Fewer Accidents on the Horizon for Bicyclists in San Francisco

Early this week during a hearing at San Francisco City Hall, the Board of Supervisors Land Use Committee heard an update from city agencies regarding SF Bicycle projects, which could start in July– once a Supreme Court injunction that has banned bicycle improvement projects is lifted. In 2006, a Supreme Court judge had blocked the implementation of projects until City Hall put in place a study that analyzed how each of the projects would affect things like traffic flow and parking availability. The study was demanded by a small group of citizens who believe the city should not take space from MUNI and cars in favor of bicycles. Some of the proposed bicycle improvements, 56 in total, consist of adding more bike lanes, which would extend the 45miles of bike lanes to 79 miles, and bike parking, setting up a bike-sharing program, permitting two-wheelers on MUNI’s light rail, and retiming certain traffic signals to benefit cyclists.
Bicycle advocates of the San Francisco Bike Coalition (SFBC), look forward to seeing the projects move ahead quickly, and that all, not just some, of the 56 projects, part of their biggest and most important campaign, are approved and completed. Leah Shahum, the executive director of the SFBC, says: “It has been nearly three years since the city has striped a new bike lane, installed a new bike rack, put up new signage.” Because more and more people are turning to bikes as an alternative to cars, these improvements are needed more than ever. Here at the Brod Law Firm, we also look forward to seeing these new projects implemented, and we are glad to see the SFBC has made such enormous strides garnering support from the city. We support any project that would diminish the risks cyclists face and the numbers of bicycle accidents on San Francisco streets. Along with providing safer conditions for bicycles, we would like to think such improvements might also produce harmony in the streets between cars and bicyclists.