NOPA Streets: Bike Sharrows for McAllister

Sharing the road westbound on McAllister before the hill

Sharrows in the westbound lane to Baker

McAllister is the most recent street to get bike sharrows, the shared lane markings that remind motorists to accommodate cyclists who are also using the street. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) stenciled the sharrows last week on much of the westbound lane from Market to Baker streets. Presumably the markings will be extended the full length of the McAllister bike lane to Masonic, including the eastbound lane.* The street additions are part of the extensive bicycle safety efforts by SFMTA that has included miles of sharrows and striping of new bike lanes across the city.

McAllister is the preferred route for many cyclists traveling to the Civic Center and Market street from NOPA. (Others slalom down Golden Gate from Broderick, an efficient thrill ride now more risky with the uneven pavement west of Divisadero). Although Muni management has fretted about bicyclists slowing buses on McAllister, cyclists are often the ones trying to get around slow-going buses. In 2009 McAllister was one of the proposed routes for a new striped bike lane, but the project was put on hold awaiting a better design and strategy for creating bike space. For now the new sharrows provide visual cues to drivers and encourage cyclists to take the lane when necessary to avoid the door zone.

* UPDATE: Or not. Seems McAllister is a bike route only in the westbound direction due perhaps to its one-way orientation from Market to the Civic Center. Whether this makes much sense, especially with "inner McAllister" soon to switch to two-way traffic, is another question.

Bicyclists Beware: Hazards During Construction on Baker and Grove in NOPA

Baker bike lane southbound: curb to curb to be paved in weeks ahead

Grove bike route pavement construction hazards, between Baker and Lyon

Two to three inch trench after initial PUC work on Grove

Defined edges like this should have asphalt shoved up to them for safety

UPDATE, Wednesday, March 30, 5pm

This afternoon Ms. Dadisi Najib, DPW Public Information Officer, reviewed the street conditions and hazards for bicyclists on Grove and Baker. She followed up within hours of being alerted to the problem. She confirmed that curb-to-curb repaving is planned for Grove between Baker and Lyon and for the blocks of Baker recently worked on. She also said she would find out about DPW's or the construction firm's interim plans for reducing risks for bicyclists by shoving asphalt along the edges ("cutback") of the construction lip.

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The Public Utilities Commission is replacing sewer lines under North Panhandle streets, and that's a good thing. The city's aging infrastructure -- above and below ground -- needs all the attention it can get. But the construction itself is creating problems with a lack of attention to safety precautions and warnings to bicyclists.

Grove street between Baker and Lyon has been plagued with the tell-tale signs of sewer problems -- large sinkholes and many fill-ins -- for years. Now the sewer lines have been replaced but the temporary surface has been left two to three inches below grade with hard-edged trenches. Baker between McAllister and Fell has similar trenches. None of the drop-offs have asphalt shoved against them to smooth travel along the block, and, in a few areas, the trenches cut directly across the Baker bike lane and Grove bikeway.

Once all the sewer work is completed, the city will repave the blocks curb-to-curb. Although it's more economical to resurface the blocks at the same time, it's unnecessarily hazardous to leave the trenches as they are and not post warning signs. The city will likely address the risks, but, in the meantime, bikers beware, especially at night if you're unfamiliar with the street conditions.

NOPNA Board Stumbles on Masonic Safety Proposal, Requests Neighbors Take Survey

One of the improvements proposed for Masonic: mini-park at Geary

After years of urging the city to stop the speeding and improve safety on Masonic Avenue, the Board of Directors of the North of Panhandle Neighborhood Association (NOPNA) decided in January that it was unprepared to support an actual plan to do so. Instead, the board has asked neighbors to take the Masonic safety survey developed by city transportation planners. The NOPNA directors stated that the results of that instrument will guide their decision about improving Masonic.

NOPNA seeks to represent all residents who live within the association's border streets: Masonic to Divisadero and Fell to Turk. Everyone who lives within those 30 square blocks is eligible to take the survey whether they attend NOPNA meetings or have paid dues.* The board selected a relatively brief period of time for neighbors to complete the survey, from February 6th to February 15th.

It is important for anyone who wants to stop the speeding on Masonic and make the corridor safer for all users -- pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, and motorists -- to take this survey.

More than 200 neighbors participated in the community planning for a better Masonic last year. That three-meeting process narrowed the options for the corridor from four to two to one. A majority of the Masonic neighbors selected the Boulevard plan as the best way to stop the speeding and increase safety while making Masonic a street that residents and neighbors will appreciate. As previously covered, the Boulevard proposal will provide a full-length landscaped median, a mini-park at Geary, landscaped sidewalks, bus bulb outs at intersections, 200 new street trees, and a separated bicycle track. To allow space for these safety measures, street parking will be removed between Fell and Geary.

The NOPNA board is late to engage in the process, and the survey it has now presented asks neighbors to select between the last two options: the less-complete Gateway version and the Boulevard proposal. City planners have already incorporated the community's preference for the Boulevard into its final report and its recommendations to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). The Ewing Terrace Neighborhood Association, Fix Masonic, and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition have already endorsed the Boulevard proposal. A majority of University Terrace neighbors who participated in a separate survey last year also favored the Boulevard.

Nevertheless, it is important for neighbors who consider safety the top priority for Masonic to take this latest survey, to register their support, and to send a message to the NOPNA Board. The most important factor for people interested in safety for bicyclists is Question 5:

• to ensure that the separated bicycle track is installed, select "strongly prefer" for the Boulevard Option's bike facility AND for the parking plan. The bike facility is not possible without adopting the parking (removal) plan.

For those who have followed the Masonic planning process, the survey will require less than five minutes. Others are strongly encouraged to read the final report -- or at least the most relevant sections -- that details the extensive outreach to Masonic neighbors, the community process, the survey responses, and block-by-block images of all the improvements to come under the Boulevard plan.

* The NOPNA Board also seeks opinions from those in other nearby neighborhoods and encourages those residents to take the survey as well.

Disclosures: Several years ago I served as NOPNA president for two terms and was a member of the board of directors for six years. I have urged members of the current board to conduct greater due diligence and real engagement with the community process to make Masonic safer.

For previous articles in the A Better Masonic, check here.

Bike People Who Want Safer Streets: A Richmond District Family

A new video from the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition makes safer streets real, immediate, and important. This family in the Richmond: these are the "bike people" who want a better city.

You can help; info here.

Pedestrians First: Keep It Simple, Make It Absolute

Commentary

Last year two broken elbows forced me to rely on walking to get around the neighborhood and city. I had to forgo the daily bicycling and occasional driving, and I hesitated to rub shoulders, much less elbows, on packed Muni buses. Walking was the remaining, affordable option, and it seemed a reliably safe way to reach my destinations -- until I started doing it.

Twice a week I made the half-hour trek to and from physical therapy, and I walked to visit friends, shop for groceries, and get to cafes. But what I found is that the North Panhandle is no haven of safe street crossing. When I used crosswalks -- entering with a green light and the right-of-way -- drivers often pushed through too close in front or behind me. Others raced to stop signs with little indication they would slow down in time. Some only stopped once they had blocked the crosswalk all together, especially with those narrow pedestrian crossings now along Divisadero. Too frequently others would yell at me to get out of the way. Many were holding cell phones while driving.

Usually I walked in the late morning or early afternoon, and I didn't encounter many bicyclists. But occasionally I didn't know what cyclists spinning toward me at a good clip would actually do: hit me in the crosswalk or maneuver around me. Other times cyclists took corners so fast I didn't think they could see me crossing. The problem intersections weren't just those along the traffic corridors like Divisadero, Fell, Masonic or Turk. The local, neighborhood streets posed problems as well, just often enough to make me wary. Granted, sporting a broken arm had me feeling vulnerable, but the risks from other road users were pretty damn real and more frequent than I had expected.

The several weeks of walking for transportation made me more aware of pedestrian safety. How could I be more pedestrian-aware when I'm on wheels? How can those travelling around me avoid intimidating or hitting and injuring pedestrians? I'm not suggesting constant threats and mayhem exist on our neighborhood streets and at our intersections, but ask people who walk here and elsewhere in the city regularly -- and especially people with an injury or physical disability -- whether they feel motorists and cyclists frequently put them at risk.

I know that better street design and traffic calming measures are essential to stop the speeding that leads to collisions and threatens people on foot. I think greater enforcement and new legislation are needed to convince motorists and cyclists that dangerous use of the road will cost them dearly. But while we wait for -- or work for -- structural change, better bike facilities, better laws to protect vulnerable users of the road, and better campaigns to influence behavior, the most effective intervention is our own resolve.

For me, the easiest way to stay pedestrian-aware now that I am on wheels again is to adhere to my own basic rule of the road:

Pedestrians First -- Keep It Simple, Make It Absolute

Call it a resolution, a reminder, or a mantra. It requires careful, mindful driving and biking all the time. It means anticipating risks, always being sure an intersection is clear before rolling through it, not cutting in front of or closely behind someone in the crosswalk, and staying behind the stop line at a red light. It means keeping priorities clear. Pedestrians can be unpredictable, slow, careless, or clueless, but they don't deserve to be intimidated, injured or killed because of their behavior.

Pedestrian advocates may counter that my resolution is already the law of the land, but the laws don't seem to be working, not with the pedestrian injury and death statistics as high as they are in San Francisco. A pedestrian first code sets a higher standard, a commitment to do no harm to people who cannot or choose not to travel on wheels. And those of us biking or driving should protect ourselves: do we want to live with the fact that we damaged or ended someone's life because of our distracted, careless, or aggressive behavior?

Sometimes we need to adopt our own code of safe behavior. In my opinion, now is one of those times.

The Trouble with Pedestrians

They want to cross the street without getting hit

They want motorists to stay out of their crosswalks

They want bicyclists to walk not ride through crosswalks

Yes, pedestrians.

All those people who walk neighborhood blocks, cross the streets, hurry around commercial districts on foot, and stroll on park paths. Everyone who walks for pleasure, exercise or because it's the only means of transportation they can afford.

They can be trouble. Because of what they do.

• They cross streets without looking both ways
• They use crosswalks while texting, listening to music, and talking with friends
• They sometimes travel in large groups, spread across the sidewalk, and refuse to walk single-file
• They enter crosswalks against the light or with only a few seconds left in a countdown
• They cross streets mid-block with a saunter or a dash
• They travel with small children who tend to get curious and stop to stare at something on the sidewalk or wander off to look at a leaf or a bug
• They persist in using crosswalks even when motorists clearly want to drive past them or when bicyclists really don't want to slow down for their little ones
• Invariably, they all have stories to share -- especially at public meetings -- about almost getting hit by motorists or bicyclists

But the real issue with pedestrians is they act as if they have a fundamental right to safe passage while on foot. They seem to believe they deserve deference from motorists and bicyclists when using the streets, crosswalks, paths and sidewalks.

The trouble is they're right. They do deserve safety and they should expect vigilance from people operating much larger, heavier, and faster vehicles and swifter bicycles.

People on foot are the most vulnerable users of paths, sidewalks, crosswalks, and roadways. For that reason alone we all need to make walking much safer in the North Panhandle and in all San Francisco neighborhoods. We are all pedestrians at some point during the day, and we deserve safe behavior from one another. When we take to wheels -- in vehicles or on bikes -- we need to retain enough pedestrian consciousness to not make ourselves the trouble.

WalkSafe: A series about walking safely in NOPA and San Francisco

Panhandle Path Notes: Hazard Repaired, Trouble Remains

For months Panhandle Path has bulged here close to Cole Street

When a driver blocks the crosswalk before stopping, it's never a good sign

Ignoring the red turn light and prompting the driver behind to follow

Not to be deterred no matter how many cyclists and pedestrians are in the crosswalk

And the license plate: CA 6LRE494

This afternoon was a good time to get away from the office for a quick bike ride. One of BIKE NOPA's "eyes-on-the-street"* alerted me earlier in the day that a tall pole was being installed on Masonic at Hayes and that a patch of the Panhandle Path was being repaired. Holiday lights were going up on the giant Monterey cypress outside McLaren Lodge too. All good reasons for an outing. Here's what I found.

A new, tall utility pole was already in place when I arrived. The towering tree nearby had been trimmed for the arcing mast over the travel lane, and a new and larger set of signal lights had been installed. The signal light replacements, reported going up at other locations here, are intended as another safety improvement along the Masonic corridor.

Tree roots had buckled the pavement of the Panhandle Path in the west end of the park just east of Cole Street for several months. Perhaps the Recreation and Parks Department delayed this repair given its slashed budget. Crews started the job a few weeks ago but then the work stalled. With the friendly prodding of the Panhandle Park Stewards (coincidental or not), work resumed and today the pathway is flat and smooth.

I decided to save the city's holiday tree for a night-time visit and chose instead to stake out the Fell/Masonic intersection. I hoped to report that the new shield on the bike light was working as intended and that people driving west on Fell and wanting to turn left on Masonic no longer confused the red stoplight and the green bike light for crosswalk users. I stood through two full signal changes, and all went smooth and safely although one cyclist cut the digital countdown for the crossing pretty short. Not the third time though. A clear sign of trouble ahead is when a motorist rolls into and then completely blocks the crosswalk on Fell before stopping for the light. When the Panhandle light turned green for people on bikes and on foot, the driver ignored the red and edged into the intersection ready to push right through the flow of crosswalk users. Which he did. The driver behind him followed suit. Both traveled slowly through their infractions of the traffic code. (Do take note of the license plate number).

This isn't a bicyclist / motorist conflict, in my mind. The situation seen all over the city is simply too many motorists not respecting the rights and vulnerability of someone using the crosswalk. The intrusions happen every day in all parts of the city, sometimes with people getting hit and occasionally killed. One driver nearly hit me this week on a clear, sunny morning. I was crossing Golden Gate Avenue at Lyon street in the crosswalk. Her excuse after slamming on the brakes,"I didn't see you!" My reply, "Then you weren't looking." Before peeling around me and driving on, she shouted, "Get out of the road." When do we -- walkers, drivers, bicyclists, San Franciscans -- say "Enough" and then do something about it?

*Thanks again, SN. Now I wish I had added the Holiday Tree to my ride.

Return to the Cool and Green

In Portland: a green "starter" box perhaps or saving on paint

In San Francisco: The full treatment on Fell Street

After a long weekend trip to Portland, I'm almost back to blog mode with news of all things biking, walking, and livability in NOPA. I liked being in that top bicycling city but I seldom saw as many bikes as I had expected. Perhaps it was a coincidence or being in a distant part of the city during the morning and evening commutes.

I also noticed a few odd patches of green pavement in downtown Portland (see photo). Maybe Portlanders are so accustomed to the full, solid green bike lanes around the city that even a hint of green triggers their bike awareness. I prefer the newly painted green swath along Fell Street. We won't know for awhile whether this newest colored bike lane will make road use safer on that block, but I'm optimistic that the additional green lane will prompt more motorists to think bike safety when they "see green" anywhere else in the city.

Look for a new BIKE NOPA series next Tuesday.

Women Who Bike: Aida Berkovitz

Aida Berkovitz: San Francisco bicyclist in Barcelona, 2008. Photo: Aida Berkovitz.

Aida mountain biking at Lake Tahoe. Photo: Aida Berkovitz

What's your bicycling style?

I'm very knowledgeable about how to ride safely in traffic and I always signal my turns. I find that drivers will avoid doing crazy things around bicyclists when they know what we are intending to do.

When did you start biking?

I've always liked bicycle riding, ever since I was a child. I wa in college n the early 1970s when the 10-speed racing bikes from Europe became the rage. I bought my first adult bike then, the one which I still have. I rode to school every day and when I graduated and started my career, I upgraded to a new bike. Shortly after purchasing it, it was stolen from the van that was moving me from California to the East Coast. It was many years later -- after getting married, raising my daughter, and moving back to California (a span of about 22 years) -- before I got back on a bicycle.

When did you return to bicycling?

In my job as a traffic and safety engineer with the Federal Highway Administration, I became a pedestrian safety and design expert. I got elected to the Board of Directors of the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP) and served as president for a couple of years. I realized that I also needed expertise and experience in bicycle design as well, so I rented a bike on a trip to Nantucket. I fell in love all over again. I got home and bought myself a nice hybrid-type bike and rode around the city. After about 6 months of riding, I upgraded to a lighter bike.

How much do you ride today and where?

I probably ride about 3 to 4 times a week to run errands, visit my mother, and then I add a weekly longer ride for exercise. My car sits in the garage most of the time getting dusty. I get great pleasure now from moving quickly around town and not having to worry about finding a place to park. I love riding in city traffic and particularly love it when I can move faster that the vehicles around me.

What can San Francisco do to encourage more women and girls to bike?

I think the best way is to ensure that they have easy access to training in how to ride in traffic. Providing more bike lanes and some separate bicycle facilities also seems to encourage more women to get out and ride more often. I think the fact that bicycling in San Francisco has become stylish has gone a long way to encouraging younger women to use bicycling as their primary form of transportation.

Has your cycling led to new friendships or other relationships?

I met my husband on the Cycling Singles website in 2005; we married two years later. We ride together all the time. We find that bicycling has a certain serendipity to it. We discover interesting places and events whenever we are out on our bikes. We often take vacations with our bikes. I met my good friend Lynne Howe (profiled here) through a SF Bicycle Coalition event, and we now ride together about once a week. I also met lots of great bicycling people when I was on the board of the APBP.

I get upset when I'm biking when ...

I see bicyclists who flagrantly make unsafe bicycling maneuvers, such as riding the wrong way down a bike lane, riding at night without any lights, etc. I also get upset when vehicle drivers fail to use their signals.

I surprise people when I bike by...

being middle-aged and still riding as is I was young and slightly fearless. I also surprise people with how I dress when biking.

My message to women who want to try biking:

Take the League's Effective Riding course.* Then get out and ride with a more experienced friend, to help give you more confidence and practice.

* Editor's note: Another option is the Urban Cycling Workshops provided by the SF Bicycle Coalition.

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Women Who Bike is a collaborative effort by BIKE NOPA and Bikes And The City that features San Francisco women and their bicycles. Each Monday and Wednesday check both blogs for the experiences, stories, and ideas of women who bike the city. See the other profiles in the Women Who Bike series and on Bikes and The City.

MTA Proposes One Mitigation to Fell/Arco Traffic Design

North side view of Fell Street traffic

Four sub-standard spaces like this one will become tow-away 7am to 7pm

The Municipal Transportation Agency will change its proposal for a safer traffic design on Fell Street between Scott and Divisadero to accommodate the concerns of nearby residents and other neighbors. Two parking spaces will become tow-away zones 24/7 while four others will prohibit parking from 7am to 7 pm daily. The revised plan results from an analysis of mitigations that a MTA hearing officer suggested following a public meeting on April 2nd. The new design is intended as an experiment to determine whether the approach to Arco and Divisadero can be made safer for motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians.

MTA traffic engineer James Shahamiri explained that parking would no longer be allowed in the two spaces between the entry and exit driveways of the Arco gas station. However, the four parking spots directly east of Arco will be part of a tow-away zone from 7am to 7pm, the periods of heaviest vehicle and bicycle traffic. The removal of parking will accommodate a curb-side queue for motorists awaiting entry to Arco and for better visibility when exiting the station. Other elements of the plan include posting a sign advising motorists to not block the sidewalk and a green-painted bike lane -- the city's first -- to guide cyclists and alert motorists for safer passage on the traffic-heavy block.

At the April 2nd hearing nearby residents and Alamo Square neighbors complained that removing the parking spaces would create a hardship for the immediate households and the neighborhood. John Newlin, MTA hearing officer, declared a continuance for the proposal and directed the agency to consider five possible mitigations as reported in this BIKE NOPA post. Only two of the options were reasonably feasible: a reduction in the period of time for tow-aways and removal of one or more of the parking meters on the north side of Fell near Divisadero. Shahamiri explained that removing any of the meters would simply shift the parking problem from the residents to the businesses along Divisadero. "It solves one problem by creating another."

Nearby households will be notified within the next day or two of the proposal and of the next hearing date: Friday, April 30, in Room 416 at City Hall.