The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency will scrap its Valencia Street center-running protected bike lane that was unpopular with merchants in favor of a curbside-protected bike lane.
Directors on the transportation agency’s board Tuesday unanimously approved the curbside-protected bike lane design between 15th and 23rd streets, which will include parklets that will either be floating or placed curbside. In June, the board endorsed a plan to change course on Valencia Street and directed planners to begin work on a detailed curbside design.
The center-running bike lane was installed last year as part of a one-year pilot project in an effort to minimize crashes between vehicles and cyclists. Paul Stanis, the agency’s project manager, said many of those crashes included dooring, sideswipes, and drivers parking in the bikeway.
Transit officials said they adjusted the pilot project several times after community feedback including changing loading zones and adding single-parking space meters. Stanis said the agency will release its final evaluation of the pilot next month but shared highlights of the report showing double parking remained low and bicyclist and pedestrian crashes were lower at the last month of the pilot compared to conditions on the street before.
Still, merchants along the commercial corridor over the past year, including those represented by the Valencia Corridor Merchants Association (VCMA), have demanded the SFMTA remove the center bike lane as they claim the project hurt businesses along the courier.
Manny Yekutiel, a former SFMTA board director and now president of VCMA, said he regretted the decision in approving the center-running bike lane pilot when he was on the board.
“I didn’t realize just how sensitive the ecosystems are for small businesses,” Yekutiel said during public comment. “My members have said they’ve lost a ton of business and I believe them.”
On the final design, Yekutiel said merchants requested that the SFMTA reinstate the left turns at 17th, 19th, and 21st streets; $500,000 for landscaping; and adding more parking by removing some of the commercial loading zones.The approved project will see a reduction in 79 parking and loading spaces, according to the SFMTA staff report.
The center-running bike lane was installed last year as part of a one-year pilot project in an effort to minimize crashes between vehicles and cyclists.
Stanis said the left-turn restrictions will remain but could be reinstated in the future if traffic signals are upgraded with new infrastructure so a left-turn phase can be added. It would require at least $1 million to do the traffic signal upgrades at each intersection, he said.
Claire Amable with the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition asked the SFMTA to put a moratorium on floating parklets for at least a year until those on Valencia Street are evaluated. Floating parklets are away from the curb while bicyclists travel closer to the curb.
Stanis said the agency looked at other cities, including in Oakland, to learn how the floating parklets worked. Some concerns raised included restaurant patrons and employees having to enter and exit the parklet by crossing the bike lane. The SFMTA will install a raised pedestrian crossing to slow bicyclists and the floating parklet would be set back so when people exit the parklet, they are not immediately stepping into the bike lane.
Construction is anticipated to begin in January next year and should take two to three months to complete depending on the weather, Stanis said.
