By James Sword, HANC President
As you may have read recently on Hoodline, a proposal to convert one lane of traffic along both Oak and Fell to bike lanes, the length of the Panhandle, has been proposed by NOPNA. The Bicycle Coalition has assigned staff to work on the proposal.
This issue was originally brought to the HANC board in April 2015 by a member of the NOPNA board. At that time, the HANC board listened to the proposal and presented serious concerns for elderly, pedestrians, and people with disabilities. At the end of 2015 the HANC board reached out to the Bicycle Coalition and had a representative attend our April 2016 board meeting.
The Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council is not against bicycling, it is a great alternative mode of transportation. The board feels a reasonable alternative would be to widen the current multi-use path and repave the southern pedestrian path (RPD has neglected to repave despite efforts to have them do so by NOPNA, PROSF, and HANC).
This stance is based on multiple factors: historically both Page and Hayes are designated bicycle routes; Haight and Fulton are transit routes; and Oak and Fell are vehicle routes.
Significant concerns were brought to the Bicycle Coalition, including:
- no outreach has been done to residents who are not part of NOPNA
- no outreach has been done to residents and merchants of the Inner and Outer Sunset neighborhoods.
- San Francisco Recreation and Parks should not be bailed out from their neglect of the Panhandle through bike lanes along Oak and Fell
- It is not realistic to expect cyclists to stop at lights along these bike lanes, except at Masonic where there is cross traffic. This will create a huge hazard for pedestrians crossing Oak and Fell with the light, and despite removing parking spaces to increase visibility, pedestrians will still be in danger.
More Dialogue Needed
We look forward to more dialogue with NOPNA, the Bicycle Coalition, and the city as this proposal moves forward. As somebody who commutes via bicycle through the Panhandle two to three times per week, I am against it. There are better solutions that will lessen hazards to the elderly, disabled and walkers, not increase them.