by David Drabkin : HAIA – excerpt
HAIA’s Alternative Cycle Plan on Hayes: The Haight Ashbury Improvement Association published an alternative route to the Oak St. proposal of the SFMTA / SF Bike Coalition. The MTA plans are problematic and fundamentally flawed from a safety perspective. A safer, less costly implementation of moving cyclists from the Panhandle (at Fell and Baker) to the Wiggle is to go north to Hayes St., right and east to Scott. Then, right at Scott, across Fell and Oak, and into the Wiggle. The lower volume of traffic, stop lights at busy intersections that would be crossed perpendicularly, and right hand turns for east bound bike traffic, make the route inherently more safe. In addition, there would be no impact to current users of Oak St. nor a reduction of parking along Oak, as proposed by the MTA. Problems of right turns from Oak onto Broderick and Divisadero from Oak will be eliminated, as will problems of driveways for garages and businesses that line the three blocks of Oak St. that will have cars driving across a dedicated bike path. View the HAIA Focus on Safety brochure (here) …
Safer Bike Plan: HAIA has proposed the use of Hayes St. (between Baker and Scott) as a more sensible way to connect the Wiggle to the Panhandle bike path. Less traffic and slower vehicle speed remove the need for a separated bike lane. Right hand turns in the east-bound direction, with traffic lights at Divis, Fell and Oak St. mean a lower risk of cars unintentionally hitting cyclists. West-bound bike traffic can use the same route, with left turns onto Hayes and Baker being made at STOP signs. Neighborhood parking, already at a premium, is also preserved in this plan. Finally, this was the SFBC’s bike lane plan since at least 2001. Why is it necessary to cram cyclists into the high speed blender of Oak St. now?…
Meter Madness 