City Smooths Streets with Recycled Tire Product, Gets Cost Savings & Paves More Blocks

9th Avenue on either side of Balboa with new Flex Seal treatment

Darker color with Flex Seal but some residents describe surface as bumpier

The San Francisco Department of Public Works (DPW) is experimenting with a new street paving treatment that re-uses old tires and leaves surfaces smooth and, reportedly, safer. Flex Seal, according to its manufacturer, is a "revolutionary asphalt emulsion" that mixes the recycled tires with asphalt, polymers, and other agents. The new product is less expensive and helps stretch DPW's under-financed street repair budget to repave many more blocks. In San Francisco Flex Seal has been tested primarily on dozens of local, neighborhood blocks that receive less wear and tear. These blocks appear much darker than others with regular asphalt applications, and the surfaces are expected to retain their color longer. The Flex Seal blocks have a more textured feel than just-applied asphalt, and a few residents think the surface is bumpier than with asphalt.

The lower costs of the treatment are persuasive, but Flex Seal paving has won high marks from public works departments in other California cities for the product's effectiveness as well. In Los Angeles and San Clemente, street repair directors have found that the product yields significant protection from sun and water damage. The rubberized material inhibits oxidation of oils that give pavement surfaces their flexibility and deters the development of cracks. Keeping water from entering into cracks and seeping into the street sub-base is essential to preserving the integrity of the surface and preventing further damage. The pavement protection has a five-year life cycle, according to the manufacturer's marketing promotion. Although San Francisco is currently testing the treatment only on less-used streets, two other types of Flex Seal have been developed for use on busier collector streets and on high-volume traffic corridors.

The verdict is out on Flex Seal for use in San Francisco, but the treatment does seem to yield additional benefits:

• traffic on road surfaces with the new seal are reportedly less noisy
• the dark surface yields a greater contrast with lane striping, possibly resulting in greater safety
• surfaces seem to give tires a better grip, even when wet
• 100 discarded tires are re-used for each mile of product application, putting a slight dent in the 273 million tires that get tossed every year

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is encouraging its members to take test rides on streets with the new treatment to determine rideability and degree of tire grip when the surfaces are wet. Check the SFBC Good Roads page for a list of streets. We will report further on the surfaces and provide a more extensive list of city blocks with the Flex Seal treatment in the days ahead.

Everyone Loves Repaved Streets: Broderick in NOPA Going Smooth

Broderick: Hayes to Grove streets, northbound

Broderick: Grove to Hayes streets southbound

Broderick: Golden Gate to Turk to over the hill

It's hard to get much quarrel with clearing a street for re-paving, especially if done one to two blocks at a time. Today three blocks of Broderick street were car-free -- cleared of traffic and on-street parking. But this was no Sunday Streets-style celebration with pedestrians, strollers, skaters, and cyclists enjoying unrestricted use of public spaces. The road crews for the Department of Public Works (DPW) took to the streets and got down to business: scraping and grinding the roadway to get it ready for re-paving.

This week's work on Broderick is ahead of schedule according to the city's Five Year Plan: re-surfacing from Haight to O'Farrell had been slated to begin in early January 2011. The crews are hop-scotching some of the blocks now so a continuous new smooth ribbon of asphalt may still be weeks away.

Why re-pave Broderick street? With the city's woefully limited funds for upgrading its streets, preference usually goes to transit or bicycle routes or to main arterials. But DPW also tries to take care of the "local" streets, like Broderick, that are less-used but worn down nevertheless. When the blocks don't require sewer restoration -- the source of NOPA's re-appearing sinkholes -- a "mill and fill" paving operation is fairly easy to coordinate for the road workers.

In the next few days, take a walk or ride on Broderick and enjoy the difference. And then imagine if Masonic, Market, Polk, Folsom, and Mission were just as smooth.

Making the Wiggle Safer One Sunken Utility Cover at a Time

Today the sunken manhole at Scott & Page repaired

In the turning range for bicyclists travelling Page to Scott on the Wiggle

SFBC's Good Roads volunteers ID hazards like these and Turn Them In to DPW via 311

Hundreds of people on bikes spin along the Scott and Page segments of the Wiggle bike route every day. Today their rides are safer with the repair of a sunken utility cover (aka a manhole) situated at the northeast corner of the intersection. This one is an example of what sometimes happens when repaving a street does not include raising the utility core and cover to be flush with the new surface.

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's two-year-old Good Roads volunteers report these below-grade hazards whenever they're sighted. The utility covers usually require more work and more time to repair, but a good fix for them is just as important as the more common pothole. In April of this year, SFBC launched its Turn Em In campaign to emphasize that anyone can -- and, please, should -- report street defects like these to 311. Thanks to the Bureau of Street Use & Mapping of the Department of Public Works for getting this done.

The disclosure: The Page & Scott sunken cover is one that I happened to report. Yesterday afternoon I biked right over it.

And the Fix Goes On: Plate Returns to Haight & Scott Corner of Wiggle

Construction plates finally removed at Haight & Scott on May 4th

But the May 4th work left sunken SFWD covers, a different hazard

Now a different plate is lodged at the intersection, better wedged with asphalt this time

And the plate surface is non-skid as all plates in the city are required to be

Cyclists relieved to no longer have to dodge or bump over the risky, badly positioned construction plates at Haight and Scott streets now find another plate in the exact same position. What's going on here?

As previously reported, cyclists complained to the city and to the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition about the original plates that seemed abandoned at the northeast corner, right along the Wiggle bike route. SFBC urged the city to fix the defect, and the city responded. On May 4th workers for the SF Water Department jackhammered the area, applied new asphalt, and smoothed everything over. Except they left submerged, below-grade SFWD utility covers, a different hazard for cyclists.

The end of last week SFBC pointed out the latest problem to the Department of Public Works. Perhaps with that intervention -- or maybe by coincidence -- the below-grade manhole covers were gone by Monday. Instead, one very large plate covers much of the fix-on-fix area. At least this plate has a skid-resistant covering and is better ramped along the sides with asphalt. Nearby construction signs indicate SFWD will be working at the site from May 19th to 28th. Maybe then this part of the Wiggle will have received its last makeover.

Steiner Street on the Wiggle NOW Safer

Seth Fischer is all for a smoother, safer Steiner Street on his commute

Surprise for cyclists turning northbound on Steiner from Duboce

One smooth 1/2 block; the southbound lane still needs work

This is why SFBC Good Roads Campaign blew the whistle on unsafe surface

Seth Fischer knows a smooth surface and that's what he got Thursday morning for his regular Wiggle spin from Duboce and northbound on Steiner. This stretch between Duboce and Herman has been one eyesore and hazard for some time. The Department of Public Works (DPW) has filled hole upon hole here in the past, but after the rains and especially the SFPUC/Water Department's construction on the south side of the street, only one option remained. Grind it out and add new smooth asphalt.

Neal Patel, Community Planner for the SF Bicycle Coalition, might have been the first to fully appreciate the change in the surface. Last night his ride on Steiner brought one huge smile from the just-completed paving. Just last week he was on the block with DPW reps urging quick action for the street defects. "As soon as the rain stopped enough for them to get out there, work crews took care of the problem," Patel said, "and they did a great job."

So, cyclists, enjoy the northbound lane, and here's the story on the bumpy utility trench work on Steiner southbound from Waller to Duboce. SFBC is also pushing for this work to be either re-applied or smoothed out by some other means as soon as possible. DPW managers are working with SFPUC to address the problem. Normally if utility work involves a cut that is 25% or longer of the given block, the full length of the block from curb to mid-point needs to be repaved. In this case, the city allowed a waiver since these blocks are due to be re-paved curb-to-curb after August 1st of this year. Budgets are tight, and SFBC volunteers* report just the real hazards to the city, not the regular inconveniences of the road. Given the huge amount of bicycle traffic that the Wiggle gets everyday, a wait of seven months or more seemed unwise for either the cyclists or the city's liability status.

This morning I also walked the block of Sanchez south of Duboce. Cyclists know how bad this block has been as well. A neighbor and homeowner from that block stopped by to chat -- and complain about the terrible street surface SFPUC left in its wake once they believed construction was done. After he heard about SFBC's efforts to get these streets smoothed, he smiled and said, "It's great to work on these problems as a community together; I really appreciate that the bike coalition is working on this." He also said he was going to get his neighbors to call 311 requesting a better pavement job.

*Full disclosure: Along with several other volunteers, I am a member of the SFBC Good Roads Crew.

Seen While Biking: "We Don't Do Stencils"

All in one photo: Divisadero makeover, Fell/ARCO hazard spot,

traffic problems on Fell, and the SFgo sign still standing

The "other" DPW paint crew -- "We don't do stencils" to paraphrase a friendly city worker -- was busy re-striping a bit of Fell Street on either side of Divisadero Tuesday afternoon. To the inquiry "Only four stripes?", the DPW painter confided that they were only supposed to do one. Perhaps there was extra paint for the three additions.

Cyclists who've noticed the partly sunken manhole cover in the bikeway while crossing Divis on Fell: this hazard has been reported and inspected by DPW. The construction firm has been advised to repair the defect. We're monitoring it but don't hesitate to report the problem to 311 if much more time passes.

Smoother Rides for Cyclists...Motorists Too...Coming to Select Streets; NOPA Blocks to Get Needed Repaving

Bike lane surface no one will miss on Baker Street from Fell

SFBC Good Roads Crew during Bayview "pothole ride"

The Department of Public Works intends to resurface* more than two dozen city blocks that will directly improve the rideability for bicyclists and benefit motorists and nearby residents as well. During Fiscal Year 2010/2011, beginning July 1, the city will improve segments of several bike routes, including the Wiggle, 14th Street, Noe between Market and Duboce, and Keith and Phelps Streets in the Bayview (see list below).

This group of streets represents the repaving that DPW undertakes with its own road crews, and the blocks are usually more residential than arterial. The city contracts out for more extensive resurfacing projects. A few of the candidate blocks for 2010/2011 were recommended by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition through its Good Roads Project. Volunteers worked with SFBC Community Planner Neal Patel to identify single blocks with poor surface conditions for this special category of DPW repaving.

NOPA cyclists and motorists who now appreciate the smoother ride on Divisadero can look forward to the much-needed resurfacing of Central Avenue between Hayes and McAllister Streets. Those three blocks are plagued by recurring sinkholes and multiple repairs. The #5 Muni line uses one of the blocks and cyclists spin down Central to enter Panhandle Park. Hopefully, DPW will complete the work on Central early in the fiscal year so the street is in top shape to handle the thousands of Sunday Streets enthusiasts visiting NOPA in mid-September. In addition, Baker Street from Fell to Hayes and from Grove to Turk Streets will be repaved. No cyclist will miss the rough, rugged bike lane between Fell and Hayes.

A partial listing of the blocks to be repaved:

• 3rd Street, between Berry & Terry Francois
• 14th Street, between Valencia and Dolores
• Baker, Fell to Hayes, Grove to Turk
• Central, Hayes to McAllister
• Keith, Palou to Wallace
• Noe, Market to Duboce
• Phelps, Kirkwood to Palou
• Scott, Haight to Page
• Steiner, Waller to Haight
• Townsend, Embarcadero to 2nd/Stanford

* As with all paving projects, work on these candidate streets is subject to funding and clearances (i.e. no conflicts and schedule coordination) with utilities. DPW sent a "Notice of Intent and Request for Information" listing of candidate streets to public and private utilities on Dec. 31, 2009.

First New Bike Lane in 3+ Years

Let's let the photos tell most of the story here. Just a few notes: This morning the new Scott Street bike lane was installed between Fell and Oak. Wiggle Bike Route travelers can push off from the about-to-be-painted-green bike box on Scott at Oak and continue north right up the center of the block in the striped bike lane.

Some adjustments and re-orientations will be required of cyclists and motorists. Cyclists can turn left from Scott onto Fell from the new bike lane, but motorists can only turn left onto Fell from the traffic lane. The previous left turn lane for motorists no longer exists. Motorists need to take a wide turn and wait their turn for the southbound Scott traffic to pass.

No parking spots were removed in this new bike lane installation. In fact, two new spaces were added. OK, one is so tiny that only a Smart Car or motorcycle could fit but no spaces were removed.

Thanks to the great work of the MTA/DPT paint crews; this team was led by Charlie Ruaro. When I spoke with Charlie early this morning when the crew was just getting started, it was so cool to hear him talk about how excited THEY were to be installing this first bike lane. "We're like the Marines, in a way," Charlie said, "We're establishing a bit of a beach head for new bike lanes in the city." After the lane was striped, Charlie congratulated all the bicyclists.

Perhaps no other bike lane striping has enjoyed such an audience as dozens of bicyclists turned out to cheer and celebrate. Champagne corks popped after the white stripe went down. SF Bike Coalition staff, members, and friends whooped. (And cookies were offered to all of the DPT crew for their fine work).

Parties tonight: NOPA BIKE Mingle: 5:30 pm at On the Corner Cafe, Oak @ Divisadero; meet and mingle and then we'll all head to the BIG PARTY: SFBC Celebrates FIRST Bike Lane in More than Three Years at Duboce Park Cafe, Duboce & Sanchez, 5pm to 8pm.

(Press conference Thursday, tentatively at 1pm, at the Scott Street bike box with Mayor Gavin Newsom).

Wheel Squeaks I & II

Squeak #1: New bike racks at Davies Medical Center

BEFORE: Not enough spaces for bicyclists at CPMC/Davies campus with old empty bike lock stations never used.

Squeak #2: the previously hazardous manhole cover on Noe just south of Duboce.

BEFORE: it was even deeper than it appears here

"Thanks so much for being a squeaky wheel." Sweet words coming from an administrator at CPMC/Davies Medical Center. Readers might recall this post about the lack of adequate bike parking at the Davies campus on Castro Street. Hospital officials agreed: more racks were needed, they didn't want bikes in the building, more bike parking might mean more spaces for vehicles in the garage, etc. It just took awhile to happen. Last week while inquiring about flu shots at Davies, I wheeled into the garage ... and there they were: five new racks. No problem parking this time. Thanks for the bike-friendly response, Davies folks!

Biking north on Noe Street is a favorite route for returning to NOPA from Upper Market-- except for the ridiculously sunken manhole just before Duboce. Dangerous to bicyclists and motorcylists, not great for motorists either, but there it remained months on end even after it was reported to 311. Below-grade utility covers are more difficult to fix than potholes. The Department of Public Works must assess the problem and determine whether the city or a private utility is responsible for fixing it. Then the full casing must be raised to the street level. DPW has been good with responding to most requests to repair street defects, but this one required repeated calls before it got fixed. Today the hazard is gone, and bicyclists get safer passage.

Trees Out, Trees In, Trees Die

Expect to see 250 new street trees on Divisadero from Haight to Geary when the revitalization of the Divis Corridor is completed. A few of the existing trees will remain -- truly, the survivors of harsh circumstances -- but others already display a "Notice of Tree Removal" shrink-wrapped around their struggling trunks. The Division of Urban Forestry of the Department of Public Works has deemed these trees in such poor condition that replacement is the only option. Reasons posted for the removals include "not getting established, contorted by wind" and "struggling young tree, stressed and not growing." (Geez, wouldn't a call to Social Services be more appropriate?)

(Actually the "stressed and not growing" applies to Urban Forestry itself, battered by budget and staff cuts -- so much so that the "Dying Trees on Turk Street" continue to ....die...for lack of a watering plan, unless waiting for last week's downpour was the plan).

The proprietor at 834 Divisadero was properly watering the tree outside his business when I pondered the reason for the this specimen's imminent plucking: "reverse trunk taper, no leader." His hunch was the tree leaned into the street and often took swipes from delivery trucks. But "reverse trunk taper"? I'm going to leave that one alone.

Divisadero Renewal: Day One

The Grove Street intersection took the first hit...in a good way...as part of the reshaping of the Divisadero Corridor. This morning work crews began tearing up the pavement for the street renovation that city planners and neighbors have discussed and planned for years. It will be a bit of a slog through the rest of this year and into the next, but everyone expects a much better neighborhood thoroughfare as a result. Even Kentucky Fried Chicken seems to think so (see photo) with "Grove...Now Twice as Good."

Seen While Biking: One Big Cistern in NOPA

Today sewer excavation and replacement work began on Lyon between Golden Gate and McAllister, but only part of it. Seems the ever-appearing sinkholes in the NOPA area are being dealt with one block at a time. The current cutting, digging, piping, and re-paving will involve only the north end of the block.

Who knew a cistern this large lay below Golden Gate at Baker? Nearly the width of the block and extending into the intersection. The water cache perimeter is maked for SF Fire Dept. Will this make NOPA safer when the Big One strikes and fires follow?

Curb appeal, anyone? Finally, this poor stump of a tree finally gave it up. Perhaps all it took was the stiff afternoon breeze -- or resting a bike against it. From the look of the tree base and roots, the rot was well set in. The extreme "pruning" of awhile back certainly did its part. Now the building at this location, the NE corner of Lyon and McAllister, is up for sale. Might the realtor improve sale prospects with a new street tree? Don't hesitate to call them with the suggestion.

Love Your Bike Lanes: Baker Street

Cyclists love the Baker Street bike lanes. The five blocks from Fell to Golden Gate are a godsend for north/south bikers. Whip off the Wiggle onto Fell and then charge up Baker and you get to all of NOPA's east-west streets.

Going to the Richmond? A quick left on Golden Gate and you're on the way to Parker, Turk, Arguello, and then

Lake or Cabrillo. It's a clean sweep all the way to the ocean. Morning commute downtown? Re-trace your ride through NOPA or hit the Panhandle to reach Baker. On to Oak with the Wiggle ahead.

It's quick, it's essential. But it's not smooth, not the NOPA stretch between Fell and Golden Gate. Here's the odd thing: not long ago the worst pavement in NOPA was Baker between Hayes and Fell. Thankfully, the city intervened and re-paved...but only some of the block, down the center, for the cars. Left behind and untouched were the bike lanes on either side -- rough, ridged, and bumpy. Why not pave the whole block?

Just over a year ago Arguello received just the opposite treatment. The city re-paved the bike lanes -- but not the vehicular lanes. Never again, said the Dept of Public Works. It cost almost the same to pave the bike lanes alone as it would have to resurface from curb to curb. So why not all of Baker? If we were stuck in the bikes vs. cars paradigm -- that's so pre-injunction -- we'd say, "one for one; we're even; move on."

Today motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians seek livability for all. Pave all of Baker and all of Arguello. Safe surfaces on major routes for all. When will it happen? DPW is set to repave Baker through NOPA beginning October 31st of this year. No more straddling the traffic side of the bike lane. And Arguello? Not till July 2012.

Love the lanes; make them smoother, safer. To find when your NOPA block will be repaved see the earlier post here; for any block in the city, check the DPW site here.

D5 Clean Team Saturday Sweep

A smile perhaps from McKinley's ghost this morning? Hundreds of District 5 neighbors converged around the slain president William McKinley's monument at the Baker street end of the Panhandle today to scrub, paint, weed, grab, and buff the neighborhoods.

(Come on, you do know this isn't just the east-end statue at Baker, right? President Teddy Roosevelt made his only stop in NOPA in 1903 to sanction the future memorial to his assassinated predecessor. Graffiti swipers and trash grabbers you'e on historical gounds.)

Our own supervisor, Ross Mirkarimi, deftly garbed in green helped out along with NOPNA president Kevin Rafferty and vice-president Jarie Bolander. We missed the opening send-off from the podium, but Dept of Public Works director Ed Reisken was there to rally the troops and thank them for their efforts. DPW trucks lined the block with supplies and ready to cart away all the (ahem, illegally) dumped refuse that bedecks our blocks every now and then. Do we need to declare a NOPA USED MATTRESS DAY?

We found our Graffiti Watch champ, Doug Dilboll, (right, in photo) strayed into the Haight with a mobile graffiti cart. Taggers beware.

Thanks, neighbors near and far. NOPA: Now ready for it's close-up.