We’ve been made aware of two collisions that occurred yesterday evening involving people driving and biking in San Francisco: one at 4th and Market Streets, and one on 2nd and Mission Streets. As thousands of people took to the streets yesterday to celebrate the fun and freedom of biking as part of the Bay Area’s 22nd Annual Bike to Work Day, two people had their rides cut short by truly scary crashes with cars.
We were relieved to hear that neither of these collisions resulted in life-threatening injuries; however, neither of them should have happened in the first place. Though investigations are ongoing, two things are immediately clear: Both of these collisions took place on known high-injury corridors, and neither of them would have been possible with protected bike lanes. These crashes were preventable.
Second Street is due to have raised, protected bike lanes running its entire length, with construction scheduled to begin this year. Yesterday’s collision underscores the urgency for the City to keep on schedule in delivering these vital safety improvements to make this street truly safe for people walking, driving and biking.
In sharp contrast, the transformation for a people-friendly Market Street has been plagued with delays for years due to a lack of City leadership dedicated to moving the project forward. Your SF Bicycle Coalition has continued to advocate for fully separated, protected bike lanes from the Embarcadero to Octavia. Progress has slowly been made with the passage of Safer Market Street turn restrictions last year, but this falls far from transforming San Francisco’s most-biked street into one that is truly safe and welcoming for everyone.
Frankly, we’re fed up. How many more people have to be injured or killed before the City does what it takes to move forward with substantial street safety improvements on Market Street? As more and more people bike in San Francisco, the City is not doing enough to keep up with the demand for the desperately-needed street improvements that will provide safety to all road users. We urge you to join us in calling on the City to get the comprehensive Market Street project back on track.
