Protected Bike Lanes
Protected bike lanes offer a physical barrier between people who bike and other traffic lanes. They dramatically decrease serious collisions and are proven to make biking more welcoming to people of all ages and backgrounds.
Soft-hit Posts
Often lining a painted bike lane, these plastic bollards deter delivery trucks and other vehicles from double- parking, while maintaining curb accessibility for paratransit and other vehicles with access needs.
Parking Protected Bike Lanes
Like the lanes on JFK Drive and 13th Street, parking-protected bike lanes add physical protection to the bike lane by moving vehicle parking from the curb to the space between the bike lane and other traffic lanes.
Concrete Safety Barriers
Also used to divide narrow, two-way highways, concrete safety barriers like those coming to San Jose Avenue prevent bike lane incursions, as can curbs like those lining bike lanes on Oak and Fell Streets east of the Panhandle.
Off-Road, Designated Bike Paths
Sometimes cities establish special, shared places for people walking and biking that are completely separated from streets. Examples in San Francisco include the Panhandle, the Embarcadero Promenade and the recently-opened Mansell People Path.
Unprotected Bike Routes
Sharrows
Providing no physical protection, sharrows designate and guide people biking on San Francisco’s official bike routes where better bike infrastructure is often desired.
Unprotected Bike Lanes
Standard, unprotected bike lanes offer a single line of paint to separate the bike lane from other traffic lanes. With no physical protection, unprotected bike lanes often host illegally parked vehicles, requiring people biking to merge in and out of other traffic lanes.
Other Infrastructure
Bike Boxes
For folks biking busy wide streets, but looking to turn left, bike boxes can provide clear directions for two-stage turns. Seen eastbound on Market Street at Polk, bike boxes offer people biking an indication of where to wait while the light turns.
Bike Signal Heads
Like those on the Panhandle crossing Masonic, and exiting Golden Gate Park at Page Street, bicycle signal heads clearly inform people biking when it’s safe to cross the street. They are often timed to give people biking a head start before people driving parallel routes may accelerate.
Bulb-Outs
Also known as curb extensions, bulb- outs align curbs with parking lanes. The benefits of bulb-outs include reducing traffic speeds, increasing the visibility of people walking, reducing the distance for crossing streets, and additional curb space for amenities like bike parking and planters.
