SFBC Gets Construction Plates Removed from Haight and Scott: DPW Contractor Makes Corner Smooth and Safer

SFWD finally completes the job at Haight and Scott Streets

Construction plate hazards like this appear frequently in the city. Photo: Janel Sterbentz

The large construction plates that threatened bicyclists and challenged pedestrians at the northeast corner of Haight and Scott Streets have finally been removed and replaced with smooth pavement. On Tuesday morning, May 4th, contractors prepared the site for a new layer of asphalt. Persistent complaints about the plates by bicyclists and the advocacy of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition led to the corrective measures.

Neal Patel, Community Planner for the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, emphasized that coalition members are the "eyes on the street" and help report construction hazards like the one on Haight Street. "When we heard about this lingering hazard, we immediately notified our partners at the DPW and they fixed the problem within a few days."

The block of Haight with the plates is an essential part of the Wiggle bike route that sees several hundred cyclists every day. While construction work inevitably entails more complicated and time-consuming surface repairs, the city has very specific regulations -- the "blue book" -- that govern construction work on city streets and additional measures that must be taken for construction that occurs on bike routes. Some cyclists began to think the plates at Haight and Scott were remnants of an abandoned construction project they were in place for so many months. The particular work at this location was initiated by the San Francisco Water Department.

Vigilant reporting by cyclists and pedestrians of construction hazards is essential for safer streets, but preventive action is needed just as much. SFBC's Patel notes, "We're working closely with the DPW to help them be more proactive in ensuring construction zones never compromise the safety of any person using the street."

SFBC Completed Study 7+ Years Ago, Monday a Repaved JFK Drive to be Celebrated

New paving starts at Transverse Drive, continues to Great Highway

Smooth and safer at last: west-end John F Kennedy Drive

The Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden in waiting

One of the first to bike the new JFK

Last days of repaving operations

We've all waited a really long time for this: a chance to celebrate a new smooth and safer John F. Kennedy Drive through Golden Gate Park to the Great Highway. It's an improvement the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition called for in a study* completed more than seven years ago. In April 2003 study authors Leah Shahum, SFBC Executive Director, and Joshua Hart, then SFBC Program Director, recommended repaving JFK west of Transverse Drive as one of many proposed bicycle facilities in the park.

More recently the SFBC Good Roads Campaign pushed for safer cycling and better pavement on JFK. In September of 2008 campaign volunteers first reported street defects after circling 32 potholes with spray paint. Every few months after that, the Good Roads Crew returned to find new holes or widening cracks with chunks of asphalt missing down to the concrete base. Mostly JFK was beyond maintenance; repairs had been delayed for so long that temporary fixes were no longer sufficient. Repaving began late in 2009.**

Join the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, the Parks and Recreation Department and the Department of Public Works for a smooth spin Monday, May 3rd at 5:30 pm. Meet at the McLaren Lodge (Stanyan & Fell) for congratulatory remarks followed by fun park facts through the ride.

*SFBC conducted the Golden Gate Park Bicycle Improvement Study for the Golden Gate Park Concourse Authority.

** Once the repaving got underway last year, BIKE NOPA posted eleven stories tracking the progress. We're ready to move on.

City Celebrates First Parklet, 100 Gather on Divisadero

Leela Gill, former president of the North of Panhandle Neighborhood Association

More than 100 neighbors, city officials, and livability advocates gathered on Divisadero Street today to launch and celebrate San Francisco's first "parklet," a miniature version of the Pavement-to-Parks projects being developed in the city. Mayor Gavin Newsom hailed the installation of the sidewalk extension as well as the nearly completed Divisadero makeover with the new landscaping, median, lighting, and street paving. Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi recalled that when he first took office in 2005 he predicted that Divisadero would be the "comeback kid corridor" and now that appears to be the case. "This 44 foot template is a pilot for projects that others will want in their neighborhoods," Mirkarimi suggested, establishing a new prediction with its fulfillment already in the works. Another parklet is expected to be completed in three weeks in the Mission district.

Ed Reiskin, Director of the Department of Public Works, praised the work of Synergy Construction and city staff for completing the Divisadero revitalization seven months ahead of schedule. He added that he was pleased to see the new mini-park in the North Panhandle. "My daughter goes to school two blocks from here, I ride the 24 Divisadero nearly every day, and bike through the neighborhood," he said. Rijad Ghannam, of RG-Architecture, who provided pro bono services for the design of the parklet, touted the inspiration that he feels from working on the project. "No one ever said 'Meet me at the two non-descript blocks in front of Mojo,' but now this space will be a destination."

The installation of the mini-park involved a collaboration of several city departments and the Mayor and Supervisor's office with solid input and guidance from the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's Great Streets Project as well. Volunteers from the SFBC program provided essential assistance for the installation, even during a drenching rain last Friday.

With expectation of fine media coverage elsewhere today -- this was one well-covered event! -- BIKE NOPA is focusing on the remarks of former NOPNA President, Leela Gill. Leela especially praised the collaboration of NOPNA, the Alamo Square Neighborhood Association, and the Divisadero Merchants Association.

Find a good reason or none at all and take a relaxing break at NOPA's first parklet!