 Working for Smoother, Safer Streets
Monthly Good Roads Ride!
Next Ride: Saturday, February 6, 10:00am - 12:00pm
meet at Coffee Bar, NE corner, Florida & Mariposa Streets
Potrero: Once is Not Enough
Potrero pothole dodgers take heart: the Good Roads The Good Roads Riders return to Potrero Hill determined to get the job done. Last month’s “Circling the Hill” was too much fun and too formidable for just one sweep.
Potrero bikers especially encouraged to join us and make your daily rides smoother and safer. First-timers -- from all over the city – always welcome. These rides are a great way to meet other cyclists and make San Francisco even better for biking. Drinks and lunch always follow our noble efforts. Heavy rain postpones until Feb. 13th. Contact neal@sfbike.org for more info.
2010 Resurfacing Updates
- JFK Drive (west end) - Golden Gate Park - scheduled completion date in February 2010. One of the worst stretches of pavement in the City is on it's way to being restored, from Transverse Drive to the Ocean! Whether your ride your bike through the park to commute, for fun, to visit the museums, or just to bike with your kids, you'll love the smooth asphalt coming soon!
- 7th Ave. - Inner Sunset - some segments are complete between Lincoln and Lawton Sts., though other segments are awaiting critical sewer work before resurfacing can happen. The resurfacing project will be complete in Spring 2010 and the new bike lanes/sharrows will be painted as well.
*all completion dates are estimates and subject to change
The SFBC Wins Some Market St. Improvements
The Good Roads Campaign launched an intensive audit of some of the worst pavement conditions on Market Street this past summer, and are pleased to announce the City has made some major safety improvements. While full resurfacing of the street will not happen until 2013, the Department of Public Works (DPW) is committed to making improvements as needed in the meantime. If you take a ride, you'll notice two kinds of improvements.
Market Street from 8th St. to 2nd St. is enjoying wide patches of new asphalt in some of the most worn-out places. These patches offer a better and longer-lasting fix than simple pothole filling. The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition has supplied a list of other important streets on the bike network that need this kind of treatment, and will post updates on their progress as they happen.
The Good Roads Campaign also launched an intensive audit of sunken or damaged utility covers on Market Street this summer and reported the hazards to (DPW) through 311. These defects are often much more difficult to repair as the casings for the covers, or manholes, must be replaced or raised to surface level. DPW inspectors confirmed the problems and coordinated the repairs with a dozen public agencies and private utilities. DPW and the utility crews completed repair work on 58 manholes between 8th and the Embarcadero. Once Market street west of 8th receives similar treatment, cyclists can enjoy a much safer commute until the scheduled re-design and re-paving of Market Street in 2013.
Both these fixes on Market Street came about after hours of Good Roads volunteer activity identifying some of the most dangerous sections of Market Street, and DPW's commitment to a safe Market St. We thank all of those who have helped make this street a little safer.
Valencia Street Construction Updates
Update: December 16, 2009
If you walk or bike down Valencia you'll see that construction is in full swing. Wide trenches have been dug out of the west side of the street, and the street has been restriped to reflect its future configuration. The SF Bicycle Coalition advocated for restriping during construction so that the bike lane would be maintained as much as possible. The SF Bicycle Coalition is also continuing on it's regular site-walks with the City and primary contractors to ensure a safe project site for cyclists.
The Department of Public Works has just alerted the SFBC about a serious disruption coming this week (December 14-19) - the roadway is going to be ground out and the top layer of asphalt removed. A temporary resurfacing will go in place tomorrow until the final layer is laid down later in the project time-line. Every effort will be made to maintain a safe path of travel, but cyclists might wish to use a different route during the next few days while the roadway is worked on. As always, please report unsafe conditions by calling 311 or visiting sfgov.org/311.
Background
Valencia Street is an important corridor for bicycling in San Francisco and some exciting street changes are in the works. Construction has begun on four blocks of Valencia Street (between 15th and 19th Streets) to create wider bike lanes and sidewalks, and a number of other enhancements like cafe style seating and new trees. The Valencia Street we all know today is the product of years of SFBC advocacy. Back in the 1990's we pushed city leaders to do a "road diet", which transformed four travel lanes into two travel lanes with bike lanes and a center turn lane. And it is SFBC advocacy that is creating the Valencia Street of tomorrow.
The construction will continue through May 2010. With the improvements, however, comes potential disruption during construction. The SFBC is partnering with the City and the project's contractors to make sure that cyclists and pedestrians retain a safe path of travel. The bike lane will be maintained whenever possible, and signage will be in place to direct traffic. The City is committed to keeping bike travel safe on Valencia given it's importance. If you see any unsafe conditions, call 311 or use their online form to report it, and email Neal (neal [at] sfbike [dot] org) to keep the SFBC aware of the situation.
Call or Email 311 for all your Good Roads needs!
The City encourages all concerned cyclists and citizens to use 311 to report any surface hazard - this includes potholes, debris or glass on the street, and utility or construction crews that might be blocking the bike lanes while they work.
Online Instructions
You can start at the main 311 page or go directly to the Street Defect reporting page. Once you state whether the defect is in a park or not, a pop-up window will appear, and you'll be asked for some information. You have the option to report anonymously, but by creating an account, you'll be able to track your requests later.
Important!: Enter your last name as SFBC. This will allow us to examine all reports made by SFBC members so we can do the tracking for you. We've come a long way with getting the Department of Public Works to respond quickly to problems on the bike network - help us continue to track their response by entering your last name as "SFBC."
Telephone Instructions
You can still call hazards in to 311 and speak with an operator. In order for the SFBC to track the City's response rate, make sure you mention that you are calling on behalf of the "SFBC" and take down the service number. It's as simple as that and you should see results in a week or so!
Please keep us informed if your requests are NOT being attended to in a timely fashion by emailing neal@sfbike.org. We are working hard with DPW patching crews and all of the utility companies to proactively ensure safe conditions for cyclists, but need your eyes to make sure it happens!
Crater Invaders a Huge Success!
 photo by Kate McCarthy
We want to thank over 50 volunteers who braved the winds this past Saturday stenciling potholes and pavement cracks all over the City. From Polk St. to Mission Bay, Arguello to SOMA and places in between, we managed to cover about 50 miles of road, and report about 60 new potholes in to 311!
NBC11 airs, SFBC Raises Pothole Awareness (video).
BeyondChron reports, Bicyclists Take to the Streets for Safety.
and SFist reports See You Later, Crater Gator
See also photos tagged sfbcstencil on Flickr.
Today's efforts will lead to the smoothing of numerous hazardous areas. When you are on your bike commute, make sure to look out for problem areas and report them to 311. We thank the Department of Public Works and their efforts to fill potholes that plague bicyclists. We applaud them on their initiative to make our streets safer.
photo by Kate McCarthy
Background
We thank the Department of Public Works for being very responsive to calls to 311 and fixing potholes on our streets. But we also know this isn't enough. We need streets that bicyclists travel on most frequently to have better pavement than their current dangerous condition. We need the City to prioritize streets on the Bike Network when repaving, and maybe even to repave JUST the bike lane in some cases. Overall, this is a big problem for cyclists all over the city, and we need to send the message across loud and clear now!
Sing out the Good Roads Gospel!
We are inspired by the original Good Roads Movement of 100 years ago, when organized bicyclists led the way to properly paved roads across town and across the country.
 be sure to check out Hank Chapot's account of The Great Bicycle Protest of 1896 (the grandfather of Critical Mass, woo-hoo!)
Potholes of San Francisco
By community filmmaker Greg Rodgers
Viva las Lane Stewards!
Lane Steward Seth David Schoen tags a pavement hazard on Howard St.
Photo By Peter Eckersley.
You may have noticed new paint on the streets recently: white paint outlines the most dangerous potholes and rough spots on key bike routes. This is the work of the SFBC's volunteer Lane Stewards, who have been deputized to tag the most egregious spots. While the markings themselves are proving an immediate help to many cyclists, we've got a commitment from the Dept. of Public Works (DPW) that they will follow in the Lane Stewards path, to patch and smooth the indicated spots on these routes. Thanks Stewards & DPW!
How to File a Claim against the City
In the unfortunate case that you and/or your bike are injured or damaged because of a pothole, you might be able to recover some costs by filing a claim from the City and County of San Francisco. The process is pretty self-explanatory from the instructions on the City Attorny's web-site. Contact Neal Patel if you have any questions, and let us know how your claim turns out in the end. Good luck!
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