Protected Bike Lanes in

San Francisco Mike Sallaberry SFMTA

10 | 14 | 2011

NACTO Workshop - Chicago IL

San Francisco

• 2nd Highest Density in the

U.S.

• 47 square miles

• Mild Climate

• Population ~810,000

• Hilly (steepest hill 31.5%)

Bikeways to be Discussed

Masonic Avenue – designed

Market Street – constructed

Masonic

Market

Bicycle Traffic

Signal at

Fell/Masonic

SF State of Cycling Report identified top three barriers to more cycling

• Need for more

bike lanes

• Fear of cars

• Fear of crossing

major streets

Masonic Avenue Existing Roadway Design

• 100-foot wide right-of-way including sidewalks

• Sidewalk width ranges from nine to 22 feet

• Typically two traffic lanes in each direction off-peak

• Additional tow-away lane added in peak direction AM

and PM

North – South Streets

Masonic Avenue Topography & Street Network

Masonic Ave is the only through street

running North/South between Park

Presidio and Divisadero Streets.

Bicycles

• Masonic Avenue is a

designated city bicycle route

• Only north-south through

route for ½ mile in either

direction

• No dedicated space

• High traffic volumes and

speeds

• Steep grades

• Some sidewalk riding

Northbound at Fulton Southbound at Fulton

Traffic Volumes

Transit and Delay

Cross Street

Signal Delay (sec)

PM Peak, southbound

Existing

(3 Lanes

in peak direction)

Proposed

(2 Lanes)

Geary 29 53

Anza/O'Farrell 9 9

Turk 5 15

Golden Gate 4 5

Fulton 13 17

Grove 2 3

Hayes 4 9

Fell 35 31

Oak 10 12

Total Delay 111 154

Additional Delay 44

Existing Parking Usage Characteristics

Street Redesign Proposal

Developed through Community Process

Series of three community

meetings:

•Workshop 1: Small-group exercise to

design ideal street

•Workshop 2: Presented four conceptual

options for participant feedback

•Workshop 3: Presented two refined

proposals, “Boulevard” and “Gateway”

Workshops attended by more than

100 community members

Workshop Survey:

Boulevard Preferred

61% of respondents

live within one block

of Masonic Ave

109 survey responses

The Boulevard Design Chosen by Community

No parking, 4 lanes, cycle track, median

The Boulevard Plan View Rendering (Masonic Ave at Fulton St)

Masonic Avenue

Bus Bulb Plaza - Conceptual Illustration

Traffic Impacts

Cross Street

Signal Delay (sec)

PM Peak, southbound

Existing

(3 Lanes

in peak direction)

Proposed

(2 Lanes)

Geary 29 53

Anza/O'Farrell 9 9

Turk 5 15

Golden Gate 4 5

Fulton 13 17

Grove 2 3

Hayes 4 9

Fell 35 31

Oak 10 12

Total Delay 111 154

Additional Delay 44

• Traffic model shows that

traffic volume can be

accommodated in two

lanes without tow-away

lane

• Moderate increase of

about an additional

minute of signal delay

due to tow-away lane

removal

• Stopped buses would

block traffic lane at all

times

Transit Impacts

• Removing peak-hour tow-away lane adds less than one minute of travel time for transit 4-6 PM southbound

• Improved transit safety by removing conflicts with parking maneuvers

• Bus bulbs reduce delay associated with merging in and out of bus zones

• Optimized placement of stops to minimize delay

• Parking removed from both sides at all times

(about 165 spaces total)

• Converting parallel parking to angled parking on

Turk between Baker and Central would create 20

additional spaces

• Potential to add additional angled parking on Turk

west of Masonic

• Concerns: Target overflow, loading and deliveries

Parking Impacts

Masonic Avenue Complete Street and Raised Cycletracks

Key Challenge: Cost $20 Million to Construct

Market Street

Separated bikeway, diversion of traffic, color

Market Street

Purpose: Reduce encroachment by cars and trucks onto the bike

lane and sidewalk, to increase the feeling of safety for cyclists.

Results: Vehicles traveling in the bikeway reduced by 96%.

Double parking (in the bikeway or travel lane) reduced by 65%.

“Safe hit”posts and

green paint added to

buffered bike lane.

Market Street

44% increase in cyclists on

Market from 2009-2011.

Market Street “Super Sharrows” or “Green-Backed Sharrows”

Preliminary Findings: Cyclists changed their merging pattern,

but no increase in looking over shoulders or using hand signals.

No change in motorists behavior.

Purpose: Guide

cyclists through a

merge and to alert

motorists to the

presence of

cyclists. Also to

maintain branding

of colored bikeway.

• Higher Visibility

• Marketing/Branding

• However, cost is 5x to 10x cost of regular bike lane/marking

Colored Bicycle Facilities

Other Separated Bikeways/Cycletracks

Laguna Honda Boulevard

Division Street Alemany Boulevard

JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park Proposed Design

How to Create Space via Road Diets

27

Designing for Peak Motor Vehicle Flow

veh

icle

s p

er

ho

ur

Level of Service “F”

Peak

Peri

od

Unused Capacity

Unused

Capacity

# of vehicles per hour

Road Diets in SF

• Signals timing set to 13 mph progression at

11 intersections

• One of SF’s highest-use bicycle corridors (700

cyclists during 1.5 hour count – up from 220)

• Parallel corridors ideal for transit (Mission)

and automobile traffic (Guerrero)

• SF’s complex grid and topography limit where

green waves can be implemented

Other Treatments:

Valencia Green Wave

Wider Bike Lanes

Buffered Bike Lane Alemany Boulevard

Wider Bike + Parking Lane Scott Street

Pavement to Parks - “Parklets”

A result of improved inter-agency coordination

Car parking spaces converted to ped/bike uses

32

On-Street Bike Parking/Corrals

1 car space

=

10 to 12

bike

spaces

Space is a Limited Resource Use it Wisely and Efficiently

Changes in Mode Share in SF

Source: US Census American

Community Survey

Key Goal Positive Feedback Loop

MORE PEOPLE RIDING

More demand (for bicycle accommodation)

More

accommodation

More awareness

of cyclists More safety

Q/A…

Thank you!