SFMTA completes parking-protected bike lanes on 7th and 8th streets
New lanes were ordered by Mayor following deaths of two cyclists
When Mayor Ed Lee issued an executive directive on safe streets last summer after the deaths of Kate Slattery and Heather Miller, he pledged to complete parking-protected bike lanes on 7th and 8th streets between Market and Folsom by tomorrow. The official word is in: They’re done.
An SFMTA source tells us crews worked overtime — including late nights — to get the protected lanes completed by tomorrow’s deadline. City officials plan to celebrate the new lanes on Bike to Work Day next Thursday, May 11.
Chris Cassidy, communications director at the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, said the new lanes are a testament to the kind of high-quality infrastructure that San Franciscans can enjoy.
“People who bike, walk, drive and take transit all benefit from the SFMTA’s prompt work on improving these streets,” said Cassidy. “We cannot erase or un-do the heart-wrenching events of June 22, 2016, but we can honor the memories of those we’ve lost by charting a path to do more and do better to make our streets safe and welcoming for people of all backgrounds.”
Mayor Lee pledged to install three protected bike lanes within nine months of his August directive. The third protected bike lane was put in on a block of eastbound 13th street and just finished this morning.
Have you ridden in the new lanes? What do you think?
