Posts Tagged ‘lane’
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
Things were worse back in aught-seven, back when drivers waiting to fill up at the always-cheap ARCO station on Fell Street in the EaPA would queue up in the bike lane. But it’s no picnic these days neither, as you can see in this shot from a few days ago:
Well, comes now award-winning Michael Helquist of BIKE NOPA to learn us about planned changes:
“‘We have a design hashed out to take out parking on the south side of Fell Street,’ James Shahamiri, MTA Assistant Traffic Engineer, told BIKE NOPA. The new design would designate the former parking spaces as a curbside queue for motorists awaiting entry to the gas station.”
(IMO, that’s a painfully obvious solution that any other town in ‘Merica would have implemented years ago when the issue first cropped up. But oh well.)
So, you see them cars parked on the left side? You know, the Porsche 944 (or 968?), the Saturn S-Series, and the Honda CR-V cute-ute SUV? They’re parked in spaces that could soon be the ARCO queue.
What’s that, NIMBY? Over your dead body you say? O.K., well, I think this cake is already baked, but maybe you’ll be able to hear more about all the deets at this meeting:
Thursday, March 18th
7:00 pm, visit with neighbors
7:30 pm, meeting begins
9:00 pm , meeting ends
Change is Good, huh?
Tags: 1775, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 76, arco, area, Assistant, association, automobiles, autos, bicycle, bike, BIKE NOPA, block, blocking, BP, cars, cyclists, divisadero, divisidero, EaPA, east of panhandle, engineer, fell, fulton, gas, gasloline, golden gate park, intersection, James Shahamiri, jannah, lane, Line, meeting, metropolitan transportation agency, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, michael helquist, mta, Muni, neighborhood, nimby, NOPA, nopna, north of panhandle, oak, panhandle, parking, queue, San Francisco, SF, sfist, SFMTA, Station, street, traffic, union, vehicles, wait, Waiting
Posted in bikes, cars | 7 Comments »
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
This San Francisco Park Ranger had his hands full the other day handing out $88 red zone parking tickets in Golden Gate Park right in front of the Conservatory of Flowers.
Would our tourists all park here if they knew they weren’t supposed to? Probably not. Do the markings on the pavement make sense really? No.
Is the current Bicycle Plan injunction a good excuse for the ridiculous way JFK Drive is marked for traffic and parking these days? Don’t know, You Make The Call.
A target-rich environment on Saturdays, that’s for sure.
Click to expand
Oh well
Tags: 88, bicycle, bike, bus, conservatory, conservatory of flowers, cyclist, dollar, drive, driver, eastbound, F, flowers, golden gate park, jfk, John, Jr, kennedy, lane, parking, parking park, stripe, ticket, westbound
Posted in cars, parks | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 29th, 2009
Take a look at Masonic Avenue here. What’s the point of having such an uber-wide sidewalk like this?
Couldn’t some of this sidewalk be used for a bike lane or something useful?
Click to expand
You have to wonder what people were thinking, back in the day, when they were laying out the sidewalks of San Francisco.
[UPDATE: Geez, people, we're not talking about removing the sidewalks here, but making them a reasonable size. Obviously, some planners a long time ago thought it was a great idea to have Masonic be some kind of grand boulevard or avenue or something. Does anybody want this underpopulated windblown stretch of sidewalk to be even wider? What do you want to do, play volleyball on the sidewalk?]
Tags: avenue, bicycles, bike, cyclists, golden gate boulevard, lane, masonic, pedestrians, San Francisco, sidewalks, too, wide
Posted in streets | 10 Comments »
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
You all know Webster Street, right? It’s Fillmore’s little buddy, taking people from Market Street north all the way up to our mismanaged Marina Yacht Harbor.
But take a look here to see what happens after it crosses Hayes Street. It turns into boulevard for some odd reason, for some 11 blocks, only to shrink back down again into a regular street at the intersection at Bush.
Looking north. The traffic heading up this street, (like the silver SUV) needs to jog right to get on the other side of the very wide median See that? It’s goes parking lane, bike lane, slow lane, fast lane, huge median, fast lane, slow lane, bike lane, and then another parking lane:
Here’s a bird’s-eye view. From Grove to Bush, from the Western Addition to “Little Osaka” (the cartographers’ favorite term for what people actually call Japantown in real life) it’s an unbusy boulevard, for an only-Gaia-knows-why purpose:
I cry foul.
Here’s a modest proposal – why not de-boulevard (v.t.) Webster by getting rid of the useless treed-up median and the twin northbound lanes for the entire three-quarters of a mile? Would anybody miss the median and the extra lanes? I mean, Fillmore does the all the heavy lifting with traffic and buses and whatnot, right?
That would leave us with 200,000 square feet of space to do whatever we want with. What would you do with 3.5 football fields worth of space?
In Japantown, some people already want to shut down the northbound lanes for extra parking or for temporarily housing businesses displaced by planned seismic upgrades for buildings on Post Street. But why not just kill the whole boulevard now in one fell swoop?
(Poorly-designed Octavia Boulevard has the opposite problem of having too much stalled traffic idling away, blocking travelers journeying east and west. Oh well.)
In conclusion:
What do we want?
A de-boulevarded Webster Street!
When do we want it?
Now!
(Repeat as necessary.)
Tags: alley, avenue, bike, boulevard, bridge, bush, cyclists, de-boulevard, deboulevard, fillmore, grove, hayes, ivy, j-town, japantown, jtown, lane, little osaka, mall, median, parking, pedestrians, post, San Francisco, street, strret, trees, webster, western addition, wide
Posted in streets | 3 Comments »
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009
Here’s the scene on freshly-paved Scott Street this afternoon. The greening of the “bike box” red light waiting area on Scott Street near Oak at the terminus of the famous Wiggle Bike Route has begun. At long last, it has begun.
For now, anyway. The partial lifting of the Bicycle Plan injunction isn’t a 100% thing, but the City is moving ahead anyway.
Supervisors Bevan Dufty and Ross Mirkarimi, MTA chief Nat Ford, and Mayor Gavin Newsom all got in on the fun. Click to expand:
As Our Mayor’s extended paint roller got closer to the throng of reporters Supervisor Dufty was all, ”Watch out media, Gavin’s coming your way!” And here’s the reaction – a that’s-right-laugh-it-up-funnyboy smirk and then a quick departure:
Gavin’s ill humor wasn’t helped later on when Emmy Award-winning CBS5 political editor Hank Plante started asking about Geo Fanelli wanting his recent $500 donation back. Akit’s suggestion about suing in small claims court is interesting, non? I mean, you can’t give everybody their money back, right? (After your campaign buys a copy of PhotoShop, you don’t get much change back from a $500 banknote.) However, Geo has a pretty sympathetic case to make. Mmmm.
Anyway, in all the excitement, Bevan started painted bike helmets green, making mementos to allow us to remember this Special Day. (Bro was on today with all his Ammiano-like bons mots.)
San Francisco Bicycle Coalition leader Leah Shahum and Nat Ford were all smiles today:
Supervisor Mirkarimi looked dashing on his Trek Ride+ electric-assist bike. It’s just like Board President David Chiu’s. Said one wag, “Ross, you have the right equipment.” The loud reply, from someone famous: “That’s what she said!”
All in all, it was quite a celebration.
But this isn’t all for today. San Francisco’s first protected bike lane is now on Market Street, as of this AM.
Tags: 30, alamo square, alamo square neighborhood association, bevan dufty, bicycle, bicycle coalition, bike, bikes, cancelled, ceremony, chief, cyclist, cyclists, EaPA, East of Panhandle Area, fell, gavin newsom, green, green paint, india, injunction, Judge, lane, leah shahum, Mayor, media, mta, Muni, nat ford, NOPA, oak, paint, path, photo op, photo opportunity, plan, postponed, protected, ross mirkarimi, route, San Francisco, scott, scott street, sfbc, SFMTA, street, transit, wiggle
Posted in bikes | Comments Off
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
Well there I was looking for four Norwegian gals, trying to find Dow Alley without Google Maps (not functioning due to its monomaniacal obsession with upgrading the software on my so-called smart phone) and I stumbled upon the biggest motorcycle free parking lot that’s anywhere close to Union Square. I’m all like, why aren’t there meters for all the bikes here?
Anywho, take a gander, on the MapJack (as the view from Google StreetView was just too hard to figure out). It’s like a motorcycle showroom just out the back door of the ThirstyBear Restaurant and Brewery (ask about their Great Recesssion lunch specials).
See? On the sidewalk, in marked spaces, unmarked spaces, both sides of the street, not a ticket in sight (uh oh, see the comments, but still…) - it’s Biker’s Heaven. Click to expand:
How on Earth did the City neglect to meterize this lane when rates have gone up 180% (that’s $100 extra per month for a typical biker, and the SFMTA wanted to raise rates higher) so far this year?
Leave us travel back to 2004, when the towaway signs got took down and unmetered parking began:
“TOW-AWAY, NO STOPPING ANYTIME – RESCIND
UNMETERED MOTORCYCLE PARKING – ESTABLISH
Kaplan Lane, east side, from Clementina Street to the northern terminus.”
See that? The MUNI people, the people so rich they could afford to run CultureBuses all over town pretty much completely empty for months and months just for their own pride, actually turned down a chance to raise revenue. It’s amazing. It’s like a trip back in time when you take Clementina off of third to encounter The Alley of Free Parking.
So spread the word to all your two-wheeled buddies. Hurray!
Oh, wait a second, some of the hundreds of riders who regularly use Kaplan to Stick It To The Man want to keep things a secret. For example, Mark W. says:
Shhhhhh!!! 
So let’s keep things on the low down. This is a secret worth keeping, despite the occasional hit-and-run chain reaction accident. Of course, there are other places to park for free in San Francisco, but they’re not all hidden away like Kaplan.
So, this is how it’ll be. When I see you carrying your helmet at the Gold Club or the Metreon, I’ll just offer my knuckles for your knocking and we’ll both say, in unison: “Kaplan, baby!”
Let’s let Yelp’s Rachel S. make the final pitch:
“*a*b*u*n*d*a*n*t* motorcycle parking that’s strides away from Moscone center, Yerba Beuna Gardens and SFMOMA. Tiny note that’s, y’know, likely of little interest… it’s free. Gratis. No cuesta nada. Really. And what’s more, it’s safe at most all hours in my experience. Which sort’ve stands to reason given the surrounding businesses: the early-morning dark is monitored by the Starbucks’ clientele, the late-evening hours are overseen by Thirsty Bear’s patrons. Plus, the walk from your parked bike back to the real world is through either an architecturally rich alleyway or a sculpture garden, depending on which direction you’re headed. Win all around.”
See you there!
Kaplan Lane is in my ears and in my eyes/
There beneath the gray-ish urban skies
Tags: 2nd, 3rd, alley, area, bike, bmr, clementina, cultureBus, folsom, free, howard, kaplan, kaplan lane, lane, meters, meuseum of modern art, mission, moma, motorcycle, mta, Muni, ninja, park, parking, rates, scooter, SFMTA, soma, south of market, street
Posted in motorcycles | 2 Comments »
Sunday, August 30th, 2009
Yesterday saw the debut of a brand-new 12-foot-wide path for pedestrians and bike riders on one of the spans of the Benicia-Martinez Bridge a way out there in the extreme East Bay. That means that you can now easily travel from the former home-town of the Zodiac Killer to the beaver-ridden shores of Martinez, CA without using your car.
Take a look at the circuit you can now make on your bike way out in the 925. Just use the Carquinez Bridge (cost overrun = $47,000,000 in 2003) one way and the B-M Bridge (cost overrun = $1,000,000,000 in 2007 mas o menos, due, in part, to the alleged suicidal tendencies of bay area fish, srsly) the other and you’re looping, baby.
Hurray!
Pedestrian/Bicycle Path Debuts on Benicia-Martinez Bridge
New Path Closes Gap in Bay Area Trail System
Festivities were held today to mark the official opening of a new pedestrian/bicycle path on the George Miller, Jr. Memorial Bridge leading from Benicia to Martinez. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) and Caltrans hosted opening events at both ends of the bridge, with a ribbon-cutting in Martinez at the foot of the bridge kicking off the festivities. Attendees then joined in the official first walk/ride across the bridge, where an opening ceremony followed at Vista Point in Benicia. A bicycle rodeo geared to youths at the nearby Amports lot was offered by the City of Benicia.
“The opening of the pedestrian/bicycle path is an exciting milestone that signifies completion of the final improvements to both spans of the Benicia-Martinez Bridge,” explained Bijan Sartipi, Director of Caltrans District 4 and an MTC/BATA Commissioner. “We are thrilled that we now have safe and efficient travel across the Carquinez Strait for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians.”
The Benicia-Martinez Bridge connects Contra Costa and Solano counties across the Carquinez Strait. It is comprised of two separate spans, named for father and son (the late Senator George Miller, Jr. and current Congressman George Miller III), making the bridge a unique landmark. The 2007 addition, the Congressman George Miller III Memorial Bridge, carries five lanes of northbound Interstate 680 traffic from Martinez to Benicia and includes the Bay Area’s debut of open-road tolling technology. The original George Miller, Jr. Memorial Bridge, built in 1962 to carry traffic in both directions, now carries four lanes of southbound Interstate 680 traffic with full shoulders and the new pedestrian/bicycle path.
“This is a milestone project that has been in the works a long time and we are all very excited to see its completion,” said Laura Thompson, Bay Trails project manager for the Association of Bay Area Governments. “We are happy that we are making strides to close both the Bay and Ridge Trail gaps.”
Funded primarily through the Regional Measure 1 toll program approved by voters in 1988 and administered by BATA, the $50 million Benicia-Martinez Bridge project encompassed reconfiguring the bridge and adding the new path. The completion of the construction on the pedestrian/bicycle path indicates the final phase of construction on both bridges.
Caltrans owns, operates and maintains the state highway system, including seven of the eight Bay Area toll bridges. BATA, which is directed by the same policy board as MTC, administers toll revenues from the region’s state-owned toll bridges. MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.
FACT SHEET
GEORGE MILLER, JR. BRIDGE PEDESTRIAN/BICYCLE LANE
Significance The new Benicia-Martinez pedestrian/bicycle lane on
the Senator George Miller, Jr. Memorial Bridge will
close a gap in the San Francisco Bay and Ridge Trails.
This lane also serves as a link in the Carquinez
Strait Scenic Loop Trail, which is a 50-mile trail
that crosses both the Benicia-Martinez Bridge and Al
Zampa Bridge spans over the Carquinez Strait.
Bicyclists and pedestrians using this new path will be
treated to stunning views of the Suisun Bay, as well
as the Carquinez Bridge and the Mothball Fleet.
Official Name George Miller, Jr. Memorial Bridge
Original Structure
Opened September 16, 1962
Location Carquinez Strait linking Contra Costa and Solano
counties
Roadway Southbound Interstate 680 from Benicia to Martinez
Configuration Originally, three northbound lanes and three
southbound lanes; now four southbound lanes and one
pedestrian/bicycle lane
Length of
Pedestrian/Bicycle
Path 11,800 feet or 2.2. miles
Width of
Pedestrian/Bicycle
Path 12 feet; bi-directional travel
Vertical Clearance
of the Bridge 138 feet
Type of
Construction Deck truss
Project Cost $50 million to seismically retrofit the bridge and add
the pedestrian/bicycle path
Construction
Funding Regional Measure 1 funds: 77%
Federal funds: 21%
State funds: 2%
Seismic Safety A “Lifeline” structure designed to remain in service
following a maximum credible earthquake. The
Interstate 680 corridor has been designated as a
primary route for transporting emergency supplies into
the Bay Area after a major earthquake.
Tags: 2009, 29, 29th, 511, august, bay area, benicia, benicia-martinez, bicycles, bike, bridge, bridges, Carquinez, Contra Costa, cyclists, delta, east bay, fish, lane, martinez, new, overrun, path, pedestrians, peds, railroad, San Francisco, span, straight, transit, vallejo
Posted in bikes | Comments Off
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009
Are you all set for Bastille Day in San Francisco? If not, check out 7×7 Magazine for some hasty planification de dernière minute. And see Joe Eskenazi’s take right here.
Or you can keep it simple and just wander over to the “French Quarter” (of one-percent of) San Francisco around Bush Street betwixt Union Square and the Financial District, on tiny streets like Belden Place (home of Plouf, Cafe Bastille, B-44, and le Best-O-Burger), Mark Lane (home of the Bank of Ireland, aka the Irish Bank), and Claude Lane (home of Cafe Claude).
This is what Belden looked like on July 14th last year. Click to expand:
And this is the Mission from this year. Can you see les drapeaux tricolores? Peter Acworth’s Kink.com famously makes pornography at the old San Francisco National Guard Armory and Arsenal, but they’re never too busy to let a holiday go by without hoisting some huge flags for the occasion:
Here are some more deets:
“This party is back on Belden Place, considered a great out of many of San Francisco’s best street parties, this year will be one of the best for sure. Why? Well, the music, of course!!
Come early to get a seat, some wine, your favorite food, and listen to some of SF’s finest dj’s. Audionista will be playing first, probably the best time slot of the day, so make sure you get there by 4pm.
Also featuring Trevor Simpson of Worldtown-energy 92.7fm
Pheeko Dubfunk of Swank SF
Jared F and Nima G of Connected Grooves”
And there’s ever more stuff below too.
Happy Bastille Day!
Bal Populaire du Comite Officiel Directions
Saturday, July 11th, starting at 6 pm at the Basque Cultural Center.
Cost: $60 per person, gourmet dinner: choice of filet mignon or half-chicken – wine included.
A program of Franco-American music and dance, and a raffle (grand prize: a trip for two to Paris Courtesy of the Official Committee. (Read More)
The Santa Barbara French Festival Directions
Join the fun at the 22nd Annual Santa Barbara FRENCH FESTIVAL
(Bastille Day Weekend, July 11 & 12, 11am-7pm, FREE admission).
Great food. from crepes to Cajun. Over 40 great acts on 3 stages: cancan, folkdance, Poodle Parade, Femmes Fatales Drag Review, Moroccan bellydance, Napoleon, Maurice Chevalier, Edith Piaf, Hot Jazz a la Django Reinhart, African drumming, Tahitian dance, accordeons galore, and much more. Huge Eiffel Tower. Free drawing. Lots for the kids.
It’s where AMERICA celebrates FRANCE! (Read More)
Bastille Day is back on Belden! Directions
Come enjoy a fun and vibrant Bastille Day celebration, July 14th(4 to 10pm) in Belden Place, San Francisco.
DJs, drinks, open restaurants, all the ingredients to have fun!
Restaurants: Sam’s grill – Cafe Bastille – Cafe Tiramisu – Plouf – B44 – Belden Taverna – Trademark – Brindisi
Official Belden Bastille Day After-Party, Scuba, at Harlot – 46 Minna between 1st and 2nd streets, SF(10pm to 2am)
Napastille Day Directions
Join us for a very special Bastille day on July 14th (10am to 9pm) in the wine country for an all day celebration of our French community!!! Come celebrate 220 years of revolution and 220 years of French presence in the wine country..!
The whole market will have a French flair for a very special Bastille day!
All vendors will have French specials: French everything: French songs, French surprises, French Dancing. (Read More)
Bastille Day Soiree Directions
On July 14th (8pm to 2am), French Tuesday organize Bastille Day Soiree. For this extra special occasion, the revolution will take place in Ruby Skye. an upscale entertainment venue especially decorated for Bastille Day!
At this event you will find: complimentary stationed horsd’oeuvres graciously offered by San Francisco top French restaurants along with French Wine tasting, live Band and Special performances, music by DJ Frenchy le Freak & Pheeko Dubfunk.
The suggested dress code is Blue/White/Red. Tickets prices will be $10 for the first 100, $15 afterwards, $20 for the last tier and $25-30 at the door (upon availability). (Read More)
Bastille Day at Sofitel Directions
Join the Sofitel at the bay bar on Tuesday July 14th (8pm to 12am) for the ultimate “Bastille Day” celebration with DJ Cris and a special dinner at Bay223.
For more information & reservations: Call: 650 -508 -7126. (Read More)
Bastille Day at The Bubble Lounge Directions
Celebrate Bastille Day with French Champagne Tuesday July 14th, lively music and a fun atmosphere at The Bubble Lounge starting at 4 pm.
Enjoy discounted prices off Taittinger Champagne as well as select Champagne cocktails and food items from 4 – 8 pm. (Read More)
Tags: 14, 2008, 2009, bastille, belden, bush, claude, day, france, french, july, lane, mark, party, place, San Francisco, street
Posted in events | Comments Off
Thursday, June 25th, 2009
This fellow is waiting at a traffic signal between the lanes on an Interstate 101 offramp somewhere in San Mateo County.
The six foot high pennants are a nice touch. Don’t leave home without them, especially when lane-splitting on a recumbent trike.
Click to expand:
Vaya con Dios, jinete del triciclo.
Tags: 101, bike, bikes, california, City, county, cyclist, flags, freeway, illegal, interstate, jinete del triciclo, lane, lane splitting, lanesplitting, legal, motocycle, offramp, pennants, Recumbent, Recumbent Tricycle, San Francisco, San Mateo, split, splitter, splitting, streets, ticket, tricycle, trike, Vaya con Dios
Posted in bikes | Comments Off
Friday, June 12th, 2009
At times, anyway.
San Francisco has significantly more bike riders than just a few years ago.
How about that?
Tags: baker, bicycles, bike, commuters, crowded, cyclists, divisidero, fell, lane, rush hour, San Francisco, street
Posted in bikes | 1 Comment »
