Upper Market Protected Bike Lanes Approved

Years in the making, we are proud to celebrate the approval for a protected bike lane on Upper Market Street to connect Octavia to the Wiggle. Even better? Construction is beginning next week and the new bike lane will be ready to ride by the end of March.

As many recall, this project was initially approved months ago, and our members helped defeat an appeal to ensure this street safety project would move forward. As part of the appeal, City planners needed to make slight revisions to the design. This new design was approved once again by the SF Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) board last week, finally giving the green light to move ahead to construction.

This new design also includes a physically protected bike lanes fully separate from faster moving traffic. You will no longer have to worry about Uber or Lyft drivers dropping off passengers in the bike lane or having to weave through moving traffic and open car doors. Instead of parking separating the bike lane from other lanes, a mixture of loading zones, soft-hit posts and concrete islands will protect people biking and walking one of the city’s most important bike routes. We hope that infrastructure like this will help welcome new people to try biking with better connections for getting around.

Source: SFMTA

The approval for protected bike lanes took years of effort and dedication. Our members sent hundreds of emails to Supervisor Sheehy and the SFMTA, made countless phone calls, and took the time to show up and speak in City Hall when the time came. One letter of support, from member Sarah Graham, is a reminder of just one reason we all fought so diligently for the Upper Market Street Project to include protected bike lanes: “Biking on Upper Market Street with children can be a scary experience with cars parking in and crossing over the bike lane.”

The City is adding no parking signs by the end of this week, with paving to start by the end of the month. Construction should take a month overall, with the work to be completed by early March. We will monitor progress throughout construction and encourage people to slow down and be mindful of your surroundings. Report any construction hazards using SF 311.

As always, we give thanks to our members for sticking through this long and hard-fought campaign. We also want to thank SFMTA staff for their hard producing a quality design for Upper Market. With a big year ahead in 2018, we need your support to help us continue the fight for protected bike lanes. Now is a great time to join or renew your membership here.

Become a member and you'll improve your commute and get discounts at shops across the city.