride along the beautiful, tree-lined Panhandle bike paths.
During the middle of the workday, cyclists are a scant few throughout the city, but vehicular traffic steadily continues along all streets all day and into the evening, and Oak Street is no exception. A new, exclusive bike lane is a poor use of road space for a street where CTVs predominate all day, not to mention that it’s an extravagant $1.3 million expenditure. The project is pure redundancy, if not yet another divisive, contentious, confusing, traffic-constricting intrusion along a key vehicular traffic route toward downtown.
SFMTA is in a severe budget crisis with a struggling transit system. Instead of uniting city dwellers to overcome our difficulties together, it instead foments disharmony, imposing more fines and parking fees or removing parking altogether for CTV users, while spending money on wasteful bike projects (e.g., Valencia Street) and closing or impeding flow along roads (e.g., Hayes Street).
The SFMTA board, the agency itself, and the powerful cycling lobby (that is heavily funded by SFMTA grants) are a triad wholly aligned to prioritize cycling interests over the acute needs of Muni and to turn deaf ears to the needs and voices of the CTV community. How is this a fair representation of all taxpayers’ money and interests? Over the past 20 years, the SFMTA has morphed into a veritable cabal imposing an inflexible, ideological agenda to reengineer how we all transport ourselves, families, and goods within San Francisco. There is an intolerable imbalance of power in the agency. Something must change.
What is urgently needed at present? Mayor Lurie, advising the SFMTA, must declare a moratorium on ALL road changes or closures in San Francisco, effective immediately. The SFMTA board must vote against the Oak Street “Quick Build” project.
Last but not least, the time is ripe for civic engagement, fellow CTV users. Our input and activism are needed and it’s invaluable. Let’s speak up, get involved, and get connected; there is strength in numbers.
In hopes of a better future for San Francisco, yours truly,
A Restless Native
The writer is a concerned citizen and prefers not to be identified for privacy reasons.
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