S.F. getting 'green lanes' for bikes

Green bike lanes will become more common throughout San Francisco in the coming months. Green bike lanes will become more common throughout San Francisco in the coming months. Photo: Livable Streets Photo: Livable Streets Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close S.F. getting 'green lanes' for bikes 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

San Francisco streets are becoming more bicycle-friendly. In the past two years, more than 23 miles of bike lanes have been added to the city's streets - including separated lanes like the ones on JFK Drive, Cesar Chavez Street and Market Street - and on-street bike corrals are popping up all around town.

It's not just local bike riders who have noticed these changes; other cities and bicycle leaders have as well: In May, San Francisco was chosen as one of six cities to take part in the Green Lane Project, a campaign that aims to "build a world-class cycling network" in cities across the country. Over the next two years, the Green Lane Project, an initiative of Bikes Belong Foundation, will work closely with San Francisco and the other focus sites - Chicago; Austin; Portland, Ore.; Memphis; and Washington, D.C. - to install cycle tracks, or "green lanes," throughout the cities.

A green lane

Sometimes called cycle tracks, protected bike lanes or buffered bike lanes, green lanes are designated spaces for people on bicycles, spaces in the road that are separated from sidewalks and protected from cars, according to the Green Lane Project's website. In short, these lanes are separated from cars, offering a safe, protected ride. The lanes are inspired by lanes in European cities, like Copenhagen, where more than half of trips are reportedly done by bike.

Some green lanes, though not all, are painted green. And while they vary in design, the goal is to create safe and efficient bike lanes that are comfortable for users of all ages.

Why San Francisco?

The next generation of bikeways won't just be good for people who bike; they'll also include pedestrian improvements and more greenery - offering a calmer, prettier and safer street for people biking and walking. (For example, changes set for Masonic Avenue will include a raised bikeway, curb extensions and 100 new trees.)

After a four-year injunction stalled most bicycle-related improvements, San Francisco has been quickly catching up since the injunction was fully lifted in 2010. Since then, cyclists have seen a number of changes to the city streets, including fresh green paint along the routes on the Wiggle (the flat route that connects the Lower Haight to the Panhandle), the city's first parking-protected green lane in Golden Gate Park and buffered bike lanes on 17th and Cesar Chavez streets. And bicycling is booming in San Francisco: In the past five years, the number of people biking in San Francisco has increased 71 percent.

Expect to see more bicycle-friendly changes to streets across San Francisco in the coming months. In early October, safe-hit posts - plastic posts that create a physical separation from vehicle traffic - were added to the bike lanes on eastern Cesar Chavez Street between Vermont and Pennsylvania streets. The Embarcadero hosted a pilot project during Fleet Week that allowed the city to test out ideas - like the physically separated bikeway on northbound Embarcadero from Washington Street to Bay Street - for better biking and walking along the popular waterfront route before making permanent changes.

On Oct. 16, the SFMTA unanimously approved bike and pedestrian safety improvements on three blocks of Fell and Oak streets along the Wiggle. Improvements will include a physically separated green lane, transforming the busy blocks into a safer corridor for all users. Construction will begin in the coming months.

Making S.F. safer

Separated bikeways, like the ones planned for Fell and Oak streets, will help thousands of people commute daily by bike. Gillis Kallem, a second-grade teacher and mother of two who lives along the Panhandle and bikes to work daily with her family, says that San Francisco "can be a better place for people who choose a simpler way of life. I'd like to feel better about taking my children out on the streets with bikes."

The Green Lane Project is set to do just that.

For more information, go to the Green Lane Project website ( www.greenlaneproject.org) and stay up to date with all the news in San Francisco and the other focus cities by reading the Green Lane Project blog at www.greenlaneproject.org/blog.

Bike About Town is presented by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, a 12,000-member nonprofit dedicated to creating safer streets and more livable communities by promoting the bicycle for everyday transportation. For more biking resources, go to www.sfbike.org.