Pothole Injury Slows BIKE NOPA Posts

Another pothole-related bicycle injury

Since BIKE NOPA started in late June of last year, there have been almost daily posts. This last week my pace has slowed due to a bicycle injury. Last Saturday morning I hit a pothole and lost my grip while biking on Mississippi Street. (The hole was one of those smooth dips in the pavement, a not readily noticed depression). I fell and in the process fractured my right elbow. I'm fortunate that it is a simple break, likely to heal in a few weeks. But I'm also right-handed and that makes writing difficult. My orthopedist advises fifteen minutes at the keyboard followed by long breaks. I'm learning to write faster.

A bit of irony about my pothole-induced injury: it occurred while I was riding with other cyclists who volunteer with the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's Good Roads Campaign. For the last two years a group of us has undertaken monthly "pothole patrols" throughout the city to identify and report the many cracks, holes, utility cuts, and sunken manholes that appear on bike routes. To date, we've reported more than 1,300 of these surface defects. But new potholes appear and the temporary repairs wear away. Biking in San Francisco is safer and smoother as a result of the Good Roads work -- and the usually quick repairs by the Dept. of Public Works -- but too many hazards remain and too many injuries and liabilities are the result of insufficient funding for our streets. Cyclists and pedestrians are the most vulnerable users of our roads, and their safety must become a higher priority, even in difficult economic times. You can help increase safety for everyone -- pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists -- by reporting potholes to 311 by phone or online at www.sfgov.org. And be ready to support later this year the best proposals to finance safer streets.

For the next ten days or so, my fifteen minute stints at the keyboard will limit me to a BIKE NOPA post every other day. This week and next look for news of NOPA's new bicycling group, a feature on the Buddhist Bicycle Pilgrimage, updates on the Fell Street/ARCO traffic mess and those still-standing SFgo freeway-style signs, and a call to pledge "Pedestrians First."

A special thanks to the Good Roads crew who helped me through last week, the SFBC staff for all their support, friends and neighbors for good cheer, elephant-shaped cookies, walnut applesauce bread, cherries, grapes, cake and ice-cream. See you on the streets -- not soon enough for me.

Mixed Outcome for Bicycle Blocks in San Francisco's New Paving Plans

Patch paving of mid to lower Market Street earlier this year.

The recently repaved intersection of McAllister and Van Ness.

Part of the Divisadero Corridor makeover and repaving now underway.

The grinding of the old asphalt before the filling with new.

The streets most-used by San Francisco bicyclists fared generally well -- with some serious exceptions -- in the city's slashed Five Year Paving Plan. A combination of the Department of Public Works' commitment to the city's Transit First policy, advocacy by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, and the already poor condition of the streets that cyclists share with motorists helped keep many priority bike blocks in the resurfacing schedule.

After City Hall dropped the streets repair bond just before it was to appear on this month's ballot, an overhaul of paving plans was undertaken, often stretching street work from five years to fifteen years or more. The result for all street users is more than wear and tear. What's going on for hundreds of our untended streets is structural damage that will worsen and become increasingly more expensive to repair. In the reconfiguration of the paving schedule, priority bike blocks took a hit, but it could have been much worse.

By Fiscal Year (July 1 to June 30), here's some of the repaving cyclists can expect-- but always with the caveat that the projects are subject to available funds and coordination with utility construction. These aren't all the bike blocks to be repaved, but they are the ones most used.

FY 10-11

Wiggle bike route (two of the roughest surfaces in or near the Wiggle): Steiner between Waller and Duboce; and Sanchez between Duboce and 14th. (Note: the current utility work on these blocks is not part of the eventual repaving).

Bosworth, from Diamond to O'Shaughnessy

Holloway, from Harold to Junipero Serra

Howard, from Stuart to 2nd, and from 3rd to 4th

7th Avenue, from Hugo to Noriega

FY 11-12

2nd Street, from Market to King

17th Street, from Pennsylvania to Potrero; from Bryant to Valencia. (Note: The Potrero to Bryant repaving has been advanced to the current fiscal year)

Cesar Chavez, from Guerrero to Hampshire

Parnassus, from Clayton to 5th

Point Lobos, from 42nd to the Great Highway

FY12-13

Kirkham, from 7th to 12th, Funston to 15th, 19th to 37th, and also from 37th to the Great Highway with a less expensive surface treatment

Columbus, from Union to Beach

Silver, from Bayshore to Palou

And, at long last, Market Street, from Main to South Van Ness

FY 13-14

Eureka, from Market to 23rd Street

Polk, from Bush to Beach

20th Avenue, from Lincoln Way to Pacheco

FY 14-15

Polk, from Market to Bush

17th Street, from Valencia to Ord

Note: A full list of streets to be repaved can be found on the DPW web site here. Select the "Proposed Paving" for the 200 page PDF.

Which paving projects were delayed that might most concern bicyclists?

Folsom, from 6th to 10th, now scheduled for FY 16-17

Arguello, not so bad now but can it wait for repaving until FY 19-20?

Potrero, Alameda to Cesar Chavez, now set for FY 19-20 and FY 20-21

8th Street, Market to Townsend, no paving planned

Folsom is especially important as a major bike route today, but it will likely see even more bike and vehicle traffic in FY 12-13 when Market Street undergoes its major makeover. Repaving Folsom before then becomes even more important.

Resurfacing Folsom is complicated not only by lack of funds. Like all streets in San Francisco, Folsom can only be torn up once every five years. Repaving projects must be coordinated with the construction schedules of the various utilities in the city. As a result, the Five Year Paving Plan becomes an intricate dance of many partners.

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition already works with DPW staff to identify priority bike blocks that might be advanced in the paving plan, but the scarcity of funds for the city's infrastructure severely limits the possibilities. Obtaining the financing for essential street repair requires political leadership and public willingness to accept some of the financial burden. For now, bicyclists can appreciate the high percentage of bike blocks scheduled for repaving.

Related information:

In the "2008 Survey of Bicycling in San Francisco," 185 respondents (representing 10% of the total) said they had a serious fall while riding a bicycle in the last two years due to broken or irregular pavement or potholes.

See this recent post for a longer discussion of the withdrawn streets bond measure and the impact of dwindling street repair funds on one San Francisco neighborhood.

No More McAllister Waves

A Smooth Saturday Surprise at McAllister and Van Ness.

Safer for everyone, easier to share the road, and no more liability claims waiting to happen.

Everyone can appreciate the new, smooth pavement of the McAllister Street / Van Ness Avenue intersection, but bicyclists especially will welcome a much safer street crossing. For cyclists who opt out of the slalom down Golden Gate between Broderick and Divisadero for the speed rush downtown, McAllister provides a tamer but direct route into the Civic Center and, with a jag, onto Market Street. Yet McAllister is no smooth sailing, especially at the Franklin and Van Ness intersections.

Cyclists must dodge a large sunken manhole while crossing Franklin Street eastbound and then prepare for what I cursed as the "McAllister Waves" in the Van Ness intersection -- a several foot wide area where the asphalt had been been "pushed" into a series of deep, broad ripples. To stay within the bikeway and avoid motorists and especially the #5 Muni bus behind or alongside them, cyclists had to negotiate the waves without benefit of surfing gear. The jumbled surface made crossing the intersection difficult and dangerous.

Saturday morning the McAllister waves looked more like a smooth, sandy beach. Overnight road crews had re-surfaced all the intersection. (The waves weren' t the only surface defects in the lanes of traffic). Now the crossing is smooth and safer, allowing cyclists to focus on traffic without risking a nasty spill or worse. Thanks Dept. of Public Works road crews! (Now, about that sunken manhole cover at McAllister and Franklin ... ).

It's beyond me why motorists so seldom report the gaping craters that chew their tires and damage alignments or why pedestrians tolerate wide cracks and crumbled surfaces in several of the city's crosswalks and sidewalks. Bicyclists have reported more than 1300 potholes, cracks, and craters to 311 during the last 18 months through the Good Roads program of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. We can all be the city's "eyes on the streets and sidewalks" by turning in potholes or other defects in the roadway through 311, either by phone or online.

Change in NOPA: September Update

BIKE NOPA covered a lot of biking and livability territory in July and August. Let's see where things stand with some of the previous posts:

NOPA Play Blocks were a conjecture back in early July. One small step for play blocks: Sunday, Sept. 27 BIKE THE BLOCK opens Grove Street between Lyon and Baker from 10 am to 1pm. Playing in the street not limited to kids.

NOPA green businessman and bicyclist, J.P. Collins is on a roll. Following his profile here, JP now appears in the current issue of momentum, the magazine for self-propelled people. JP, a graphic designer, illustrated the article which delves into how much he and his wife Lizbit Bailey continue to "green their lifestyle."

CPMC Davies Bike Parking: The engineering department of Davies responded to requests from medical center users and is about to install new bike racks. The outdated and unused section of bike parking has now been removed. Expect new racks for ten more bicycles within three weeks.

The Dying Turk Street Trees: DPW's Bureau of Urban Forestry responded to our post, and a representative stated that an arborist was dealing with the problem of the contractor planting the trees without a plan to water them. The recent cuts in DPW's landscaping and tree care staff makes the problem more challenging, but the need remains.

NOPA's Grafitti Watch: Doug Diboll continues monitoring much of the neighborhood for tagging and trash. His job -- and OUR job -- becomes more important as the city tries to keep pace with grafitti control, which is a major drain on the DPW budget. Report tagging to 311, cover the tags using methods outlined by DPW, and help keep the streets and sidewalks clean.

Those freeway-style standards intended for digital traffic management messages: still hulking from the sidewalks, but find out what SFgo reps have to say about these "traffic calming" installments on Oak and Fell streets at the next NOPNA meeting: Thursday, Sept. 17, Poleng Lounge, 1751 Fulton near Masonic, 7pm meet and greet, 7:30 pm meeting. Say hello to the Alamo Square neighbors who will be joining us for this issue of mutual concern.

We have a very fond spot for Beth Byrne, the graphic designer who gave BIKE NOPA window signs their distinct look. Then she went even further and designed the BIKE THE BLOCK party poster gratis and her company picked up the tab for copies. Beth has many fans, including the already mentioned magazine momentum which wisely profiles her as "The Lunch Hour Bike Advocate" in its current issue. Beth lavishes much of her free time on bike improvements in the city as part of her volunteering with the SF Bicycle Coalition.

No matter how much we welcomed new NOPA resident and SF Bike Coalition staffer, Marc Caswell, to the neighborhood, he still must face the afternoon headwinds on the uphill climb of McAllister Street at the end of the day. Sorry, Marc, some things don't change.