Bike plan pedals forward

Rider-friendly: The City’s bike plan was drafted in 1997 to add 34 miles to the existing 45-mile network of bicycle lanes, and mark 75 miles of shared-use lanes. (Examiner File Photo)

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco’s plan to increase its bike lane mileage by 75 percent took a step forward Thursday night when the Planning Commission voted to approve its environmental review documents.

The plan, however, still has several hurdles to overcome before becoming reality, the first of which it will face today when it goes before the Municipal Transportation Agency board of directors.

The bike plan would add 34 miles to the existing 45-mile network, along with marking an additional 75 miles of bike routes on city streets with “sharrows,” which indicate shared-use lanes.

Originally drafted in 1997, the plan’s updated framework was approved by the Board of Supervisors and mayor in 2005, and was the subject of an injunction, also in 2005, that required an environmental impact report be finished and certified before implementation moved forward.

Now that the report has been certified by The City’s Planning Commission, opponents have 20 days to file an appeal, which would take the plan before the Board of Supervisors.

Rob Anderson, a spokesman for the Coalition of Adequate Review, one of the groups that filed the 2005 injunction, said the group will appeal the Planning Commission’s decision to supervisors to “let them take the political heat.”

The bike plan includes 46 separate projects that would eliminate 880 curbside parking spaces, according to transit agency spokesman Judson True.

He said if it makes it through today’s hearing and the expected appeal, the transit agency will work with the City Attorney’s Office
to have the injunction lifted and begin implementation by the end of summer.

“We expect to start laying the paint as soon as the injunction is lifted, and we’re excited about beginning implementation of the plan,” True said.