UPDATE: The Board of Supervisors unanimously voted 11-0 on Tuesday to uphold the project and reject the appeal. We thank Supervisor Sheehy for recommitting his support to this project, and we look forward to the implementation of parking-protected bike lanes on Upper Market Street in the coming weeks.
The links in the post have been removed to reflect this update.
Those of us who have biked San Francisco long enough know too well how bureaucratic processes can be abused to delay safety improvements. Now, it’s happening again on Upper Market Street, and the threat is coming from a community leader who previously supported protected bike lanes there.
Behind the scenes, we’ve learned that Supervisor Jeff Sheehy is waffling on whether to further delay already-approved bike lanes on Upper Market Street.
Yes, those are the same protected bike lanes that were approved by the SF Municipal Transportation Agency Board on May 2 and were ready to be striped this month. They’re the same lanes that Sup. Sheehy publicly supported after receiving hundreds of emails from you. And now, they’re being threatened by indefinite delays.
In recent weeks, an appeal was filed arguing that the bike lanes require additional review to assess their environmental impact. Those of us who have biked San Francisco long enough remember that environmental review was also the bureaucratic process abused to halt construction of literally every bike lane in our city between 2006 and 2010.
1. Email Sup. Sheehy Today
Email Sup. Sheehy to make it clear that safety can’t wait on Upper Market Street. He can be reached at jeff.sheehy@sfgov.org (copying janice@sfbike.org), or using the previous link.
2. Call Sup. Sheehy’s Office
Once you’ve emailed, please call Sup. Sheehy’s office at (415) 554-6968. When you call, don’t hesitate to let Sup. Sheehy’s staff know how you feel about the Supervisor considering further delays to protected bike lanes on Upper Market Street.
On a high-injury corridor and hugely popular bike route like Upper Market Street, delaying safety improvements is irresponsible.
We’ve come a long way towards seeing protected bike lanes on Upper Market thanks to members of the SF Bicycle Coalition. And now we need to rally to overcome one more obstacle. Every call and email makes a difference, and the safety of people walking, biking and driving Upper Market depends on you taking action today.
