Bicycle Plan - Part 1
Go to Part 2
Introduction
In the past, accommodating the bicycle in San Francisco has been all but ignored in favor of an emphasis upon facilitating automobile, transit and pedestrian travel despite the fact that bicycles have been used for transportation in San Francisco since the turn of the century. Given the built-out nature of San Francisco, transportation planners now recognize that the City cannot physically accommodate more roads, travel lanes or freeways. Increased attention has been given to transit and light rail improvements, since they have a higher capacity of person trips per hour within a given right-of-way width. Bicycle facilities are also a cost-effective and environmentally sound way to utilize limited resources to provide mobility to the largest number of people.
This plan was developed with extensive input from the Department of Parking and Traffic, the City's Bicycle Advisory Committee, and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. This report presents a comprehensive review of the many aspects of the policies, procedures, practices and physical infrastructure of the City and County of San Francisco that affect bicycling. It provides recommendations for making bicycling in San Francisco safer and more convenient through a variety of efforts including street improvements, bicycle parking facilities, new City policies, education programs, promotion efforts, and bicycle access on transit. The adoption of this bicycle plan is just the first step in the process to improve conditions for bicyclists and to ensure that bicycling is a viable transportation mode in the City.
Bicycle Transportation in Context
According to the 1990 census, 1.0 percent of San Francisco's employed residents, or about 3,600 commuters, bicycle to work. This is an increase from 0.8 percent in 1980. The average for the Bay Area is 1.1 percent. These statistics illustrate that even under existing conditions, which are by no means ideal, the number of San Franciscans who commute by bicycle is just slightly less that the Bay Area average. If a serious effort is made to pro-actively accommodate bicycling it can be a significant part of the solution to the City's transportation problems. It is estimated that the number of bicycle commuters would increase to about 3.0 percent or 11,000 commuters, with the implementation of this plan. This is a conservative estimate, and is still only half the rate achieved by university towns like Berkeley and Palo Alto.
People bicycle for a variety of reasons. Many bicyclists bicycle for environmental reasons. As these bicyclists are often the most politically active, they tend to be the most noticed by City officials. There are many who bicycle for other reasons. For those with no car, bicycling affords the personal mobility of an automobile. San Francisco has the highest percentage of zero-vehicle households in the Bay AreaC30.7 percent. Some of these residents are existing bicycle commuters, but the remainder constitute a large potential pool of bicycle commuters. Others bicycle because they are frugal with money or time. Bicycling is the least costly transportation alternative and is often faster than bus travel. Others bicycle for fitness or recreation. Thus, improved bicycle facilities will benefit a wide range of citizens.
If this plan is implemented, it is envisioned that, ten years from now, bicycling in San Francisco will be as mainstream as recycling is today. Bicycling has several similarities with recycling: they both received a boost after the original Earth Day in 1970 and they both are environmentally and economically sound investments of public monies. Therefore, with cost-effective expenditures of tax dollars environmental concerns are satisfied simultaneously with energy savings. In short, improved bicycle facilities can be what recycling programs have already becomeCa win-win situation for cities that help the environment while saving tax dollars.
The Public Participation Process
The preparation of this study involved input from the public in a variety of formats. Four public meetings were held to obtain input from bicyclists and other members of the public on the plan. Comments from the public on all issues were received in writing throughout the study period. In addition, the San Francisco Bicycle Advisory Committee (SFBAC) and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (SFBC) reviewed all preliminary work products.
The first draft of the Bicycle Commute Routes map was prepared by the SFBAC before a consultant was hired, and was distributed for public comment. Written comments on the proposed routes were received and compiled by the Department of Parking and Traffic (DPT) and the SFBAC, and a public meeting was held on July 25, 1994, attended by about 50 people. A second public meeting was held on October 12, 1994 in the Richmond District attended by about 100 people, to obtain public input on all other components of the plan including safety, parking, policies, and traffic calming. A third public meeting was held on January 9, 1995 in the Haight/Ashbury neighborhood to review the Draft Recommended Bikeway Network; this meeting was attended by 65 people (on one of the wettest nights of the year). A fourth public meeting was held on January 24, 1995 to review the other recommendations of the draft plan and was attended by about 50 people. A total of 110 letters and faxes commenting on the plan have been received to date. Public comment has been taken into consideration in the preparation of the Final Report.
Goals and Objectives
The goal of the Bicycle Plan is to provide a comprehensive guide for efforts that will make San Francisco a more "bicycle-friendly" city. Within that overall goal are a number of objectives that were developed during the course of the study by the City, SFBAC, SFBC and the consultants:
1. Improve Facilities for Bicyclists
The implementation of this plan involves the participation and the cooperation of many different City departments. In addition to the Department of Parking and Traffic, recommendations are made that are the primary or secondary responsibility of the following departments: the Planning Department, the Recreation and Park Department, the Department of Public Works, the Police Department, and the Municipal Railway (MUNI). The National Park Service is responsible for implementing improvements in the Presidio and Caltrans will need to approve recommendations affecting state highways.
Finally, there are some issues that affect bicycling that are not addressed in this report in great detail. Therefore, there is a need for future studies in several areas to fully implement these recommendations as well as to identify other measures that will improve the safety and quality of bicycling in San Francisco. These studies include:
Introduction
In the past, accommodating the bicycle in San Francisco has been all but ignored in favor of an emphasis upon facilitating automobile, transit and pedestrian travel despite the fact that bicycles have been used for transportation in San Francisco since the turn of the century. Given the built-out nature of San Francisco, transportation planners now recognize that the City cannot physically accommodate more roads, travel lanes or freeways. Increased attention has been given to transit and light rail improvements, since they have a higher capacity of person trips per hour within a given right-of-way width. Bicycle facilities are also a cost-effective and environmentally sound way to utilize limited resources to provide mobility to the largest number of people.
This plan was developed with extensive input from the Department of Parking and Traffic, the City's Bicycle Advisory Committee, and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. This report presents a comprehensive review of the many aspects of the policies, procedures, practices and physical infrastructure of the City and County of San Francisco that affect bicycling. It provides recommendations for making bicycling in San Francisco safer and more convenient through a variety of efforts including street improvements, bicycle parking facilities, new City policies, education programs, promotion efforts, and bicycle access on transit. The adoption of this bicycle plan is just the first step in the process to improve conditions for bicyclists and to ensure that bicycling is a viable transportation mode in the City.
Bicycle Transportation in Context
According to the 1990 census, 1.0 percent of San Francisco's employed residents, or about 3,600 commuters, bicycle to work. This is an increase from 0.8 percent in 1980. The average for the Bay Area is 1.1 percent. These statistics illustrate that even under existing conditions, which are by no means ideal, the number of San Franciscans who commute by bicycle is just slightly less that the Bay Area average. If a serious effort is made to pro-actively accommodate bicycling it can be a significant part of the solution to the City's transportation problems. It is estimated that the number of bicycle commuters would increase to about 3.0 percent or 11,000 commuters, with the implementation of this plan. This is a conservative estimate, and is still only half the rate achieved by university towns like Berkeley and Palo Alto.
People bicycle for a variety of reasons. Many bicyclists bicycle for environmental reasons. As these bicyclists are often the most politically active, they tend to be the most noticed by City officials. There are many who bicycle for other reasons. For those with no car, bicycling affords the personal mobility of an automobile. San Francisco has the highest percentage of zero-vehicle households in the Bay AreaC30.7 percent. Some of these residents are existing bicycle commuters, but the remainder constitute a large potential pool of bicycle commuters. Others bicycle because they are frugal with money or time. Bicycling is the least costly transportation alternative and is often faster than bus travel. Others bicycle for fitness or recreation. Thus, improved bicycle facilities will benefit a wide range of citizens.
If this plan is implemented, it is envisioned that, ten years from now, bicycling in San Francisco will be as mainstream as recycling is today. Bicycling has several similarities with recycling: they both received a boost after the original Earth Day in 1970 and they both are environmentally and economically sound investments of public monies. Therefore, with cost-effective expenditures of tax dollars environmental concerns are satisfied simultaneously with energy savings. In short, improved bicycle facilities can be what recycling programs have already becomeCa win-win situation for cities that help the environment while saving tax dollars.
The Public Participation Process
The preparation of this study involved input from the public in a variety of formats. Four public meetings were held to obtain input from bicyclists and other members of the public on the plan. Comments from the public on all issues were received in writing throughout the study period. In addition, the San Francisco Bicycle Advisory Committee (SFBAC) and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (SFBC) reviewed all preliminary work products.
The first draft of the Bicycle Commute Routes map was prepared by the SFBAC before a consultant was hired, and was distributed for public comment. Written comments on the proposed routes were received and compiled by the Department of Parking and Traffic (DPT) and the SFBAC, and a public meeting was held on July 25, 1994, attended by about 50 people. A second public meeting was held on October 12, 1994 in the Richmond District attended by about 100 people, to obtain public input on all other components of the plan including safety, parking, policies, and traffic calming. A third public meeting was held on January 9, 1995 in the Haight/Ashbury neighborhood to review the Draft Recommended Bikeway Network; this meeting was attended by 65 people (on one of the wettest nights of the year). A fourth public meeting was held on January 24, 1995 to review the other recommendations of the draft plan and was attended by about 50 people. A total of 110 letters and faxes commenting on the plan have been received to date. Public comment has been taken into consideration in the preparation of the Final Report.
Goals and Objectives
The goal of the Bicycle Plan is to provide a comprehensive guide for efforts that will make San Francisco a more "bicycle-friendly" city. Within that overall goal are a number of objectives that were developed during the course of the study by the City, SFBAC, SFBC and the consultants:
1. Improve Facilities for Bicyclists
- Provide a comprehensive network of signed and mapped routes for bicyclists and provide improvements that expedite travel and improve safety along these routes;
- Improve maintenance of all streets as well as designated bikeways so that all streets are bicycle-friendly;
- Integrate consideration of bicycle travel in all roadway planning and design;
- Increase the number of secure parking areas for bicycles;
- Provide for uniform markings and design standards; and
- Improve access to transit modes and on bridges.
- Provide safer facilities for existing bicyclists;
- Provide safer facilities which will encourage a modal shift to bicycling;
- Educate bicyclists and motorists on regulations, rules of the road and safe sharing of the roads; and
- Increase enforcement of bicycle-related violations on the part of both motorists and bicyclists.
- Increase bicycle use as an alternative to the auto;
- Encourage bicycle use by potential cyclists; and
- Encourage bicycle use by visitors to the City.
- Establish priorities for project funding;
- Match projects and funding sources; and
- Identify new funding sources.
The implementation of this plan involves the participation and the cooperation of many different City departments. In addition to the Department of Parking and Traffic, recommendations are made that are the primary or secondary responsibility of the following departments: the Planning Department, the Recreation and Park Department, the Department of Public Works, the Police Department, and the Municipal Railway (MUNI). The National Park Service is responsible for implementing improvements in the Presidio and Caltrans will need to approve recommendations affecting state highways.
Finally, there are some issues that affect bicycling that are not addressed in this report in great detail. Therefore, there is a need for future studies in several areas to fully implement these recommendations as well as to identify other measures that will improve the safety and quality of bicycling in San Francisco. These studies include:
- Detailed analyses of high bicycle accident locations;
- Impact of auto-free zones for bicycling and pedestrians;
- Railroad track location identification;
- Contra-flow bus lanes and impact on bicycling conditions;
- Neighborhood level studies to identify traffic calming strategies to implement bicycle-priority streets;
- Bicycle safety improvement studies;
- Bicycle safety education curriculum for San Francisco Public Schools;
- Bicycle safety education for adult cyclists;
- Bicycle circulation improvements in the Presidio;
- State legislation to improve bicycling's acceptance and safety; and
- Joint development opportunities for downtown bicycle parking.