New Bike Light Shield at Fell & Masonic: Small Change Might Reduce Crashes

With the shield, drivers see the no-turn arrow but not the green bike light to the left

The bike signal lights are obscured from the view of drivers in turning lane

Previously, drivers saw both red and green lights at the same time

Enforcement needed here: some drivers ignore all signals (1pm Nov. 9)

Without fanfare or even an announcement, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has installed a shield to the bike light at the intersection of Fell and Masonic. The small adjustment may reduce the risk of collisions for travelers who use the intersection. The shield -- actually metal slits within the housing of the bike light -- obscures motorists' view of the bike signal so they don't think a green bike light allows a left turn from Masonic even with a visible red no-left-turn arrow.

Several collisions occurred at the crossing involving motorists and bicyclists and motorists and pedestrians before the bike light was installed in September 2008, and crashes continued to happen afterwards. Pedestrian and bike advocates have suggested that motorists may get confused by the combination of a red turn arrow and the green light meant only for bicyclists using the crosswalk. They began urging an adjustment within weeks of the initial light installation. Two years later, cyclists noticed the new shield on Monday of this week.*

A stop at the intersection early this afternoon indicated that drivers waiting in the left turn lane were unable to see the bike light. (I asked two motorists waiting for the light since I traveled by bike and did not approach the intersection in a vehicle). However, as happens frequently at the intersection, a truck driver did not see or ignored the red turn signal and nearly hit two cyclists crossing with a green light. As much as the new light shield may reduce collisions, the real solution for safe passage for bicyclists and motorists is to install separated bikeways on Oak and Fell for east-west travel.

Correction: An earlier version of this article listed the date of the bike light installation as January of 2008; the light was installed September 2008.

* Thanks to Marc Caswell, Fix Masonic coordinator, Masonic resident, and SFBC staffer for sharing his sighting of the new shield.

For other stories in the A Better Masonic series, check here.

200 Trees for an Urban Forest on Masonic

Panhandle trees looking east from Masonic Avenue

A new urban forest along Masonic with as many trees as the east-end Panhandle

Image: SF Planning Department, SF Municipal Transportation Agency

The Masonic corridor will become a linear forest with 200 additional street trees if the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) proceeds with the Boulevard design proposal. What do 200 trees look like? Imagine the east end of Panhandle Park, starting at Masonic Avenue and continuing east along the north or south trail. Strollers will be in the midst of the 100-year-old Eucalyptus trees, the redwoods, and cypress as they walk toward Central Avenue, then to Lyon Street, and finally to Baker Street at the McKinley Monument. How many trees stand in that large and lush green space three blocks long and a block wide? About 200. Consider transplanting that urban forest to a new landscaped median for the eight Masonic blocks between Fell and Geary. Step back and appreciate how a loud speedway gets transformed into a smooth travelling roadway that is greener, calmer and an antidote to air and noise pollution.

Of course the new Masonic median will not feature enormous 100 year old Eucalyptus trees of the kind that tower in the Panhandle. Instead, young trees of various types will define this new urban forest. Shrubs and grasses, pebbles and boulders will contribute to the mix. The street trees and the landscaping alone -- just one element of the Boulevard design -- will transform Masonic, much as the re-designed Divisadero now looks greener, more attractive and more to scale as a neighborhood thoroughfare.

Street trees function as more than a green softening of the urban environment. A less prosaic notion touted by green advocates is to think of them as "carbon sinks," living organisms that drain carbon dioxide from the air. One tree might remove a ton of CO2 from the atmosphere every year, depending on the size and age of the tree, the amount of pollution, and the length of the leafy season. But even a 1/2 ton removal is impressive.

Critics may argue that a re-designed Masonic will result in more traffic congestion with more frequent stop-and-go vehicles spewing more pollution than while speeding along, but the SFMTA has studied that possibility and thinks that won't be the case. BIKE NOPA will look at the concerns about congestion in an upcoming article. For now, 200 more trees -- equivalent to that half of the Panhandle's forest -- makes a persuasive argument for a better Masonic.

Check here for more stories in the A Better Masonic series.

Big #10 for Bike Film Festival Starting This Week

The Bicycle Film Festival is an arts and cultural event that celebrates, yes, the bicycle. This year's splurge offers film, music, parties and performance. All about the BFF here. Coming up fast: Wednesday this week.

Nov. 10: BFF Kick-Off party
Nov. 11: Bikes Rock party with live music
Nov. 12-14: Film Screenings & After-Parties

*All parties are free. Films are $10/each; $40/full festival pass - all film screenings at Victoria Theatre. (What more persuasion is needed, bikers?)

Film highlights:

“Birth of Big Air” (Dir. Jeff Tremaine): A documentary on BMX legend Mat Hoffman, produced by Spike Jonze, Johnny Knoxville, et. al.

“Riding the Long White Cloud” (Dir. Alex Craig): Seven professional skateboarders attempt to cycle New Zealand's North Island in this beautiful documentary.

“The Cyclocross Meeting” (Dir. Brian Vernor) Bay Area filmmaker Brian Vernor showcases the exploding U.S. and emerging Japanese cyclocross scenes. With musical performance by the Roots of Orchis.

Nov 13-14 Screenings: Victoria Theatre, 2961 16th Street, San Francisco
Free valet bicycle parking

BFF 10 Trailer: Marco Mucig

DPW's New Bike Port Makes Biking to Work Even Better

A better place to park for employees and visitors

DPW amps up its support of alternative transportation with new bike port

Christopher McDaniels, chief of DPW's street repair bureau and a bicyclist

Just in time for the rainy season, the Department of Public Works (DPW) boasts a new bike shelter and parking station at its street operations yard on Cesar Chavez. Christened a "bike port" by Deputy Director of Operations Mohammed Nuru, the elevated, wood-frame structure was completed in time for the department's health fair a few weeks ago.

Chris McDaniels, Superintendent of the Bureau of Street & Sewer Repair, pointed out some of the features of the station after a monthly meeting of his operations crew and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's Good Roads Campaign. He said the department was testing a gritty floor and ramp surface for durability and safety for cyclists using the port. Staff may also re-stripe the immediate area to draw more attention to the port. Kudos to DPW for selecting the inverted-U design for its seven new racks instead of the difficult-to-use spiral type installed at several facilities in the city. For this visitor, the new port offers a decidedly feel-good experience for biking to meetings.

Two related notes:

The performance of DPW's road crews -- some of whom bike to work or bike during off-hours -- is impressive, as noted in the recently released in DPW's 2009/2010 Annual Report (pdf document, see page 14). Staff responded to 15,000 roadway defects, resurfaced 133 street blocks, and patch paved 290,000 square feet of street surfaces.

An alert to city road users: the rainy season is a great time to report potholes, wide cracks, sinkholes and other surface defects. DPW's road crews shift to more street repair and less resurfacing during the winter. It's easy to report a problem to 311 by phone, online, and on Twitter. Be as specific as possible with location of the defect: street name, cross street, traffic direction, and, best of all, a nearby address. But most of all, report them for everyone's safety.

Install Bike Parking and They Will Come: CPMC Davies At Max With Year-Old Racks

CPMC Davies bike parking today: 13 racks

Room for expansion: space for another five or ten racks empty and waiting

Install bike racks in San Francisco and they will be used. So many more people are taking to the streets on two wheels that bike parking fills up fast. The Davies Campus of the California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) is finding its modest five-rack expansion a year ago is hardly adequate to the demand. In November of 2009 the Davies Engineering Department installed an additional five bike racks at its covered bike station, and now the racks are full, or nearly so, on a regular basis. Fortunately, expanding the facility will be easy with available space adjacent to the current parking.

Last year BIKE NOPA congratulated CPMC Davies for responding to cyclists' requests for more parking with the additional racks. Medical center administrators said at the time they recognized the advantages of providing the extra accommodation. Increasing numbers of staff bicycled to work, and many of the center's outpatient population rode bikes to appointments. The advantages of increased bike parking were pretty clear at the time. In addition to the convenience for staff and clients, hospital directors wanted to keep bikes out of the building for all sorts of other reasons, from reduced liability to safer passage in the hallways. Medical personnel expressed concern about bikes possibly carrying germs on their surfaces. And the benefits of biking fit the health promotion and disease prevention messages of the institution.

Bring on the extra rows of racks, for the near term. An additional five inverted-U racks easily fit along last year's addition for an immediate improvement to the bike parking crunch. And the space accommodates ten racks if the short-term vehicle parking is moved elsewhere. But CPMC wants to enhance the Davies Campus with a new four-story Neuroscience Institute and a new parking garage. Long-range planning should anticipate a steady increase in the number of staff and patients bicycling to the center and provide facilities for them.

The five new racks installed a year ago

Halloween is Better Car-Free: NOPA Knows How

Hundreds gather along Grove and Lyon Streets for NOPA Halloween

Grove street in the North Panhandle hosts more car-free events than most any other neighborhood street in San Francisco, and Halloween night was one more walk-everywhere occasion. Hundreds of residents and visitors of all ages trick-or-treated along Grove between Baker and Central Sunday night while others approached on cordoned-off blocks of Lyon street. Kids competed for best costume prizes awarded from a trio of judges including a Frankenstein with a an uncanny resemblance to NOPA's district supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, Jarie Bolander, and Guitar Hero Purvi Sahu. Kids and parents peeked into dark garages, ducked into a special Halloween photo booth, and grabbed some time watching the Giants claim Game 4. The Halloween block party was the largest to date in the six years of the event.

"Eye on the Bay" Spins Into NOPA, Rides with Kristin of Velo Vogue and Stops at Mojo Bicycle Cafe

Kristin Tieche led Eye on the Bay crew to NOPA

CBS Channel5 broadcast a special edition of its hit Eye on the Bay last week, and the North Panhandle biking scene received camera time. Program host Liam Mayclem started out rolling along the new 2.2 mile bidirectional bicycle lane on the Bay Bridge, scheduled to open in 2013. "It's so cool to be on here and biking here," Mayclem announced. "We are the first film crew to ever film right here on the new Bay Bridge on the biking path."

In no time NOPA's Kristen Tieche of Velo Vogue, the bicycle fashion site, led Mayclem on a "noisy, kaleidoscopic adventure ride on Market Street," as the host put it. Once the pair reached Divisadero, they eased into seats on the city's first parklet outside Mojo Bicycle Cafe. Mojo owner Remy Nelson explained that his bike shop and cafe are geared to the "urban rider." Mayclem was more expansive. "It's like we're sitting in Paris or on the leafy lanes of Amsterdam." The cafe seating looks great, but Tieche stole the scene with her high spirits and enthusiasm in this first-of-four segments.

Next stop was nooworks on Valencia (formerly located in NOPA) for runway bike fashions and purchases and then off to AT&T Park where Mayclem thanked Tieche for an "awesome date" before leaving his bike with Liam Casey of SF Bicycle Coalition's valet parking service.

"Eye on the Bay" was "all about biking," and the program covered the scraper bike sensation in East Oakland that tries to "keep youth out of trouble," visited with mountain bike inventor Mike Sinyard in Morgan Hill, and then had Mayclem take trial spins with new rides at Mike's Bikes. The finale came with the bike messengers of Mission-based TCB Courier.

In the last two weeks both PBS and CBS have filmed segments in the North Panhandle. I think we're happy to share the neighborhood.