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 | Working for Smoother, Safer Streets
2010 Resurfacing Updates
*all completion dates are estimates and subject to change Construction in the Bike LaneFour things you should expect
The Good Roads Campaign has been hard at work in 2010 making sure your bike trip through construction sites is safe. After a number of complaints from members about unsafe conditions along major bike routes earlier this year, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition has teamed up with the Department of Public Works to better educate and train key individuals and contractors on ways to keep construction sites safe for everyone. While we have seen improvements, we still need YOU to be the eyes on the street to help keep our streets safe. Here are four things you should expect when construction is happening on your favorite bike lane:
1. A temporary bike lane formed by cones or paint (where possible) 2. A bike lane clear of debris, gravel and construction equipment 3. Steel plates that don not have gaps between them, have smoothed edges, and ones that are not slippery 4. If a bike lane is temporarily removed, you should expect to see a Bikes Allowed Use of Full Lane sign visible to all road users, and you should bike in the middle of the lane for your safety. The Good Roads Campaign has brought about big improvements to construction sites on Folsom and Valencia streets, but WE NEED YOU to report any construction project that does nott fit the above specifications or feels unsafe for any other reason. If you feel a construction site is unsafe, call 311 to report the details and email neal@sfbike.org so we can follow up and ensure safety. Monthly Good Roads Ride!
location TBDThe Good Roads crew will make our usual sweeps through through new neighborhoods to make your rides smoother and safer. Our goal is to mark every pothole, crack, and trench with spray paint and report them to 311 for rapid repair. We usually average 50 potholes in just two hours. Following our street action, we will celebrate with drinks and lunch. First-timers always welcome; we are a friendly group! Check back here or the Chain of Events for meeting location. Valencia Street Construction UpdatesUpdate: August, 2010The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is excited to announce that major construction and repaving on busy Valencia Street is complete! The road has been fully resurfaced and the new Valencia Street has wider bike lanes and sidewalks, cafe-style seating, and new tree plantings -- all huge improvements to this vibrant and busy street. Valencia Street has transformed into a better street for everyone and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is continuing our work to bring these kinds of improvements to streets all over the City. For the last nine months, the SF Bicycle Coalition's Good Roads Campaign has had regular on-site meetings with the DPW and the project contractors to make sure that Valencia street was kept safe for people biking. We worked with these partners to get better signage, temporary bike lanes when possible, and safer barriers between the bike lanes and workzones during the major construction. Throughout the Better Valencia Street project, the Good Roads Campaign has gained a better understanding of how major streetscape projects work and see opportunities to make bicycling safer during construction. We are excited to partner with the Department of Public Works in the coming months and pilot new strategies to ensure safety for everyone during roadway construction. Stay tuned for updates and know that the SF Bicycle Coalition is always working to ensure your commute stays smooth and safe. The new Valencia Street has wider bike lanes and sidewalks, cafe-style seating, new tree plantings and smooth new pavement -- all are huge improvements to this vibrant and busy street. The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition staff and members were influential in winning these wider bike lanes and the on-street bike parking racks that we're installed last month, which together are making the street easier for walking, biking and shopping. We are thrilled to see all of these major streetscape improvements coming together and nearly finished...just one more week! Turn 'Em In!Is there a pothole you pass every day on your bike ride in to work? Do you dodge a rough spot in the road every trip to the grocery store? The time is now to pull over, get out your phone, and call 311 to report that hazard using the 'SFBC' tag. All year long and on every trip, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition challenges you to Turn Em In! To inspire you to be your own hero of the bike lane, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition has partnered with Family Style artists Jonas Madden-Connor and Francois Vigneault to show just how easy it is for you to get the smooth ride you deserve. Check back here every Tuesday in April for the latest installation. What will happen to our bicycling heroine? Will the hero be able to save her bike lane? Stay tuned to find out!
Start turning in those hazards now! Tell the operator "SFBC" sent you! The SFBC Wins Some Market St. 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. 
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! 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 GatorSee 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.
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.
Potholes of San FranciscoBy community filmmaker Greg Rodgers Viva las Lane Stewards!
Lane Steward Seth David Schoen tags a pavement hazard on Howard St. 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 CityIn 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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