The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s board unanimously approved the new curbside Valencia Street bike lane on Tuesday, and admitted that the transit agency should have been more cautious with experiments in merchant corridors.
That experiment — a bike lane running up the center of the street — had pitted transit advocates against shopkeepers. Now cyclists and the Valencia Corridor Merchants Association were finally on the same page: Neither were fans of the new design.
“The [merchants association] cannot officially support the side-running bike lane,” said Manny Yekutiel, president of the Valencia Corridor Merchants Association, which has fought the old design. Yekutiel was one of dozens who spoke up in the three-hour-long meeting held at City Hall.
Yekutiel, echoing long-held concerns from merchants against streetscape changes, said the new design will get rid of a lot of the parking spots on Valencia Street. “We’re worried it will affect business.”
The design will remove about 79 parking or loading spots, or 40 percent of the 225 spaces on Valencia from 15th to 23rd, according to SFMTA
Although it was lambasted for months, some cyclists today lamented the end of the center lane. Erin Fieberling, a bicyclist who lives in District 9, said the current center lane makes them feel safe. It’s “a straight, clear, predictable path with no interruption,” they said, adding that it actually made them more likely to use local shops. “I use the Valencia Street bike lane most often to travel to local businesses on Valencia Street.”
For its part, the board acknowledged that the Valencia Street bikeway pilot, started August 2023, has been a failure. “We have to be very careful about experimenting in commercial corridors,” said board vice chair Stephanie Cajina. “That requires a certain level of care that perhaps we did not perceive when we initially approved this particular item. It’s a big learning.”
The controversy surrounding the center bike lane pilot program often involved neighborhood merchants who said the project harmed their business.
But both a Mission Local analysis and the city controller’s office found that to be untrue: The bike lane had no impact on sales on the corridor. Instead, the sales decline might have reflected a general slowing of the economy.
Still, the pilot project was met with scorn and the SFMTA decided in February to reverse course after just six months and install more conventional, side-running lanes.
The new design will include parking-protected lanes on Valencia between 15th and 23rd streets. The design will also bring changes to the parklets along the street. Most will remain alongside the curb, but three will be rebuilt into “floating parklets” separated from the sidewalk by the bike lane.
The floating parklet design is new to San Francisco, but has worked in Oakland and New York City, according to the SFMTA.
SFMTA will add more motorcycle and scooter parking spaces, and advertise two SFMTA-owned parking garages at 16th and and 21st streets that are rarely full.
Paul Stanis, an SFMTA project manager, said the new design was the result of balancing safety, mobility and economic vitality.
While data the agency collected showed the center-running bike way generally made riding along Valencia Street more predictable, it did not work for everybody.
The side-running bike lane is expected to be more predictable and more familiar for people to navigate, said Stanis.
The SFMTA is expected to begin the construction in January 2025, and the process will take two to three months, depending on weather conditions.
Despite the anger from attendees, board director Mike Chen expressed a certain degree of support for the centered lane. “I want to underline that I don’t think that the center-running lane was a failure from the point of view of bicycle safety. There are maybe other places in San Francisco where this center-running lane could be appropriate.”
The SFMTA reached the final block by block design after making changes with feedback collected during their 10 months of community outreach. That included two community open houses in September, a mailer to nearby residents and businesses, meetings with over 100 merchants, and conversations with those who own parklets on Valencia Street.
Additionally, the SFMTA is having a monthly construction working group meeting to minimize the impact of construction work, with inputs from merchants, construction staff, project team, and advocates.
“Finally, I just wanted to acknowledge that this is a very complicated, challenging and even at times rewarding project,” said SFMTA project manager Stanis. “In reality, probably 30 or 40 people have actually worked on this project at one point or another … We feel it represents the best that we can come up with given all of the input, consideration and constraints.”
“We have a lot left to do, but we are excited to get some of our weekends and nights and some of our holiday time back,” he added.
About the author
History Says the Nasdaq Will Surge in 2025. 1 Stock-Split Stock to Buy Before It Does.
The Nasdaq Composite has been on fire over the past couple of years, driven higher by the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), improving economic conditions, an uncontested election, and the Federal Reserve Bank's recent moves to cut interest rates. After returning 43% in 2023, the tech-centric index is up roughly 30% in 2024. History suggests the rally will likely continue into 2025. The current bull market began on Oct. 12, 2022, and while every rally is different, history can provide important context. Bull markets last more than five years, on average. Since the current rally just entered its third year, there's a strong likelihood the Nasdaq will continue to gain ground next year. It's also worth noting that the Nasdaq has generated gains 73% of the time, dating back 53 years, so history is on the side of investors. Finally, […]
Yellow Moto closing today, its owners moved on to Spain
Beloved Yellow Moto Pizzeria at 18th and Valencia streets is having its last day of service today, after five years at the corner.“I’m heartbroken, really,” said Allison White, 40, wife of Yellow Moto owner David White. “It always felt like an extension of my home, and it’s going to be hard to say goodbye.” Allison and David’s kids used to hang out in the back of Valencia Street Vintage, a small business right next door to Yellow Moto that Allison owns. In earlier press interviews and on Friday, White and her husband David, said that business has slowed. But other factors played into their decision.The family that used to live four blocks away at 14th and Guerrero streets moved across the ocean to Valencia, Spain in August.“We did it for our kids. We have three kids — 8, 11 and 12,” […]
Ukraine’s secret weapon in its battle against Russia: crowdfunding
On April 27, 2023, Diana Kulyk's father told her he was leaving the next day to start training to fight Russia. She was filled with dread but knew she needed to act. Her hands shaking, Kulyk, a 24-year-old only child, tried to type the perfect tweet that would convince her roughly 20,000 followers to donate more than $3,000 for equipment that would help keep her father alive."Hello, this is the most important tweet I have ever written," she began. "I'm Diana Kulyk, daughter of Ruslan Kulyk. My father is a simple man, a baker by profession, a human being full of love and care. The person who took care of me since I came into this world. He needs help." Beneath the text were two images: a selfie of Diana and Ruslan smiling under golden-hour sunlight, and a spreadsheet of […]
Born and raised
Born and raised Source: missionlocal.org
Syrians Pose Next to Head of Toppled Statue of Hafez al-Assad in Hama
The head of a toppled statue of former Syrian president Hafez al-Assad was seen on the ground of a square in the city of Hama on Friday, December 6, after opposition forces took control of the city.Footage captured by Obada Jbara shows two boys holding Syrian opposition flags, as one of them steps on the head of the statue of Hafez al-Assad – father of the current Syrian regime president, Bashar al-Assad – in Hama’s Assi Square.Footage shared by several news outlets on Thursday reportedly shows people toppling a statue of al-Assad in Hama. Credit: Obada Jbara via Storyful Source: www.yahoo.com
Planning Commission advances Mission anti-displacement plan
Read Mission Local often?If so, consider supporting us — San Francisco’s premier independent, nonprofit newsroom — during end-of-year fundraising. We’re almost at our $200,000 goal! The San Francisco Planning Commission on Thursday voted unanimously to endorse the Mission Action Plan 2030 — an updated version of the city’s existing plan to fight displacement in one of the neighborhoods hardest hit by gentrification.The plan, said Miriam Chion, the director of community equity at the planning department, “becomes the compass for city strategies, program legislation and investments.” The new plan largely maintains the city’s current priorities for the Mission — “secure funding at all levels” to build affordable housing, strengthen tenant protections for “vulnerable Mission Latino residents,” protect businesses and nonprofits in the area, and “preserve and promote cultural resources” across the neighborhood. But, in a nod to changing post-pandemic conditions along the Mission’s […]
Related
Yellow Moto closing today, its owners moved on to Spain
Beloved Yellow Moto Pizzeria at 18th and Valencia streets is having its last day of service today, after five years at the corner.“I’m heartbroken, really,” said Allison White, 40, wife of Yellow Moto owner David White. “It always felt like an extension of my home, and it’s going to be hard to say goodbye.” Allison and David’s kids used to hang out in the back of Valencia Street Vintage, a small business right next door to Yellow Moto that Allison owns. In earlier press interviews and on Friday, White and her husband David, said that business has slowed. But other factors played into their decision.The family that used to live four blocks away at 14th and Guerrero streets moved across the ocean to Valencia, Spain in August.“We did it for our kids. We have three kids — 8, 11 and 12,” […]
Born and raised
Born and raised Source: missionlocal.org
Planning Commission advances Mission anti-displacement plan
Read Mission Local often?If so, consider supporting us — San Francisco’s premier independent, nonprofit newsroom — during end-of-year fundraising. We’re almost at our $200,000 goal! The San Francisco Planning Commission on Thursday voted unanimously to endorse the Mission Action Plan 2030 — an updated version of the city’s existing plan to fight displacement in one of the neighborhoods hardest hit by gentrification.The plan, said Miriam Chion, the director of community equity at the planning department, “becomes the compass for city strategies, program legislation and investments.” The new plan largely maintains the city’s current priorities for the Mission — “secure funding at all levels” to build affordable housing, strengthen tenant protections for “vulnerable Mission Latino residents,” protect businesses and nonprofits in the area, and “preserve and promote cultural resources” across the neighborhood. But, in a nod to changing post-pandemic conditions along the Mission’s […]
It’s timeee!
It’s timeee! Source: missionlocal.org
La Doña headlines Encuentro del Canto Popular at the Chapel
Holding a fundraiser in a funeral home might not seem like a recipe for joy — or longevity. But after more than four decades, the Encuentro del Canto Popular continues to thrive as one of the region’s signature Latin music events. Launched as a one-off in 1982 by a young attorney named Bill Martinez and Juan Gonzalez — founder of the Mission newspaper El Tecolote — the first six-act program took place in the chapel of what was then Halsted & Co. Funeral Directors on Valencia Street.Over the years, the annual event has presented some of Latin American music’s most illustrious stars at venues around the city. But on Sunday, Dec. 8, the 43rd annual Encuentro returns to the same location where it started — which is now the music venue known as The Chapel. A fundraiser for the arts […]
Murder trial: Bob Lee used apparent knife for cocaine in new video
In a bombshell revelation on day two of closing arguments, Nima Momeni’s defense team said Cash App founder Bob Lee was using a knife to do cocaine hours before he ended up stabbed. The allegation, supported by a video shown to jurors today for the first time, may bolster the claim that Momeni, on trial for murder, stabbed Lee in self-defense after Lee attacked him with a knife.In the video, Lee and his friend Bo Mohazzabi are standing outside The Battery, a members-only club where they had drinks on the evening of April 3, 2023 — hours before Lee was killed. They each in turn bend forward to do a bump of apparent drugs off a long pointy object that protrudes out of Lee’s hand, and glints in the light. Lee can be seen digging the instrument into what appears to […]
Be the first to leave a comment