SFMTA push for more bike lanes sees resistance in some San Francisco neighborhoods
The SFMTA has killed plans to install a new bike lane in San Francisco's Chinatown due to the objections of some community members.
The proposal was part of the agency's ambitious 10-year goal to make the city streets safer and more connected for alternative modes of transportation.
For 57 years, Tane Ong Chan has been operating The Wok Shop in Chinatown. She's arguably the go-to expert on the versatile cooking tool.
"You get what we call 'wah-hey.' That's the flavor of the wok it emits when it's well seasoned," said Chan.
Bringing more foot traffic to storefronts post pandemic is a major concern for merchants.
"If they're driving, it's a tough situation where they can't find parking," said Chan.
Finding that balance for the needs of drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, and e-scooters is the challenge for city transportation officials.
The SFMTA is in the beginning stages of an ambitious 10-year goal to make its streets safer and more connected for alternative modes of transportation.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's implementation last year of a center-lane bikeway pilot project to address a dangerous pattern of collisions on Valencia in the heart of the Mission, was met with major pushback.
The backlash was bad enough for some business owners to call on SFMTA Director Jeffrey Tumlin to resign back in May.
Kinani Ahmed is the owner of Sextant Coffee Roasters, which is located near the busy intersection of Valencia and 16th.
"Things like that are what I'm worried about. Making sure everything is done with an understanding of how it's going to impact businesses," said Ahmed.
Ahmed and other business owners say the reconfiguration negatively impacted patronage and revenue for its Valencia Street location. He's not opposed to SMTA's vision for a more connected network of bike lanes, but is skeptical of how some projects have turned out.
"One thing we did hear a lot of interest in is more street safety in Chinatown. That's what we're hearing from a lot of neighborhoods," said Tumlin.
The Biking and Rolling Plan will change the roadways of many districts across the city. Only 3% of San Francisco roads currently feature separated bike lanes.
The SFMTA says 29% of San Franciscans use bikes, scooters or skateboards at least once a week and that 80% of residents would take alternative modes of transportation if streets were safe.
Chinatown could see some major changes.
"How do we make sure we prioritize the unique needs of Chinatown which are intensive loading at the curb and a lot of transit, and more people on the sidewalk than anywhere else in San Francisco," said Tumlin.
That congestion includes tourists on bicycles and e-scooters, often on sidewalks, because of a lack of safe bike lanes.
Isa Streefkerk and her family are visiting from the Netherlands.
"We went almost right away onto the pavement and not on the road because between all those cars that drive fast it's just not really safe," said Streefkerk.
She says many European countries are much more bike friendly and connected, giving people more options to travel in congested cities.
"It's really our goal to make everyone in San Francisco to feel like they can reasonably get around with their family without feeling forced to drive a car," said Tumlin.
"A bike lane through Chinatown would be a plus, because it would relieve some of the congestion," said Chan.
Merchants like Chan are hoping for change, but others want more assurances before any plans hit the ground running.
The SFMTA is hosting a listening tour for each of the districts across the city. It expects a finished plan by next year.
The last Bicycle Master Plan in San Francisco was adopted in 2009. A list of times and locations of the meetings for public input is available on the SFMTA website.
Earlier this week, the SFMTA decided to put off a decision on whether to ban right turns at red lights across the city. They were scheduled to vote Thursday, but moved that back to at least next month.
The city has already banned right turns on red at hundreds of intersections. Supporters say it has reduced the number of pedestrians hit in those areas.