Protected Bike Lanes in SoMa: Nearly Ready to Ride

Pardon the dust: Construction is underway on the protected bike lanes along Seventh and Eighth streets in SoMa.

The Seventh Street and Eighth Street Safety Projects, which include bike lanes physically protected by vehicle parking and transit boarding islands, will bring much needed safety measures to two of San Francisco’s high-injury corridors. The improvements are on an expedited timeline thanks to Mayor Ed Lee’s Executive Directive on Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety which required protected bike lanes along these two dangerous corridors.

Five new transit boarding islands and one loading island are complete along Seventh Street and Eighth Street. Paint and soft-hit posts will complete the project, which is scheduled for completion in May.

Paint and posts will complete the protected bike lanes.

Protected bike lanes are a big leap forward in terms safety, but we know that they can be confusing to some road-users. For this new street design to live up to its full potential, everyone needs to be clear on how to use it properly. Educating all different types of road users about the ins and outs of protected bike lanes will be an important step towards Seventh and Eighth Streets running smoothly and safely.

If you’re biking here, make sure to slow down if you see a bus stopping at one of the transit boarding islands. Be courteous and yield to pedestrians who are getting on and off the bus. For those of you riding the 19-Polk Muni line, please be mindful of the bicycle traffic as you cross to and from the sidewalk.

When the Seventh and Eighth street bike lanes are completed, we will work with the SFMTA to train parking ambassadors who will perform streetside outreach, ensuring that the new bike lanes are being used as intended. This key group of volunteers will help educate people driving, biking and boarding MUNI about the new infrastructure and how to use it safely.

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