Protected Bike Lanes on Second Street Need One Last Push

Safety improvements are on the horizon, running the full length of Second Street, from Market to King. They will include bicycle-specific signaling to help reduce car/bike conflicts at intersections. The project could widen sidewalks, improve streetscaping, and includes a protected bike lane.

Second Street is one of South of Market’s most important bike routes, connecting the Financial District with Caltrain, South Beach and AT&T Park. The Second Street corridor is also home to a growing residential community, creative industries and local shops.
But if you’ve walked or ridden your bike down Second Street lately, you know it can feel like Carmageddon, especially during peak commute hours. Thankfully, the Department of Public Works proposed transformative safety upgrades and enhancements that could include raised, protected bike lanes in both directions. Now we need your help getting these plans approved.

After over a decade of planning and advocacy from our members and groups like Great Second Street, we’re excited to see the Second Street Improvement Project move out of environmental review with a series of approvals and certifications coming in the next month. Join us at the first of these critical approval hearings next week:

San Francisco Planning Commission
Thursday, August 13 at 12pm (Agenda)
Commission Chambers, Room 400
City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place

Please email paolo@sfbike.org if you plan to attend. If you can’t make the hearing, you can still help us win a better Second Street by sending an email of support to the planning commission.

Make Your Voice Heard: Write a Letter

UPDATE: The second approval hearing will be at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors Meeting:

SFMTA Board of Directors
Tuesday, August 18 at 1pm (Agenda posted soon)
Room 400
City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place

Raised. Green. Protected. These are three adjectives we love when applied to bike lanes, and they all could happen if this project is approved. These final approvals are our chance to make sure we get the safe, comfortable and attractive Second Street we all deserve.


If you’re having trouble with the button above, send an email of support for protected bike lanes with the subject line “I Support a Great Second Street”

To: planning@rodneyfong.com, cwu.planning@gmail.com, wordweaver21@aol.com
CC: paolo@sfbike.org, commissions.secretary@sfgov.org


Second-Street-Map_746
Planning photo courtesy of SF Department of Public Works.

Broad Support for Big Changes
Second Street is home to thousands of residents, iconic neighborhood businesses and a growing workforce that arrives on transit, by bike and on foot (or often all three). That’s why we’re thrilled to see support from everyone who uses Second Street.

In addition to vocal support from our members who live or work in the area and have been working on this project for years, we’ve received nearly 20 business letters of support for the project. Last year we launched San Francisco’s first Bicycle-Friendly Business District in the Yerba Buena district with participation from Second Street merchants, and joined the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition in promoting #BiketoShopSF Day on May 23rd, with Second Street as one of the participating corridors.

Vision Zero Improvements Also Included
As part of these upcoming approvals, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and Department of Public Works will make some much-needed interim safety improvements to Second Street. Part of the City’s Vision Zero commitments includes a bike lane from Market to Mission and green-backed sharrows the rest of the way to King. These temporary improvements, if approved, could be on the ground by the end of the year, replaced eventually with the proposed protected bike lane.

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