More legal challenges to city's bike plan
July 17, 2009
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| New design: A rider travels down Second Street, which would see restrictions on left turns and less parking under the bike plan, which also proposes traffic signals for cyclists. (Cindy Chew/The Examiner) |
SAN FRANCISCO — Two groups are trying to put the brakes on a major plan to add 34 miles of bike lanes to city streets along with other amenities for two-wheelers.
The Planning Commission and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency last month approved an extensive environmental review of the San Francisco Bike Plan, which would nearly double the number of bike lanes currently on city streets.
The proposed bike network is lauded by cyclists, city officials and Mayor Gavin Newsom, who say bike improvements will make the streets safer and lure commuters into cycling rather than driving, thus reducing vehicle emissions.
The ambitious plan, however, has been delayed for three years after a Superior Court judge barred projects from moving forward until their impacts to traffic, transit and other factors were more extensively reviewed.
The completed environmental review flagged more than two dozen intersections thatwould be significantly disrupted by new bike lanes.[end hyperlink]
On Wednesday, two separate appeals of the Planning Commission’s decision to approve the bike plan review were filed with the Board of Supervisors. Supervisors are expected to vote on the plan next month. If they approve it, the city attorney will ask the Superior Court to lift the injunction so construction of the bike projects can begin.
Mary Miles, an attorney for the complainants who brought the original lawsuit before the Superior Court judge three years ago, filed one of the appeals Wednesday. The other was filed by Catherine Liddell of the South Beach-Rincon-Mission Bay Neighborhood Association.
