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After two cyclist deaths, committee presses SFMTA and SFPD for faster protected bike lanes and stepped-up enforcement
Summary
SFMTA pledged to expand protected bike lanes (13 miles built to date; about 15 miles in design or construction over the next 15 months) and SFPD promised stepped-up speed enforcement and LiDAR deployment. Advocates pressed for faster delivery on corridors where fatalities occurred.
The Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee held an informational hearing on bicyclist fatalities, bike-lane safety and the city’s Vision Zero initiative following two recent cycling deaths.
Tom McGuire, director of Sustainable Streets at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, said the city has installed 13 miles of protected bike lanes since 2010 and is planning roughly 15 more miles in design or construction to roll out over the next 15 months. Luis Montoya (SFMTA livable streets) described the bike strategy as a neighborhood-by-neighborhood implementation and gave project timelines: Masonic has broken ground (18–24 months to complete), Polk Street was expected to break ground in September 2016, Second Street construction was planned for early 2017, and Mansell was expected to wrap up in October 2016. Montoya said SFMTA will pursue near-term pilots to deliver protected lanes more quickly in response to the mayor’s executive directive.
Commander Rob O’Sullivan of the San Francisco Police Department said SFPD is focusing enforcement on high-injury corridors and the five primary collision factors (speed, red-light running, failure to yield, unsafe turns and stop-sign violations). He reported that the department issued nearly 3,000 speeding citations over the previous three months, expanded LiDAR equipment and will use grant-funded overtime for targeted speed enforcement on high-injury networks.
Public commenters from the bike coalition and advocates pressed SFMTA to accelerate delivery of pilot protected lanes on corridors such as Seventh, Folsom, Howard, Turk and Golden Gate. Several speakers contrasted San Francisco’s timelines with faster implementation in New York and urged a mix of quick-build treatments (soft-hit posts) and longer-term curb-to-curb reconstruction where necessary.
The committee filed the informational item without objection; staff signaled follow-up Vision Zero work, including a subcommittee hearing and state-level advocacy for automated speed cameras.
