Space for cyclists painted onto city streets

By Liska Koenig
Contributing Writer

With  an increase of bicycle use by more than 58 percent since 2006,  according to statistics compiled by the San Francisco Municipal  Transportation Agency, safety is becoming a growing concern for city  planners and bicyclists alike.

Following  plans and suggestions supplied by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition,  SFMTA has implemented 48 miles of bicycles lanes throughout the city.  The San Francisco Bike Plan, developed in conjunction with the cycling  community, SFMTA and other partners, was adopted by the transportation  agency in June 2009. The plan will add more than 30 miles to the already  existing routes.

The  bicycle coalition’s goal is to establish a network of bike lanes that  are physically separated from car traffic. Five blocks on Market Street,  starting at Gough Street and leading northeast to 10th Street, sport  the bright green color marking that area of the road exclusively for  bicyclists. SFMTA is currently working on extending that path to Octavia  and 8th streets.

“Altogether  San Francisco does a good job. I’d give the city a B+,” said Misha  Antonich, an instructor at the City College video and electronic media  arts department. Antonich is a father of two and regularly commutes to  Mission campus on his bike. “Being a parent makes a big difference  because you definitely want to be safe and separate from traffic with  your child, so you use bike lanes,” he said.

SFMTA’s  most recent bicycle collision reports are from 2008 and show a total of  468 accidents for that year, including three fatalities. “It’s too  early to tell if the bike lanes make a difference as far as accidents  are concerned,” SFMTA spokesman Paul Rose said.

The  agency recently marked 11 more miles of bike lanes, among them Ocean  Avenue between  Lee Avenue and Alemany Boulevard. “We are making good  progress with this,” Rose said. “Of 21 projects to be completed by June,  all will be completed by May.”