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Fire Department flags safety, clearance issues as bike lanes and street changes increase
Summary
Deputy Assistant Chief Dan DeCozio briefed the commission on how protected bike lanes, parking changes and other street-design proposals can impede fire apparatus and asked for dedicated resources and city attorney guidance on conflicts between Fire Code section 503 and transportation code.
The Fire Commission received a briefing on May 24 from Deputy Assistant Chief Dan DeCozio on the Transportation Advisory Staff Committee27s (TASK) role reviewing street-design proposals and the safety challenges those proposals can present for emergency operations.
DeCozio described TASK as an advisory group chaired by the Municipal Transportation Agency that includes fire prevention, support services and field suppression representatives. The committee reviews proposed street changes 2D including protected bike lanes, changes from parallel to diagonal parking, traffic-calming devices and bulb-outs 2D and may object, accept, or place proposals on hold for further information.
"We've reviewed approximately 1,700 proposals since February 2014," he said, noting that the department objected on first pass to about 400, then resolved about 300 of those, leaving roughly 100 unresolved. He characterized that as about a 94 percent rate where the department did not ultimately object.
DeCozio illustrated operational conflicts: parking-protected bike lanes can shift parked cars 152317 feet from the curb (versus about 7 feet for parallel parking) and overhead Muni wires can force aerial trucks to reposition, altering ladder angles and creating Cal/OSHA concerns. He cited the department27s use of cone tests and turning-radius simulations to evaluate designs and asked for a written city attorney clarification on where local Fire Code section 503 "fire department access" supersedes or conflicts with the transportation code.
The commission discussed templates and procedures; DeCozio said TASK has improved its turn-radius templates to match the FD fleet and continues to perform field simulations before hardening street designs. He also requested dedicated staff time for TASK review work, which currently consumes significant hours without separate funding.
Commissioners thanked the department for the overview and asked to be kept apprised of the city attorney27s response on code conflicts. No formal policy vote was taken; the briefing will inform subsequent interagency negotiations and permit reviews.
