BIKE NOPA

Write the Letter, Make the Difference for Better Biking on Fell and Oak

2012-01-10T10:40:00.001-08:00

One block of green-striped bike lane is not enough -- not when cyclists of all ages are inches away from motorists often traveling 30-45mph. We can all make cycling safer on Fell and Oak with separated bike lanes that benefit the whole neighborhood as traffic calming measures.

The SFMTA, the SF Bicycle Coalition, NOPNA, ASNA and other community groups have weighed in on the importance of safer cycling between the Wiggle bike route and the Panhandle. Changes to the current configuration of traffic for all users will be necessary, but safety and the city's commitment to alternative transportation must become priorities.

Please take a few minutes and jot a few thoughts in support of a safer bikeway along Fell and Oak between Scott and Baker -- three blocks that can give a huge boost to safety and livability in the city. Send you message to the Mayor and SFMTA Director Ed Reiskin. Urge them to follow-through on his commitment to safer biking for San Francisco with real, specific actions. Get a few tips about your letter here.

Add your experiences with biking this routes, and why changes are needed. Urge Director Reiskin and his staff to not get overly sidetracked by the resistance from a few about possible parking removal.

Add your voice today: SFMTA is close to closing public input for this phase of the planning process. Send your message and help improve biking conditions along this essential route.

USF Campus Bike Plan To Be Unveiled December 1st

2011-11-29T17:19:00.000-08:00

Photo: usfca.edu

San Francisco’s bikes-for-transportation momentum gets another boost on December 1st when the University of San Francisco unveils its Campus Bicycle Transportation Plan. This past semester more than 600 students, faculty and staff registered their concerns and ideas for building a strong bicycle culture on campus in a study conducted by Stephen Zavetoski, PhD and his students.

Primary concerns on campus include a lack of bike parking in convenient locations, lack of covered, secure bike parking, and too few facilities such as showers and changing rooms. Respondents also registered support for safer, protected bike lanes along the primary streets used to reach USF, including Fell and Oak between the Wiggle bike route and the campus which lies just west of Masonic Avenue. The San Francisco Transportation Agency is currently studying proposals for safer bike travel on Fell and Oak between Scott and Baker, an essential link for cyclists traveling east-west. A proposal for traffic-calming and safety enhancements on Masonic Avenue has already cleared a public hearing and is now under environmental review.

According to Zavetoski, the presentation on December 1st will include a full set of recommendations for increased bicycling at USF based on the study data. “These will include improvement of on-campus amenities as well as recommendations for information and education campaigns that can lower some of the perceived barriers around traffic safety and hills.” Zavetoski is the Sustainability Director in the USF College of Arts & Sciences. For more information, see USFpedals.

USF Campus Bicycle Transportation Plan Presentation
Dec 1 2-3:30 pm
Maraschi Room, Fromm Hall

University of San Francisco Campus map

Funds Approved for Masonic Avenue Environmental Review

2011-10-25T15:43:00.000-07:00

This morning the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA) Board approved funding for an environmental review of the Masonic Streetscape Improvement Project. None of the board members expressed hesitation or concern with the proposal to transform Masonic with a "Complete Streets" re-design, including a landscaped median and landscaped sidewalks, bus bulbouts, and a pair of raised, separate bike lanes.

A few audience members -- including Andy Thornley of the SF Bicycle Coalition -- were ready to testify to the merits of the proposal and affirm the extensive public outreach that accompanied the project design process, but none seemed necessary. None of the board members commented on the project and no audience members expressed opposition. Although he raised concerns a week earlier -- possibly due to a lack of briefing about the project -- Supervisor Scott Weiner supported the project this morning. He responded by email to BIKE NOPA yesterday afternoon, writing that he that he thought Masonic was "a good project."

As a result of today's vote, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) will receive $41,000 to oversee and fund the environmental review which will mostly be conducted by the city's Planning Department. The study will be underway for six months, according to SFMTA staff. In June 2012 staff expect the proposal to be submitted to the SFMTA Board of Commissioners with a recommendation for approval.

For more stories about the Masonic project, check here.

County Transportation Authority Board To Consider Funds for Masonic Project

2011-10-24T07:58:00.000-07:00

Masonic residents favor a safer, more user-friendly corridor for all

Photo: Michael Helquist

The re-design of Masonic Avenue could move one step closer to implementation Tuesday morning depending on the vote of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA). The Authority's board will consider approving $41,000 of Prop K funds for an environmental review study for the Masonic Streetscape Improvement Project. The board will consider the proposal without a recommendation for action from a committee that reviewed the measure earlier. (The full San Francisco Board of Supervisors serve as the SFCTA Board).

Last week two members of the SFCTA Plans and Programs Committee -- Supervisors Scott Weiner and Carmen Chu -- expressed considerable concern about the removal of parking from Masonic as part of the design plan. They also questioned whether the public had been adequately notified of the project and whether the public was engaged in the planning process. Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi assured them of the comprehensive outreach undertaken, but the two supervisors apparently remained unconvinced and the committee sent the funding request to the full Authority board without recommendation.

Questioning whether the public has been adequately informed can be a legitimate inquiry from someone unfamiliar with developments for a major transportation corridor. Or it can be a knee-jerk reaction to any alteration to public use of public space, especially when parking is involved. For the Masonic improvements, the record of public outreach and notification is so overwhelming that the full Board has little reason to repeat the hesitations of a few committee members.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) conducted one of the most thorough outreach efforts to date to engage the public with plans to make Masonic better and safer for all users. The MTA convened three community meetings over several months with attendance reaching more than 100 for the third one. Participants reviewed every facet of four different designs, refining some and rejecting others. For each meeting Masonic residents and those on nearby blocks were contact door-by-door. For the last meeting the MTA also mailed notices to more than 1400 Masonic households and to those who reside one block away.

The previous Masonic project manager, Javad Mirabdal, now retired, met personally with each of the nearby neighborhood associations to discuss the project. Members from the Ewing Terrace, University Terrace, Anza Vista, and North of the Panhandle groups all discussed with him the impact of design changes -- including removal of parking.

The neighborhood associations also got the word out. The North Panhandle's NOPNA distributes its newsletter to the more than 3500 households located between Masonic and Divisadero, Turk and Fell. Several issues provided updates on the Masonic proposals. Advocacy organizations like the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition with 12,000 members, WalkSF, Fix Masonic and others repeatedly informed its membership of the design options.

Various websites tracked each development of the Masonic plan, including Streetsblog and BIKE NOPA. This site alone published more than a dozen articles about the planning process -- as well as covering the pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities that occurred on Masonic in the last two years.

In addition to neighborhood associations, the Masonic plan received a vote of support from the San Francisco Day School, located at Masonic and Golden Gate, and the Blood Centers of the Pacific at Masonic and Turk.

The degree of public engagement with the Masonic proposal has been remarkable and a testament to the public's desire for safer, traffic-calmed, user-friendly thoroughfares. The SFCTA staff has recommended approval of the funding request and has submitted a full accounting of public outreach at tomorrow's meeting. The argument for approval is persuasive.

San Francisco County Transportation Authority

Tuesday, 11 am

City Hall, Room 250

Check here for the series of articles on A Better Masonic.

Correction: The earlier version of this story mistakenly listed Supervisor Jane Kim as one of the committee members who voiced concerns about the Masonic Project. My apologies to Supervisor Kim.

It's Gone At Last: Lyon Street Eyesore Removed after 3+ Years

2011-10-06T15:38:00.000-07:00

The NE corner of Lyon and Golden Gate hasn't been clear like this for a very long time

Just after the morning downpour, the scaffolding was dismantled

New and nearly completed emergency exits on Golden Gate side of building

All this structure for a fire escape the last three years

At the end of the day it was simple: remove the ungainly, ill-suited scaffolding eyesore and replace it with standard regulation fire escapes. For NOPA neighbors it was the blight that wouldn't go away. Until today. Now at last the Lyon and Golden Gate corner is clear of the obstruction. The sidewalk is safer for pedestrians, two spaces are open for street parking, and, most importantly, the apartment building residents have a safer exit from the building should a fire strike.

BIKE NOPA has been covering this story for more than a year, beginning with a post in January of 2010. Three more followed to urge a resolution and mobilize neighbors who had really had enough of what came to represent frustrations with the city's permit approval process and, apparently, reluctance of the owner to foot the bill and do the right thing.

Sometimes a more livable street comes about from what's removed, not what's added. Time for a celebration all around.

BIKE NOPA Takes A Break -- Book Deadline Prompts Shift

2011-09-29T20:33:00.000-07:00

Dr. Marie Equi, 1872-1952 Oregon Historical Society #23491

Dear Readers,

The time has come for a break and to shift more time to another passion: completing a biography begun a few years ago.

I started BIKE NOPA more than two years ago to increase awareness in the North Panhandle about the feasibility of bicycling for everyday transportation. Part of my impetus resulted from the initial hesitation of neighborhood leaders to endorse more bike lanes through NOPA in 2009. (In that case it was lanes for McAllister and Masonic -- proposals that were later dropped from the city's bike plan). I thought neighbors were perhaps unaware of how many cyclists live in NOPA and need safe routes for travel or of the diversity of neighborhood riders.

I started a gradual campaign, taking notice of the streets around us and profiling the cyclists who live next door or nearby. I launched the series Women on Wheels and Dads on Bikes. I interviewed older and younger riders, professionals and entrepreneurs, women as well as men, marathon riders and crosstown commuters.

I never expected that NOPA would generate so much content. With just 30 or so square blocks, this is a small neighborhood. But bordered by four vehicle-dominated thoroughfares -- Fell, Oak, Divisadero and Masonic -- and sporting an essential link in the city's cross-town bike travel, NOPA's realities reflected many of the top questions San Franciscans face about how to use our public spaces.

In two years NOPA has seen a slew of developments that led to dozens of stories here:

a partial re-design of Divisadero that revitalized the corridor
a successful push-back of city plans for freeway-style signs (SFgo) on Fell and Oak
a surge of advocacy for a safer approach to Divisadero on the Wiggle bike route
the launch of the first neighborhood-based block party all about bikes (BIKE THE BLOCK in September 2009)
start-up of the first neighborhood-based monthly bicycling group, NOPA VELO
the arrival of Sunday Streets to NOPA in September 2010
a push for a safer Masonic for all road users, a grass-roots campaign that few expected to succeed until last May when the plan cleared a public hearing
an effort to reclaim Panhandle Park as a destination for neighbors and visitors, one that deserves capital improvements and better stewardship
a vision to transform Fell and Oak between Scott and Baker (and then beyond to Stanyan) for safer transportation with new separated bike routes

Everyday journalism requires a huge amount of time. To get the story right, to earn the trust of public officials and advocates, and to help push an agenda of enhanced livability demand a responsibility I take seriously. For this work I think it's essential to develop a voice and a point of view -- one that readers approach with confidence whether they agree or not. I've really enjoyed the challenge.

Now I'm shifting my time to the story of Dr. Marie Equi, a woman of conscience and conviction who never let social or political norms keep her from the pursuit of her passions. She worked in New Bedford textile mills as a teenager in the 1880s, fled to Central Oregon a decade later to homestead with her female companion, managed to scandalize a rural outpost by horse-whipping a local minister in the streets, studied for medical school in San Francisco and became one of Oregon's early woman physicians. She kept her ties to the Bay Area and joined a doctor train from Portland in April 1906 to help earthquake-stricken San Franciscans, earning her a medal from the U.S. Army. (Her homestead companion had married and settled her family in one of NOPA's landmark houses along Fell).

Marie became publicly identified as a lesbian in Portland after her passionate affair with a young heiress led to front-page stories of a family dispute over her new companion's inheritance. From the personal to the political, Marie engaged the times. The public tumult of the early 20th century led Marie on a course from hearty progressivism to staunch anarchism. She championed the rights of the underpaid and the unemployed, of women in need of birth control information. In labor disputes, she often wrestled with cops and refused to follow court orders. She developed a reputation. The birth control advocate Margaret Sanger once wrote that Marie was "a rebellious soul -- generous, kind, brave but so radical in her thinking that she was almost an outcast in Portland."

Marie objected to the capitalistic motives that led the U.S. to enter World War One, and for this she was tried by the government as a subversive and sentenced to three years at San Quentin prison. Through all this, Marie remained so devoted to her profession that friends referred to her simply as "Doc."

How could I not want to tell the full story of Marie's life and times? She died in Portland in 1952, but 60 years later her struggle to be politically active, romantically involved, and fully engaged in her profession is spot-on relevant to many of us today.

My deadline approaches (please don't ask when). I'm fortunate to have a wonderful editor at Oregon State University Press. She is a huge supporter of my bike advocacy. (OSU Press published "Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists Are Changing American Cities" by Jeff Mapes). But she'd also like to get the story of Marie Equi on the market.

I'm not abandoning BIKE NOPA. There are stories I'm too committed to following, like the implementation of the Masonic Re-design. I'm sticking with it until San Franciscans can stroll and bike and live along a transformed corridor made more livable for all.

I have been blessed with great readers and sources, allies and friends while writing BIKE NOPA. I hope you all know how much your interest and support have meant to me. One request: as I pursue greater dialogue with my keyboard and monitor, please do suggest coffee breaks and lunches. (The isolated nature of writing bugs me).

Curious about Marie Equi, the "stormy petrel of the Pacific Northwest"? Here's some of what I've written about her:

For Lesbian To The Rescue: Marie Equi and the Oregon Doctor Train, a slide and lecture first presented in San Francisco for the 2006 earthquake centennial, expect a repeat on April 18th of 2012.

Masonic Avenue Redesign Fading As A City Priority

2011-09-26T16:47:00.000-07:00

Bryan Goebel, editor of Streetsblog, and Michael Helquist

Image: SF Planning Department's City Design Group

On Bike to Work Day last May, Mayor Ed Lee told Streetsblog that he would look into speeding up funding for a sorely needed redesign of Masonic Avenue, one of San Francisco's most notorious arterial streets. The project seemed to be a priority for him, especially in the wake of two high-profile collisions that took the lives of Nils Yannick Linke and James Hudson.

“It’s very deserving of attention, particularly when it comes to pedestrian safety," Lee told Streetsblog on May 12.

“It’s time we take back Masonic Boulevard,” Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi proclaimed that same day at the Bike to Work press conference on the steps of City Hall. "It’s time that we actually step up the city’s game in making sure that Masonic is safe for bicyclists and pedestrians."

Now, nearly four months after the Masonic redesign was approved at an SFMTA engineering hearing, the plan is plodding its way through the vast city bureaucracy, its funding is uncertain and it is in danger of winding up on the shelf like so many other good projects unless City Hall puts some political muscle behind it.

The project hit a snag recently when the SFMTA was denied a $700,000 grant from Caltrans to pay for the design costs. A $41,000 request to complete an environmental impact report (EIR) is expected to be approved by the San Francisco County Transportation Authority soon. But a funding source for the biggest chunk, $18 million for construction, has still not been identified.

"The SFMTA is working with the Department of Public Works to refine the design cost estimate, and will apply to another funding source for design funds. A funding request made for construction funds is still pending. Meanwhile, other construction funding sources are being evaluated," said SFMTA spokesperson Paul Rose.

That doesn't sound particularly hopeful.

Advocates who have been pushing for a safer Masonic for more than seven years now have widespread neighborhood support for the redesign, which would dramatically re-engineer the street, adding a landscaped median, bus bulbs, a 6-foot wide raised cycletrack and other amenities to benefit pedestrians, bicyclists and transit riders.

Just a few years ago a safer, more livable Masonic was a project that pedestrian, transit, and bicycling advocates – along with city officials -- wanted to see implemented, but few thought possible. At first Masonic was part of the citywide bike plan that the SFMTA is now implementing, but the vital north-south corridor was dropped from the proposal, partly because it seemed unlikely to get broad public support. Yet nearby residents have surprised city officials with significant backing for a transformed street.

As early as 2008 more than 500 Masonic Avenue neighbors petitioned the city for a traffic corridor that worked better for all users. They ranked a dozen priorities to increase safety, traffic flow and improve the appearance of the street. The grass-roots group Fix Masonic rallied neighborhood associations, parents of kids at nearby schools, and district supervisors to support the plan. Together with the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, Walk SF, and other advocacy groups, Fix Masonic helped secure funding for a feasibility and design study. By June of 2010 the SFMTA started a series of three community meetings to get public input and support for a revitalized Masonic, employing many of the traffic calming strategies proposed two years earlier. By October of last year, Masonic project manager Javad Mirabdal described the Masonic design as a “once in a lifetime” opportunity.

Although some westside residents preferred a less ambitious version for a changed corridor, the majority who participated in SFMTA and neighborhood association surveys preferred the Complete Streets option known as the Boulevard.

If implemented, the Masonic proposal could transform city neighborhoods, ensure a safer, more attractive means of transportation for all users, improve environmental impacts along the corridor, and boost property values and city revenue. The re-design of Masonic could reflect a determination by the city to step up to a higher level of livability in San Francisco.

It's time for Mayor Lee, and others at City Hall, to put their words into action, and for new Director Ed Reiskin to use the visionary and political skills that got him the job at the SFMTA to ensure that the Masonic Avenue redesign gets implemented soon instead of it getting mired in city bureaucracy.

Summertime Weather Swells Turnout for NOPA's Sunday Streets

2011-09-11T20:20:00.000-07:00

This time the weather was perfect -- sunny, warm and only a slight breeze -- for Sunday Streets in the Western Addition, NOPA, Alamo Square and the Fillmore. Today thousands of neighbors and friends from all over San Francisco gathered on several blocks open to walking, biking, games, painting, live music, dancing and claiming a sofa seat in the middle of the street.

Thanks to the organizers -- the amazing Livable City with Sunday Streets director Susan King, program coordinator Beth Byrne, the hundreds of volunteers with the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, and collaboration with the SF Municipal Transportation Agency -- for an amazing event where everyone could enjoy public spaces and envision a safer, more equitable way to share our streets.

For views of Summer Streets in NOPA 2010, check here.

Sunday Streets Returns to NOPA: Block-by-Block Route & Programs

2011-09-07T22:32:00.000-07:00

Only once a year can you see nine blocks of NOPA like this -- streets wide open for walking, biking, painting, live music, kids events, dancing, more live music, bike rental and repair, hanging out with neighbors in the middle of the street and much more.

This Sunday, September 11, Sunday Streets returns with hopes for even better weather than last year's drizzly debut. From 11am to 4pm blocks of Central, Grove, Baker, and Fulton will be free of vehicles. Check out the info here (pdf) about the route and all the events in NOPA and to east in Alamo Square and the Fillmore.

Advisory for those with vehicles: don't park on any of the nine blocks along the route through NOPA after 11pm Saturday night. Cars will be towed.

New Green Sidewalk Thriving: Lessons Learned

2011-08-22T16:07:00.000-07:00

Photos: Michael Helquist

The concrete’s gone, the plants are in, purple spikes and yellow blossoms flash along the sidewalk. Once it starts raining, the permeable aspect – letting the rain water reach the aquifer instead of the sewer – begins. It’s green, healthy and just the start of what we can do together for a more sustainable future.

Any good project deserves reflection and evaluation. What went really well, what surprised us, what might we have done better, and how well did the city permit process work?

Planning

For a large project, get input from friends and neighbors – we held a Design Lab last fall to exchange ideas
Attend the city’s Grey2Green workshop
Enlist the help of a landscape architect* to prepare drawings to-scale, select materials and plants, order at wholesale outlets and guide the planting
Have several pairs of eyes read the city’s sidewalk use restrictions
Host an event to present plans (and a fundraiser, if needed, to cover costs)
Remember to plan for every stage – including removal of the dirt
Make it a work party – so much better with music and food provided

From Grey2Green

Expect concrete cutting and removal to cost at least $5.50 per square foot
Schedule the concrete work to coincide with street cleaning hours and avoid the risk of damaging vehicles parked nearby during demolition
Expect to remove a lot of dirt – it will be sand or clay
Prep the required edging a few days before – the workday will be busy enough
Place new plants with soil and mulch one inch below the sidewalk or curb surface – this will help contain the rain water and irrigation

After the Planting

Celebrate and post photos online, thank everyone
Depending on the season and weather, water frequently to get plants thriving

Now We Know

Really do plan for dirt removal – we thought of everything but this
Read the city regs one more time – especially about the edging & courtesy paths
Do the prep work with the edging materials ahead of time – we rushed to saw 4"x6" beams and drill holes right before the workday started
Keep at the fundraising – unexpected costs will occur
Work can proceed in two phases – we left another stretch of sidewalk for the future

Working the System

City staff are friendly & enthusiastic,** but sometimes difficult to contact initially
You can’t get begin the work without a permit; allow 2-4 weeks
An initial inspection is required
Be sure to get a final inspection – the city sign-off increases liability protection
City website – DPW Bureau of Urban Forestry -- needs to be more user-friendly

How Much Did It Cost?

We removed 160 square feet of concrete at $5.50 per square foot
We purchased almost 100 plants and shrubs – we bought more mature plants
Plants and soil were obtained from a wholesale firm through our landscape architect
Total cost: approximately $3400
Total donations: approximately $3400***

Was It Worth It? Stop by Turk & Lyon and then start plans for your own Grey2Green project

* James Munden, senior landscape architect, at Marta Fry Landscape Associates/MFLA Studio, made all the difference to the success of this project

** Thanks to Markos Major, DPW Bureau of Urban Forestry for getting us through the permit process

*** Huge thanks to major donors Rev. Sally Bingham; Oz Erickson, President of the Emerald Fund and all those who supported this project from start to finish and at points in-between

Note: article first published at Green Turk & Lyon.

Sunday Streets Set for Western Addition/NOPA September 11th

2011-08-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

Adding more pink, Sunday Streets NOPA 2010 Photo: Michael Helquist

Which bands will play outside Matching Half Cafe this year?

Photo: Michael Helquist

Western Addition/NOPA Route for Sunday Streets Sept. 11, 2011

No sooner did the "clear the streets" call come at the close of the Civic Center/ Tenderloin Sunday Streets yesterday than organizers shifted into gear for the September 11 street celebration in the Western Addition, NOPA, Alamo Square, and the Fillmore. (Perhaps it was low-gear with a day or two off).

A few route changes accompany this year's event after the successful, if drizzly, debut in the area in 2010:

the west-end still begins in the Panhandle and travels north on Central and then east on Grove to Divisadero with a spur up the Baker hill to stop at McAllister. This year the crossover street, the east-west transition, is Fulton. Still a hill to ride and walk but not the steep slalom Golden Gate presented last year
Alamo Square will be more directly involved -- hello neighbors! -- with Fulton sidling Alamo Square park
Fillmore defines the east-end from Fulton to Geary but the route doesn't extend further north or further east

The new route is more compact, manageable and focused. Programs and scheduling are largely left to the wishes and initiatives of residents, local businesses and organizations. But Sunday Streets will provide the usual kids activities, dance, exercise sessions, skate time, bike programs and lots of music.

More information to come but Save the Date and plan your events.

Details:

Sunday Streets Western Addition

Includes North Panhandle, Alamo Square and Fillmore neighborhoods

September 11, 2011

11 am to 4 pm

www.SundayStreetsSF.com

Parking Restrictions

Sunday Streets works so well because it opens the streets to walking, biking, people-watching, bands and kids play. But that means no parking from 11pm Saturday September 10th until 4pm Sunday September 11th. Remind yourself, remind your family and friends. Vehicles will be towed and who needs that?

One Year Ago: 22-Year-Old Yannick Linke Struck and Killed by Speeding Motorist on Masonic Avenue

2011-08-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

Yannick Linke's grave in Berlin. Photo: Petra Linke

"We are stardust. Billion year old carbon. We are golden." -- a favorite lyric for Yannick Linke

Flowers placed on Masonic sidewalk at Turk by Petra Linke

in honor of her only son. Photo: Michael Helquist

One year ago Yannick Linke, a 22-year-old German college student and visitor to San Francisco, was struck and killed by a speeding motorist while riding his bicycle on Masonic Avenue. He had arrived in the city a few days earlier to visit friends as part of a holiday trip to the United States. On August 9th, four days before his death, Linke celebrated his birthday.

Petra Linke, Yannick's mother, visited San Francisco for the first time three weeks ago and stopped at the site of her son's death. Amid the roar of the traffic and afternoon fog, she laid flowers at the same location where her daughter Sophia had placed candles a few months earlier. City crews long ago removed the ghost bike locked to a utility pole at the site and the wind chimes placed to commemorate the young man at a memorial two weeks after his death. For that occasion, more than 100 bicyclists and community members gathered in grief to pay their respects at Masonic and Turk. For her visit, Petra Linke requested the company of bicyclists who had participated in last year's memorial when she walked to the intersection.

Petra Linke had timed her visit to coincide with a preliminary Superior Court hearing for the charges brought against the motorist who struck and killed her son while driving south on Masonic. (Lawyers for the Linke family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the driver, 36-year-old Joshua Calder in January). He has been ordered to stand trial for vehicular manslaughter, hit-and-run, and driving under the influence. As reported in the San Francisco Examiner, Assistant District Attorney Todd Barrett stated in court that Calder had the alcohol equivalent of seven drinks in his system in addition to THC from smoking marijuana. The defense attorney, Daniel Barton, argued that although Calder had been drinking, his alcohol blood level was within legal limits. Calder has pleaded not guilty. Soon after the collision, he posted the $500,000 bail. Judge Newton Lam ordered the defendant to return to court for a formal arraignment on September 1st.

Petra Linke wrote from Berlin last week of her plans on her son's birthday:

I would like to say I miss Yannick and the whole family does. It is very hard to live without his funny and very much interesting view on music, travelling, his studies. I will go to his grave on Tuesday, his birthday, and I will put shells from Florida and New Jersey. And a birthday candle. I hope for justice.

Yannick Linke, traveller Photo provided by Sophia Linke

What to Expect of the New Target Store and the City Center Upgrade? Is Better Enough?

2011-08-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

Image: studioneleven

Change is coming to the City Center complex at Geary and Masonic, and most everyone seems to agree it’s good. A new Target outpost will bring a lot of color – heavy on the red – to the space once claimed by the bland Mervyn’s department store. The City Center campus will undergo a make-over as well with a new “refined color palette” for the exterior. Anza Vista residents and those from nearby neighborhoods want a more attractive and vibrant complex. Some welcome Target specifically; others just want the gaping Mervyn’s spot filled. Both Target and City Center received a positive nod from the Planning Commission last month, with a few reservations. On Thursday, August 11^th City Center will return to the planning board with modifications on outdoor design treatments.

Here’s what neighbors and shoppers can expect in March 2013 when Target is expected to open its second San Francisco store:

Target will fill 106,135 square feet on two levels – a combination of the old Mervyn’s and Good Guy’s spaces
Office Depot is downsizing significantly – shrinking its footprint by 14,000 square – and Target might expand into the vacated area
All 601 parking spaces will remain; bike parking will increase just a bit from 28 to 42 spaces plus a bike storage area
New signage – 15 foot directional signs in the parking lots -- will help rescue shoppers now bewildered by the trek to and from stores
Ten months of full construction
A more-noticeably branded center with outlet names showcased on the exterior
A proposed soaring sign tower -- from the current 20 ft to 35 feet -- unless the Planning Department requires a scaling back, as expected
A moderate amount of new landscaping to green some of the perimeter and parking lots

City Center will not be improving the ivy-covered blighted median along its Geary side. “We haven’t gone outside our property,” Adam Miller of City Center explained to a July 15 gathering of interested neighbors. And there won’t be much greening of the parking expanses since designers are reluctant to dig very deep on the multi-layered lots. Motorists can expect green walls – vertical landscaping – along the Geary exterior.

The Planning Department and the Municipal Transportation Agency negotiated two neighborhood investments from the development: new signal lights on Masonic. One will guide southbound left-turn traffic at O’Farrell to improve access to the rear parking lots. And one at Ewing for the small Ewing Terrace residential area. The projects represent a $500,000 expenditure. Target is considering financial assistance to the Booker T. Washington Community Service Center, the Jewish Vocational Services, and other local organizations – but no word on helping GLBT groups, even after the ongoing controversy over financing anti-gay candidates in Minnesota and trying to block same-sex marriage advocates from sidewalks along a few of its California outlets.

Once it clears the Planning Commission, Target and City Center will seek building permits and approval by the Board of Supervisors.

And At The Other End of the Block: Lyon St Eyesore Still Set To Come Down

2011-07-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

For years this structure has loomed over the sidewalk and claimed two parking spaces

It has nothing to do with scaffolding for painting; it's a "temporary" fire escape

Now that the corner of Lyon and Turk boasts new green, landscaped sidewalks, what about the opposite end of Lyon, down the hill at Golden Gate Avenue? Will neighbors on the 800 block of Lyon and passersby ever be relieved of that eyesore of a scaffolding posing as a fire escape? Apparently, yes, according to Pat Boscovich, a developer working for the property owner. As previously reported, Boscovich has been pushing to get this job completed for the owner, the neighbors, and to be done with the project altogether. He confirmed on Tuesday that the work is on track again.

I have received a copy of the contract between the property owner and the construction firm hired to install the new fire escapes. This should have been done two months ago, but evidently the first contractor hired went out of business.

Boscovich explained that the manufacture of the two new structures -- one for the Lyon street side of the corner apartment building and one for the Golden Gate side -- are being completed now, and he expects the first one, along Golden Gate, to be installed within two to three weeks.

At the top of the Lyon hill

Green Turk & Lyon L(a)unch Saturday July 23, Huge Success

2011-07-24T20:18:00.001-07:00

More than 40 people made San Francisco a greener city Saturday by turning grey to green at the corner of Turk and Lyon in NOPA. Friends, neighbors, and members of St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church came together for a long day in the dirt -- digging out sand and, unexpectedly, clay from below the newly exposed concrete sidewalk strips, adding 40 bags of new soil, settling in nearly 100 plants, and topping the new beds with fir bark. From start to finish a solid 8 hour day for those who remained to celebrate the tapping down of the last Berkeley sedge. A green lunch fueled volunteers mid-day along with live music.

St. Cyprian's Church and NOPA neighbors initiated the project last year during a Design Lab that developed proposals for how the church and community might work together more closely on neighborhood projects. One of the ideas was to green the sidewalks, making the corner where St. Cyprian's is situated more inviting and sustainable. In the months that followed students from the University of San Francisco undertook research of the city's permeable sidewalk permit process. This spring the Green Turk & Lyon Project was launched to take the project to completion.

Neighbors pitched in right away. James Munden, Senior Landscape Architect with Marta Fry Landscape Associates, developed drawings of how the Turk and Lyon might look a bit more green. Intrigued with the possibilities, more than 60 people contributed to a fundraiser at Chile Pies restaurant in May while others donated in the following weeks. St. Cyprian's completed the city's application process, paid the permit fee, and received permission to get the project underway in mid-July. Last Saturday volunteers pushed the project to completion.

Of the many who made the Green L(a)unch possible, special thanks to Marta Fry Landscape Associates, Duncan Ramsay for the terrific poster image, The Wigg Party, Yerba Buena Community Accupuncture, John Dennis, San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department, Department of Public Works Bureau of Urban Forestry, the California Jug Band Association, Erich Sylvester, Will Greene, and Kelsey Schleusener.

B2B Efforts Help NOPNA Snag Meeting with the Mayor, New District 5 Alliance Forming

2011-07-10T17:37:00.000-07:00

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee was so impressed with neighborhood organizers who helped deliver a less rowdy but festive Bay to Breakers footrace this year that his office invited the North Panhandle Neighborhood Association to host his first district-wide meeting on July 21. The mayor requested the meeting to discuss two measures due on the November ballot: pension reform and the $248 million streets repair bond.

Jarie Bolander, President of NOPNA, said the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services asked him to organize the meeting along with leaders of nine other neighbors and merchants associations. "It seemed like a natural follow-up," Bolander said, referring to the successful collaboration among the many groups who worked for months to improve the Bay to Breakers after widespread complaints followed the 2010 race.

Bolander also described the formation of a new District 5 organization, tentatively named the District 5 Merchants & Neighborhood Alliance. The new group will include representatives of ten existing neighbor and merchant groups and would serve as a link between them on district-wide issues. Bolander said they would likely seek non-profit status in the months ahead and function with shared leadership on a rotating basis.

For the July 21 meeting with the mayor, Bolander will offer a brief introduction and serve as moderator. The mayor will discuss the two ballot measures and solicit feedback from participants. Representatives from several city departments will also be present at the meeting.

Pension reform has, of course, become an issue nationally. In San Francisco, much of the "city family" of elected officials and business and community leaders have agreed on one strategy to go before the voters, but there remains the possibility that Public Defender Jeff Adachi will advance an alternative proposal. No one disagrees with the need for extensive reconstruction and repair of city streets, but the prospect of paying for the work through a bond measure continues to trouble some observers.

NOPNA/District 5 Meeting

Thursday, July 21

7pm - 9:00 pm

SF Day School

350 Masonic @ Golden Gate (enter on Golden Gate)

Secure bike parking available

SF Day School is on Muni line #43 Masonic and is one block from #31 Balboa and the #5 McAllister

The Man for Masonic: James Shahamiri, New Project Manager for Troubled Corridor

2011-06-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

Photo: James Shahamiri

Image: SF Planning Department

James Shahamiri, a civil engineer, thought he’d be designing buildings or bridges by now. Instead, he found his “true passion” lies with transportation. He credits a remarkable internship with the City of Oakland’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Program for the discovery a few years ago. Shahamiri has been a transportation engineer with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) for three years where he has worked on several projects, including his favorite, the re-design of 7th Avenue and Laguna Honda Blvd.

I remember riding that route every weekend back in my youth. Coming back and improving those streets for bikes was pretty cool, and definitely something I never would have thought I’d have a hand in when I was younger.

Bicyclists and motorists who use the western end of Fell street ride through one of Shahamiri’s other projects, the partial re-design of traffic and bike lanes between Scott and Divisadero and along the ARCO station. In the midst of much contention over parking removal, global oil politics, and the right to safe travel, he helped SFMTA install what no one, including himself, considers perfect, but most have come to agree is a decided improvement. Shahamiri is completing work now on the new bicycle lanes on Phelan Avenue by City College. Although he’s been enjoying his new bicycle, Shahamiri is not a bike-only guy. He relies mostly on Muni to get around the city and sometimes skips the bus to walk instead.

Earlier this month Shahamiri became manager for the Masonic Streetscape Project following the retirement of Javad Mirabdal who led the community design process for Masonic through a successful public hearing. The following excerpts are from his first interview since taking the new position.

You’ve been involved with the re-design of Masonic for some time, including work with the grassroots group Fix Masonic.
My role during the initial Fix Masonic meetings, going back to 2008, was to provide input and support for the community at the early planning stages for a larger project that eventually became the Masonic Streetscape project.

Last year you helped develop different options for a re-design of Masonic. How did the Boulevard plan with removal of all on-street parking become one of the alternatives?
The Boulevard option became one of the four possibilities based on community feedback we received during the first Masonic Streetscape meetings. People really wanted a new look and feel for Masonic, something to transform it from the urban freeway it is today into not only a safer place to walk, bike, or drive, but also a more pleasant place to be.

Were you surprised that there was little organized opposition to the Boulevard proposal leading up to the public hearing in May?
To be honest, yes, it was a bit of a surprise. In a city like San Francisco, parking is a difficult thing to remove. The Boulevard option was a bold proposal, but the community has been asking for dramatic improvements to Masonic for many years now. Through the community process, I think everyone understood that in terms of priorities, parking was toward the bottom of the list.

The Masonic study was a collaborative effort among city departments that historically have not worked together closely. Is a new norm developing for how to tackle large re-design projects?
Interdepartmental collaboration is becoming the norm. Having a design team composed of members of various city agencies really helps the city deliver the best possible project. Each agency brings their experience and expertise to the table. This enables the design team to consider ideas and solutions that might not have been apparent if each agency worked in isolation.

After the public hearing last month, project staff said 4-6 months would likely pass before the SFMTA Board of Directors would consider the Masonic plan. Why such a long time to get this legislated?
Because this is a full streetscape project and not simply a restriping of the roadway, environmental review needs to consider many items. Aside from the traffic analysis, things like air quality, noise and construction impacts also need review.

But the bicycle and traffic design changes were covered in the environmental review that preceded the lifting of the bicycle injunction. Why additional review now and who is conducting it?
The options for Masonic that were analyzed and cleared in the Bicycle Plan review are not identical to what the Boulevard option proposes. Because there are differences, further analysis is needed. … The environmental review is being conducted by the Planning Department.

What has to happen before design changes appear on the street?
After the project is environmentally cleared, it will go to the SFMTA board for the legislative approval necessary for the parking and traffic changes needed for the project. Once this approval is received, detailed designs and construction can begin.

Are you and the SFMTA staff seeking funding now before the project has been approved?
Yes, SFMTA is seeking funding for both detailed design and construction through several sources right now.

Others interested in the Masonic project suggest that an initial phase could involve the landscaped median, removal of parking, and bike lanes striped but without a cycle track treatment or the bus bulb-outs and sidewalk landscaping.
We’re assessing our implementation strategy. It really depends on how the funding works out. The complete build-out of the Boulevard proposal will cost about $18 million, which could be challenging to secure all at once. That said, we’re trying to get the project built as quickly as possible.

Waiting two years or more for actual changes on the street frustrates everyone who feels the street remains unsafe. What more will be done by the SFMTA to improve safety in the meantime?
I think we’ve done a good job implementing measures on Masonic to increase compliance with existing traffic laws and regulations. We’ve heard many great ideas from the community, and we’ve implemented most of them. We’ve lowered the speed limit to 25 MPH, installed radar speed signs, re-striped the lane lines and added “25 MPH” markings, and re-timed the traffic signals for 25 MPH progression. In the near term, we’ll also be upgrading several traffic lights to add pedestrian signals and improved signal visibility for motorists.

I won’t say there’s nothing else we can do, but there aren’t many more low-cost improvements to be made. The next step is really the re-design of the roadway itself, to make it self-enforcing in terms of user behavior. That’s the track we’re on now.

In your experience as a traffic engineer, how much enforcement – and how frequently scheduled – is needed to stop the speeding on Masonic?
I really can’t speak for SFPD. I know they have stepped up their enforcement of Masonic Avenue in the past year.

I’m a big fan of the “three E’s”: Engineering, Education, and Enforcement. Without all three, it’s difficult to change people’s behavior. Streets need to be designed for the expected behaviors, users need to be educated on how to use the street, and lastly, the expected behavior needs to be enforced. If one or more of these steps is missing, it’s tough to get to the goal of safe, inviting streets for all.

Masonic area neighbors and livability advocates want to help push the project forward. How do you see them helping?
I’ll start by saying that the Masonic Streetscape project is a direct result of the efforts by community members and livability advocates. Without all their hard work and pressure, Masonic would not be the priority it is today.

There is still a lot of work to be done before the project goes on the ground. The community and advocates need to keep doing what they’ve been doing: maintaining a collaborative, unified vision of how they want Masonic to look and feel. It’s this community-driven vision that’s ultimately moving this project forward.

For other stories in the A Better Masonic series, check here.

Families For A More Livable City: Pedal Power Projects & Bike DIY

2011-06-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

Reptilian projects await...and pedal-powered ice cream too

Photo: The Ecology Center of San Francisco

One more family outing in the city this weekend: The Ecology Center of San Francisco (ECOSF) hosts a free monthly event called Bakers Alley at its School Farm site to learn and trade ideas about sustainable living skills and urban farming.

Kids -- and parents too -- gather for a community potluck and bake pizzas in an earthen oven this Saturday while they talk about bikes and bicycling in the Bay Area. Group leaders will demonstrate DIY bike repair and encourage folks to consider their bike's potential as a pedal power machine. The larger context is ECOSF's commitment to work with groups and organizations that seek more a livable (bikeable and walkable) urban infrastructure for San Francicsco. Who doesn't want to know how to make smoothies and ice cream while pedaling a bike?

ECO-SF's Bakers Alley: Bike Maintenance & Pedal Power

Saturday, June 25, 11 am to 5pm
@ The School Farm, 555 Portola Dr, San Francisco
Enter campus via O'Shaugnessy Blvd & Portola
"And more location details from ECO-SF:

Next to the athletic field at the School of the Arts and the Academy of Arts and Sciences. Close to 36, 44, 48, and 52 Muni lines. From the parking area on O'Shaughnessy, walk down the hill to the right towards the athletic field. Limited parking is available further down driveway at loading dock, just keep driveway clear and please do not park on the grass. We'll be on the farm the behind the bleachers across the field."

Info: Davin, (415) 846-8164

Sweet Sailing Through The City

2011-06-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

Mission Bicycle Company from 4SP Films on Vimeo.

I meant to post this film from Mission Bicycle Company months ago. When I ran into Jefferson McCarley, Mission Bike store manager, last week at The Summit in the Mission, I remembered how much the film expresses the sheer joy of bicycling. Jefferson tells his own bicycling story so well that his enthusiasm and appreciation make Connecting the City a no-brainer. I first met Jefferson at a SF Bicycle Coalition event a few years ago when I was a new member, and I thought this is a very cool organization to have someone like him as a really active member.

This short documentary about "self-expression and freedom on two wheels" is partly about a great bike shop in the Mission, not in NOPA, that I like to visit. But it also tells the story of two cyclists and what being on two wheels means to them. There are clips of biking in the Panhandle and NOPA so there's the neighborhood connection (if you're wondering). These are beautiful bikes, some hand-crafted with take-notice colors. Check out the one cyclist Jake Swartz built at Mission Bike.

"As long as I'm riding my bike and at least I have that one moment by myself...there's just me sailing through the city." I'm there.

Photo: Mission Bicycle Company

NOPA Streets: Baker Bike Lanes Re-striped, SFMTA Beats Its Own Schedule

2011-06-21T16:58:00.000-07:00

Every other block re-striped following recent re-paving

Baker to the south, ready to complete the lane striping

Less than a week ago the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) said crews could not re-stripe the traffic and bike lanes on Baker between Fell and Turk for several weeks, sometime in July. But today three blocks of traffic lanes have their bright white stripes and the bike icons and markings have a fresh coat of thermoplasty -- although a few areas of the bike lanes await their turn. Thanks to Damon Curtis of SFMTA for coordinating the bike lane striping and the paint crews. They always seem to love being out on the street striping bike lanes. Be sure to say hello where ever you see them.

The smooth and striped blocks are primed to host thousands of neighbors and visitors on foot and wheels when Sunday Streets returns to NOPA on September 11th.

Note: Yes, blatant and intentional product placement in the photos.

NOPA Streets: Baker Lanes to be Re-striped in July

2011-06-16T09:41:00.000-07:00

A few Baker blocks were re-striped following re- paving in April

SFMTA crews will re-stripe three blocks of Baker street sometime in July once two large bike plan projects elsewhere in the city have been completed. The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition confirmed via Twitter yesterday that the city will complete the Baker job after the Phelan Avenue and Illinois Street bike lane projects have been striped. NOPA residents and commuters have asked about the delay between paving and striping on Baker since several weeks have passed since the new asphalt was applied.

The three blocks left to re-stripe are Fell to Hayes, Grove to McAllister, and Golden Gate to Turk. Also, Grove between Baker and Lyon will get similar treatment following the recent much-needed repair and re-paving completed there.

“Urban Acupuncture” Prescribed for Fell & Oak; SFMTA Anticipates New Bikeway Trial by Summer 2012

2011-06-14T16:35:00.000-07:00

This block between Scott and Divisadero would be one of three on Fell to get a separated bikeway

City traffic engineers expect to implement new, separated bike lanes along three blocks of Fell and Oak streets as a trial that could begin as early as spring 2012. Although the final aspects of the proposal await community input and public review, financing with Prop K funds for the planning and design phase is expected to be approved by July. The street re-design will likely involve removal of on-street parking or removal of a travel lane for the three blocks of Fell and Oak between Scott and Baker. City planners believe an upgraded treatment along the stretch is necessary as an essential link between the Wiggle bike route on the east end to the Panhandle path starting at Baker. The discussion occurred this morning during a meeting of the Policy and Governance Committee of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) Board of Directors.

Cheryl Brinkman, a member of the Board of Directors, introduced the new bikeways discussion with an answer to what she sometimes hears from residents, “Why Fell and Oak?" “If you’re a cyclist, you know exactly why Fell and Oak,” Brinkman said. “It’s the flattest, most direct connection. It’s vital for cyclists, pedestrians and drivers.”

The SFMTA Board has already made it clear that Fell and Oak should be a priority and has directed staff to develop a plan and a design to implement the change. Bond Yee, SFMTA Sustainable Streets Director, told the committee (chair Jerry Lee, Bruce Oka and Brinkman) that he expected a decision in late June or early July to move forward. He expects a final design in “a little over a year.”

Mike Sallaberry, SFMTA Sustainable Streets Division Planner, explained that the agency expects to propose a trial design once extensive community outreach has been concluded. “Substantial buy-in from the public is critical,” he said. Brinkman added that the trial phase will be an opportunity to assess any public fallout over the plan. Sallaberry said that to date it is not clear whether the public prefers removing a parking lane or a travel lane. But he said he was encouraged by the public response so far. “There’s a proactive feeling about this project. No one has said ‘no way.’” During the trial phase, staff would complete an environmental review of the project.

Following the committee meeting, Mike Sallaberry spoke with BIKE NOPA in more detail about the project. He suggested opening this segment of the Fell/Oak couplet to more street users was like “urban acupuncture” that would improve the flow of traffic in this part of the city. He also touched on other aspects of the design options:

If the project stays on schedule, the permanent installation of the separated bikeways could begin in November of 2012
The bike route would likely remain on the south side of Fell street, but placement on Oak remains uncertain with benefits and obstacles on both the north and south side
A two-way bi-directional lane is a possibility for just one of the two streets
SFMTA will wait to secure funding for the implementation before beginning its outreach to the affected communities
Although several neighbors have expressed interest in a bikeway all the way from Scott to Stanyan, the SFMTA believes the better strategy is to implement the shorter segment first. “If we did the whole length now, it would delay the whole project,” Sallaberry explained. “We want to expedite the gap now.”

NOPA Streets: Bike Sharrows for McAllister

2011-06-12T16:39:00.000-07:00

Sharing the road westbound on McAllister before the hill

Sharrows in the westbound lane to Baker

McAllister is the most recent street to get bike sharrows, the shared lane markings that remind motorists to accommodate cyclists who are also using the street. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) stenciled the sharrows last week on much of the westbound lane from Market to Baker streets. Presumably the markings will be extended the full length of the McAllister bike lane to Masonic, including the eastbound lane.* The street additions are part of the extensive bicycle safety efforts by SFMTA that has included miles of sharrows and striping of new bike lanes across the city.

McAllister is the preferred route for many cyclists traveling to the Civic Center and Market street from NOPA. (Others slalom down Golden Gate from Broderick, an efficient thrill ride now more risky with the uneven pavement west of Divisadero). Although Muni management has fretted about bicyclists slowing buses on McAllister, cyclists are often the ones trying to get around slow-going buses. In 2009 McAllister was one of the proposed routes for a new striped bike lane, but the project was put on hold awaiting a better design and strategy for creating bike space. For now the new sharrows provide visual cues to drivers and encourage cyclists to take the lane when necessary to avoid the door zone.

* UPDATE: Or not. Seems McAllister is a bike route only in the westbound direction due perhaps to its one-way orientation from Market to the Civic Center. Whether this makes much sense, especially with "inner McAllister" soon to switch to two-way traffic, is another question.

Turk & Lyon Closer To A Greener, Friendlier Future

2011-05-31T17:16:00.000-07:00

Green Possibilities for Turk Street near Lyon

Image: James Munden, Marta Fry Landscape Architects

Green Turk & Lyon Fundraiser at Chile Pies Photos: Dale Danley

Jarie Bolander (left), NOPNA President, Recalling First Contact with Honoree

(We worked it out)

Thanks to everyone who joined the party and fundraiser at Chile Pies (& Ice Cream) last week -- all 60 of you and those unable to attend who also donated to the Green Turk & Lyon project. Your support helped raise $1100 that will bring greener sidewalks, benches and bike racks to the southeast corner of Turk and Lyon.

For me the best part of the evening was being among so many friends and advocates who contribute every day to a better neighborhood, district and city. We are all privileged to work together. An occasion like this is always the result of help and contributions from many people. Special thanks to --

Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi for designating me District 5 Person of the Month for June and especially for all his efforts to support individuals and groups in this amazing district
Vallie Brown, Ross's legislative aide, who takes good ideas and guides them to implementation
Trevor Logan, owner of Green Chile Kitchen and Chile Pies. His generosity and support of the fundraiser has been remarkable
Kalie Nickless, manager of Chile Pies, who made all arrangements incredibly easy
James Munden, neighbor and landscape architect with Marta Fry Landscape Architects, whose images of the Green Turk & Lyon project inspire us to create a model for green permeable sidewalks in NOPA
The members of St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church, led by Pastor Will Scott, for their ongoing engagement with the community and eagerness to transform the sidewalks along the church property for a green neighborhood respite
NOPNA, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, Sunday Streets, Walk SF, Fix Masonic and NOPA VELO for co-sponsoring the fundraiser

Next steps for the project will be a community meeting in July to review designs, workplans, and a timeline for removing the concrete and enlivening the Turk and Lyon corner. Date and time will be posted here on BIKE NOPA. More detailed information is available here. Take a look at the corner this Saturday night, June 4, before a special concert, an Evening of Song, at Cyprian's.

Interested in volunteering or want more information?: greenturkandlyon@gmail.com

To donate to the project: so far we're set up to accept checks made out to St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church; please write on memo line: "Turk & Lyon Project". All donations will go to a separate Turk & Lyon account. Thank you!

NOPA Cyclists Ride & Party: NOPA VELO Re-Cap & SF Bike Party This Friday Night

2011-05-31T13:37:00.000-07:00

22nd & Guerrero Pavement-to-Parks stop

Photo: Michael Helquist

Photo: Dale Danley

Ron Stanford of Step3 Studio on parklet construction at Fulton & Masonic

Photo: Dale Danley

Eighteen cyclists -- and two dogs -- spun around town with stops at parks and parklets on Memorial Day Monday for the latest NOPA VELO bike ride. Regulars were happy to greet eight first-timers including four who made this ride their first outing on San Francisco streets. The two-hour ride started at the new parklet outside Cafe Abir at Divisadero and Fulton and stopped by new parks at Showplace Triangle and 22nd & Guerrero and one more parklet at 22nd & Bartlett. Lunch at Nopalito restaurant brought everyone back to home base.

For previous NOPA VELO rides, check here.

Image: San Francisco Bike Party

From a hyper-local bike group to an all city encompassing party on wheels:

San Francisco Bike Party Pride (In The Name Of Love) Ride

Friday, June 3

Gather: 7:30 PM, Rollout: 8 PM

Meetup: Panhandle (near Ashbury and Oak)

Route: here

June is almost here, San Francisco! What kind of ride would we be if we didn’t show our PRIDE!? Come on out and be with the Party as we show you all of the great things this proud City has to offer- architecture, people, history, hills, amazing views, the fabulous Castro, and who knows what else? It is SF, after all, we can only predict so much.

How We Ride: 
Stay in the right lane 
Stop at red lights 
Leave No Trace 
Ride predictably and in control
Roll past conflict 
Ride Prepared 
When in doubt, “Bike Party!!”

Your First Ride With Us? 
We try to maintain a leisurely cruising speed. Routes are designed for a wide range of riders to keep pace. Though, with hundreds of riders on different types of bikes, some will find hills more challenging, or have flats and mechanical troubles. Before the ride, make sure your bicycle is in good working order. You should be comfortable riding San Francisco streets which may have traffic, train tracks, occasional steep hills, and other hazards. Bring friends and make new ones riding at your speed. Within your friends be prepared with a flat kit or to fix basic mechanical troubles. If you see someone in need, it’s good bike etiquette to help. That’s also a great way to make new friends in the biking community. Which is what the Bike Party is all about!

Stay in the Loop:
WEB: http://www.sfbikeparty.org/ 
EMAIL LIST: http://groups.google.com/group/bike-party-sf/boxsubscribe 
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/pages/San-Francisco-Bike-Party/118246874907825 
TWITTER: http://twitter.com/SFBikeP

It's Not A NOPA VELO Ride Without The Poster

2011-05-26T20:59:00.000-07:00

Image: Rick Helf www.helf.com

There wouldn't be a NOPA VELO ride without another outstanding image created by Rick Helf. His collection of ride posters will soon be ready for public viewing in NOPA.

Memorial Day Monday, NOPA folks and friends. Everyone welcome.

NOPA VELO's Pavement-to-Parks and Parklets Ride

2011-05-24T11:18:00.000-07:00

The pavement before at Guerrero and 28th Photos: SF Pavement to Parks

The park after

Showplace Triangle today

The North Panhandle’s only neighborhood-based bike ride is about to spin out again on Monday, May 30, Memorial Day. NOPA VELO is all about urban parks for this easy-to-moderate, nine mile ride. (See route here).

Riders will check out new green projects in the city, including the pavement-to-parks sites at Guerrero Park and Showplace Triangle as well as two parklets, starting with NOPA’s latest on Fulton at Divisadero. Route organizer and Panhandle Park Stewards leader Dale Danley reports he’s especially eager to see the how the plants are faring at Guerrero Park. “I see how much the shrubs and succulents in front of the Mojo Bike Café parklet have thrived in a year,” he said. “Now I want to see how much the plants have grown at the other sites.”

As NOPA VELO riders view the new urbanized landscaping, they’ll learn about the process of bringing more green to our city. How did the city get past the “good-studies-sitting-on-the-shelf” routine and actually start implementing innovative uses for our public space? A recent Streetsblog interview with Andres Power, Project Manager for SF Planning, gives an excellent behind-the-scenes report on how city government managed to kick-start the process. One observation by Power:

Change is always hard. Beyond the actual projects that the Pavement to Parks program has installed, I think in my mind the most beneficial change is really pushing the city family to be okay with experimentation.

And don't forget, for an even greener city: You can help green another corner of NOPA by stopping by Chile Pies, 601 Baker at Fulton, on Wednesday, May 25, 5:30 to 7:30 pm for a community party and fundraiser. Get a free pie slice, beer, wine, sodas, New Mexican hot chocolate and more with each admission. More info here.

NOPA VELO ‘s Pavement-to-Parks and Parklets Ride
Monday, May 30, Memorial Day
9:30 am - Meet at Cafe Abir, 1300 Fulton @ Divisadero
10:00 am - Ride begins
All level riders welcome. Kids on own bikes OK if with guardian.
Pets too if on bike or leash.
Info: Lenore at 415-300-6744, lmcjunker@gmail.com

Join NOPA-VELO Google Group:
http://groups.google.com/group/nopa-velo

Check out our previous rides here.

NOPA Gets a New Parklet on Fulton Street

2011-05-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

New Parklet on Fulton in front of Tsunami Sushi Panhandle and Cafe Abir

Continuous benches and planting with concrete pavers the full length

Two, possibly, three new bike racks to be installed (the one in photo will be moved)

Ron Stanford (l) and Evan Bowman (r) of Step 3 Studio, contractor for the parklet

The North Panhandle's second parklet is under construction with completion expected within the next several days. Located on Fulton at Divisadero in front of the busy Cafe Abir and Tsunami Sushi Panhandle, the parklet replaces two parking spaces and provides a long, continuous bench for outdoor seating. Movable tables and chairs will be positioned on the smooth, concrete pavers that expand the normally crowded sidewalk. Another feature of the Fulton parklet design is the addition of a built-up corners for an enhanced sense of protection from traffic.

Ron Stanford, founder of the San-Francisco based collective Step 3 Studio, obtained the contract for the city's latest parklet, following his construction of the Greenhouse at the Hayes Valley Farm. He said the permit and approval process had been relatively easy.

It took six to eight weeks. A few people in the area expressed concern about the removal of two parking spaces, but no one officially objected so we didn't need to go to a public hearing.

An unexpected complication for parklet construction came with restrictions against using Brazilian hardwood for the planters and bench. (Harvesting Brazilian hardwoods is linked to depletion of the country's rain forest and exploitation of laborers). Stanford explained the difficulty he has encountered.

The city decided to no longer permit the hardwood. The other options -- redwood and cedar -- are too soft for a public project. We ended up importing compressed bamboo from China. Unfortunately, our container of bamboo was one randomly selected for close inspection, and it's still sitting in port.

Stanford said they were eager to get the product, finish the planters, and start adding the aromatic Tuscan rosemary, lavenders and succulents to the boxes.

The Fulton parklet is the first of dozens to follow now that the city's phase of demonstration projects has concluded. NOPA's first parklet outside Mojo Bicycle Cafe on Divisadero was among the first demonstration projects.

Pies for Parklets -- You're All Invited to Celebrate and Bring Some More Green to our City

2011-05-14T15:04:00.000-07:00

Envision a greener Lyon Street at Turk along exterior of St. Cyprian's Church

Images: James Munden, Marta Fry Landscape Architects

Creating community with a greener, more sustainable space

Dear BIKE NOPA Friends, Neighbors, Colleagues,

Which do you like best when it comes to pies? Sweet or savory? Peach blueberry or green chile apple? Or perhaps an organic pinot noir, a chocolate stout, or ecco organic coffee? Take your pick at this upcoming event and help green the corner of Turk and Lyon.

On May 25, NOPNA, Sunday Streets, St. Cyprian’s Church and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition will co-host a community celebration of an honor that has come my way, and, more importantly, to kick-off a plan to make our neighborhood greener and more sustainable.

Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi has named me the District 5 Person of the Month for June. In his words:

Michael has contributed to so many organizations in the district and citywide, including the North of Panhandle Neighborhood Association, Fix Masonic, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, Sunday Streets, NOPA VELO, and, most recently, the community development work of St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church. The district and the city are fortunate to reap the benefits of his efforts. Michael wants to celebrate this honor with a community fundraiser to benefit a new streetscape project for Turk and Lyon streets. I encourage everyone to join in.

A huge thanks to Supervisor Mirkarimi. I want to share it with all of you who do so much to make this a great district.

Let’s meet up and make something very cool happen at the same time: Raise some bucks to remove concrete slabs of sidewalk and replace them with trees and shrubs, benches and bike racks. Let's transform the SE corner of Turk and Lyon and create community at the same time. Neighbors have been meeting at Turk and Lyon since last year about how to make the corner greener and more sustainable. Now they're ready to share the vision and engage the community even more in a design that benefit everyone.

Putting it all together:

Wednesday, May 25, 5:30 to 7:30 pm
Chile Pies (& ice cream), 601 Baker @ Fulton
Free treat with each $15-$20 donation (slice of pie, drinks and more)

Live music in the works
All proceeds will fund the Green Turk and Lyon project
Questions? please contact greenturkandlyon@gmail.com
Can’t attend but want to donate? Checks payable to St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church, Green Turk and Lyon account, 2097 Turk, SF 94115.

Please save the date. Stop by for good cheer, check out the other renderings, and help make D5 even greener. The fundraiser will be followed in the weeks ahead with neighborhood meetings and then the good stuff: replacing concrete with soil, stones and native plants, benches and bike racks.

Check out the concerts and events at Cyprian's, the new venue in town, at Turk and Lyon where St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church has been an active in the community since 1960.

Thank you, Chile Pies!

Masonic Boulevard Proposal Approved: History in the Making

2011-05-13T13:38:00.000-07:00

Fix Masonic members distribute community meeting notices door-to-door in 2010

Mariana Parreiras, Dale Danley, Ben Caldwell, Marc Caswell (l to r)

Just a brief notice for now: this morning after an hour and a half of testimony from dozens of individuals, the city's proposal for remaking Masonic into a safer street that works for everyone was approved and sent to the SFMTA Board of Commissioners!

Javad Mirabdal, the SFMTA project manager for the Masonic re-design effort, commented after the hearing had concluded: "This is history."

Look for more complete coverage this afternoon at Streetsblog. (I was not in reporter mode during the hearing).

Congratulations to everyone who worked so long and so hard for a safer Masonic for all of us. After a needed break, let's focus on how to make the Boulevard proposal work as well as possible for everyone, certainly including those who were not in favor.

SF Day School Backs "Complete Streets" Treatment for Masonic; Community Honors Fallen Pedestrian

2011-05-11T22:49:00.000-07:00

Bruno Peguese, member of St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church, reflects on loss of James Hudson

SFPD Capt. Denis O'Leary affirms need for increased enforcement on Masonic

Candles left in April to remember Yannick Linke who was killed on Masonic last year

Dr. David E. Jackson, Head of the San Francisco Day School (SFDS), confirmed tonight that his institution will support the city's efforts to bring significant traffic calming to Masonic Avenue. He said the concerns for safety along the corridor prompted the school to endorse the Boulevard proposal. SFDS is located on the SE corner of Masonic and Golden Gate Avenue.

Staff and parents have witnessed many collisions in front of the school, and several former and current teachers have expressed concern about the risks for children when crossing Masonic given the frequently speeding traffic. Students at the school cross the corridor every day to use recreation facilities at the University of San Francisco campus west of Masonic. SFDS hosted the three city-sponsored community meetings convened last year to review and refine plans for traffic calming along Masonic from Fell to Geary.

Dr. Jackson confirmed that staff would submit a letter of support for the Boulevard plan to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency prior to Friday morning's public hearing at City Hall. Jackson made his remarks following the vigil for James Hudson, the 61-year-old pedestrian who was struck and killed by a drunk driver on May 6th. Twenty people gathered in the SFDS courtyard before walking a block north to Turk, crossing the street, and pausing to reflect at the site of fatality. Community members and representatives from the North Panhandle Neighborhood Association, Fix Masonic, St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church, and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition stood in silence to honor all those who have died or been injured on Masonic. Several commented on the need to act to protect all users of the corridor. Supervisor Eric Mar and SFPD Captain Denis O'Leary participated in the vigil. O'Leary said he is committed to increasing and maintaining enforcement of the speed limit on Masonic. Individuals close to the motorist charged in the fatal incident also participated in the vigil.

Walk San Francisco on Masonic Re-design: Narrow the Street, Calm the Traffic, Reduce Speeding

2011-05-11T07:01:00.000-07:00

May 10, 2011

To the SFMTA:

Walk San Francisco is writing to strongly support the “boulevard” option for Masonic Avenue.

Today, Masonic Avenue is tragically unsafe. Just last Friday, 61-year-old James Hudson was killed by a speeding car while walking in a crosswalk. The circumstances were similar to those of Nils Yannick Linke, killed there last year on his bike. Last month, a woman was hit by a speeding car on Masonic at Grove and very seriously injured.

In our city, 100 people are seriously injured or killed every year. One of the most powerful things we can do to change this is to reduce traffic speeds on our arterial streets like Masonic. These wide fast streets are where the worst crashes occur, and where we have the most potential to save lives.

Some say that, because the two recent deaths on Masonic were caused by drunk drivers, that redesigning the street will not help. We strongly disagree. Design drives behavior, and the design of this stretch of Masonic Avenue encourages speeding, whatever the condition of the driver.

Last year there were four pedestrian injury collisions along Masonic: two were at Hayes and O’Farrell, and the other two were just outside the study area; at Oak and at Haight. Many other collisions occur along this stretch that do not involve pedestrians – Bike NOPA reported two serious collisions at Masonic and Hayes just in the last four days.

The boulevard option for redesigning Masonic will narrow the street, calm the traffic, and reduce speeding. This will make the area safer for pedestrians, and in fact, for all road users.

Walk San Francisco supports the boulevard option because it includes:

· A road diet, removing lanes to narrow the street and reduce speeding
· A tree-planted median; trees visually narrow the street
· Expanded sidewalks (bulb-outs) at corners and bus stops to shorten crossing distances and improve pedestrian visibility
· More visible crosswalks to improve pedestrian visibility and encourage yielding
· Separate cycle tracks to provide a buffer between cars and pedestrians

Walk San Francisco encourages you to lose no time in moving forward to rebuild Masonic to safer speeds with the boulevard option.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Stampe
Executive Director

Walk San Francisco

Reprinted with permission.

Send your message now for a Safer, Better Masonic: sustainable.streets@sfmta.com ; write "Public Hearing" in the subject line.

Two More Injury Collisions on Masonic Since Pedestrian Fatality Last Friday

2011-05-10T07:33:00.000-07:00

Collision from red light running this morning at Masonic & Hayes

Northbound motorist (silver Volvo) and westbound driver (silver Honda) collide

Smash-up in the busy crosswalk leading to John Adams campus of City College

This morning at about 6:35 two motorists collided in the Masonic and Hayes intersection, pushing both vehicles into the east-west crosswalk. One driver was badly shaken and possibly injured but he decided against a trip to the hospital. The man told BIKE NOPA that he was driving his silver Honda Prelude westbound on Hayes and that he crossed Masonic with a green light when he was struck by a northbound motorist, a woman, in a silver Volvo SUV. The driver of the Volvo talked with police officers and appeared uninjured. She was overheard stating that she crossed Masonic with a green light. The investigation is still underway, and the police provided no further details. The neighbor who alerted us to the collision, said she lived a half-block from Masonic and that she "hears these crashes out there all the time."

The red-light running collision this morning follows a much worse smash-up on Masonic with serious injuries resulting from a speeding motorist on Saturday, May 7, at approximately 7:30 pm. One eyewitness relayed the events:

"It happened ... as the sun was about to set. A white BMW flew down Masonic, trying to beat the light and get across Fell. A whole bunch of cyclists and joggers were just about to cross. He almost clipped the female jogger, who stopped mere feet away mid-stride, as she was about to cross the street. On a walking sign! This was how blatant he was, timing-wise trying to run this light.

"He missed the jogger, and I panned my head to follow him to the intersection. A motorcyclist collided with him. Both are going a good 60 MPH plus. The motorcyclist ran right into the side of the car, and flew over 15 feet into the air. His shoe actually flew off, and landed all the way across the intersection, right by me. The bike just exploded, totalled. I think I saw him raise his arms at
first, so hopefully he's alive. A huge crowd of people, rushed over to him, and police
and ambulances arrived soon after."

This witness recounted that he was in shock following the incident. He added that he hopes the driver is jailed "with at least two counts against him: one for almost killing the cyclist and one for almost killing the jogger."

Both incidents follow the tragic death of James Hudson, the 61-year-old man killed while crossing Masonic, in the crosswalk, by a drunk driver in the early hours of Friday, May 6th. (A vigil for Hudson followed by a street safety strategy session will be held Wednesday, May 11). Last month a 35-year-old woman was struck by a red-light running motorist on Masonic at Grove and suffered broken legs, head and internal injuries.

On Friday, May 13 the public is invited to attend and testify at a hearing that will review the city's plan for re-designing Masonic Avenue to make the corridor safer for all users. Those unable to attend can also send a message to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) before Friday to have the opinions considered as part of the hearing. (send opinions to sustainable.streets@sfmta.com with the subject heading "Public Hearing." For a review of the comprehensive safety plan developed by city planners and Masonic neighbors, check the SFMTA site here or the BIKE NOPA summary here.

For previous articles in the A Better Masonic series, check here.

Ammiano, Mar, Mirkarimi, Capt. O'Leary Endorse Masonic Boulevard Proposal; Vigil Scheduled for Hit-and-Run Fatality

2011-05-09T09:48:00.000-07:00

Remembrance on Masonic, April 2011 Photo: Michael Helquist

The hit-and-run fatality on Masonic near Turk last week shocked San Franciscans, especially those who regularly use the street and, in the most tragic manner, made the case for comprehensive safety improvements along the busy corridor.

Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, District 1 Supervisor Eric Mar, District 5 Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, and SFPD Captain Denis O'Leary of Park Station have endorsed the Boulevard proposal developed by city staff and community members in a series of meetings held last year. As previously reported, the Boulevard plan includes extensive traffic calming measures to reduce the speedway aspect of Masonic and would install facilities for safer walking, bus use, and biking while keeping vehicle traffic to the 25 MPH speed limit.

"I hope that the SFMTA embraces this opportunity to show long-term vision for the transformation of Masonic from a heavily trafficked, dangerous street to an improved, livable corridor." Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (ed: statement released before last week's fatality)

"I definitely support the Boulevard plan for Masonic along with the many area residents and community groups." Supervisor Eric Mar

"This fatality is another reason all forces in City Hall to correct the conditions of Masonic Avenue. These changes are long overdue. The incremental measures taken to increase safety have not been adequate. One major step would be quick adoption and installation of the Boulevard project for Masonic."
Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi

Capt. Denis O'Leary hopes to testify at the public hearing in support of the Boulevard proposal. He has also increased monitoring of traffic speeds and safe pedestrian crossings along Masonic.

Public Hearing on Masonic
Friday, May 13, 2011, at 10:00 am
Room 416 (Hearing Room 4), City Hall
(located on Van Ness Avenue between McAllister and Grove Streets)

Opinions on these proposed changes may be filed in writing prior to the hearing with SFMTA Transportation Engineering, 1 South Van Ness Avenue, 7th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103-5417. Written opinions may also be transmitted by fax to (415) 701-4737 or by

email to sustainable.streets@sfmta.com with subject line “Public Hearing.” Submitted opinions will become part of the official public record and will be brought to the attention of the person(s) conducting the hearing.

**********

Last year's tragic death of Yannick Linke on Masonic near Turk followed by just three days a city-sponsored community meeting focused on making Masonic a safer street for all users. The most recent Masonic fatality -- resulting in the loss of James Hudson last Friday while he was crossing the street -- occurred just one week prior to the City Hall public hearing to review the result of that community planning process. The deaths of both men, and the injuries of many others, impress upon neighborhood residents even more the need for comprehensive, integrated traffic calming on Masonic. Neighbors have organized a memorial for James Hudson for this Wednesday evening. After honoring his life, a street safety discussion will follow for those interested.

Vigil for a Fallen Pedestrian

Wednesday, May 11, 6:15 to 7:15 pm

Meet 6:15; Vigil starts 6:30

Meet on sidewalk at San Francisco Day School (350 Masonic at Golden Gate)

Safety dialogue at 7:15 pm

Gather at Blood Centers of the Pacific, 270 Masonic (at Turk)

For further information: Jarie Bolander, 415-385-22348 jarie.bolander@gmail.com

History Races Through NOPA May 15th

2011-05-04T15:04:00.001-07:00

Look for the Ambassadors in T-shirts; better yet: wear one

2010 racers on Fell near Masonic Photo: Michael Helquist

Brits Get Traction, Or Friction Photo: Michael Helquist

Countdown to 100th Anniversary Bay to Breakers Race

10 days

16 hours

17 minutes

05 seconds

Bay to Breakers is back and this is the big 100th. The longest continuously operating footrace zips through the North Panhandle on Sunday, May 15th. The party -- all wacky, bare, and safe -- continues long after the sprinters flash through on Fell Street. Hopes are stoked and

last year's flare-ups are tamped down. Everyone seems poised for a good time, even with different takes on what that will mean.

A coalition of eight neighborhood associations has worked to ensure the 100th race is crazy fun without the trash behavior many felt followed last year's romp. Besides the precautions for limiting participation in the race, the ban on alcohol in the race, more monitoring and more portable toilets, the group leaders have launched a Neighborhood Ambassador program for the centennial 12k run.

According to Jarie Bolander, President of NOPNA, the Neighborhood Ambassadors will help participants and visitors with the basic information they need

Locations of restrooms
Locations of trash collection areas
Location of EMS services
General event information
General directions related to the neighborhood and course
Provide the hotline number for neighbors and participants

Ambassadors then agree to

Assist with clean-up efforts
Assist with identification of problem situations or locations

But volunteers will by no means police or enforce any laws. Instead, they will observe, report and have a great time. All while wearing the limited-edition Zazzle Bay to Breakers Volunteer T-shirts.

Sound like work? Shifts are only for two hours and you can't beat the people watching. Organizers urge, "Be Part of History." Sign up at the Zazzle Bay to Breakers site .

Check more stories in the B2B at 100 series here.

Rick Helf: Bicyclist, Artist, NOPA Fan

2011-05-03T15:59:00.000-07:00

Art that keeps his mind "firmly planted on the rightside"

Rick Helf

Image: Rick Helf www.helf.com

Rick Helf started bicycling in San Francisco in 1977 -- a time when train tracks crossed and lined so many city streets. He still looks out for them, although they've been gone for years. He lived on the corner of Laguna and Pacific and always ended his rides with one of the steepest hills in the city.

Although he now lives in Marin, Helf still bikes into and around San Francisco. Last year, he combined his love of bicycling with his passion for design and illustration by creating the distinctive images that announced the monthly NOPA VELO bike rides. His NOPA VELO premiere featured one-time radical Patty Hearst heavily armed with a bike frame. Riders now anticipate the new images that get them spinning each ride. Rick also created the design for Cyprian's, the new performance venue in NOPA at Turk and Lyon.

Helf's work appears throughout San Francisco and reflects his remarkably diverse talent. He mentioned a few of the locations for his designs and illustrations.

"I worked on the Keyhole house at Bay and Columbus with Flying Colors back in 1979. My painting is still up on Kearny street at the steps. I have done permanent historic exhibits at the US Customs House in SF, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the International terminal at SFO. I've completed historic books on the Ninth Circuit Court Building, and the California Supreme Court Building."

On a grander scale, Helf just completed a 6000 square foot mural on the side of a transport ship.

The North Panhandle seems to have found a fan in Helf. His most recent undertaking is an exhibit of new work at Mini Bar on Divisadero. He considers these pieces a return to fine art and a way to stretch his creativity and "keep my mind firmly planted on the rightside." They reflect his interest in "the progress and the beauty in the aging process, in the case of these works, leaves." Helf's art at the exhibit has been called contemporary Momento Mori (Remember You Are Mortal). But he said he prefers to live by Momento Vivre (Remember To Live).

To see previous NOPA VELO posters, check here.

Image: Rick Helf www.helf.com

SFMTA Sets Public Hearing for Masonic Redesign: Friday, May 13, 10am

2011-04-29T15:35:00.000-07:00

Proposed mini-park to enliven a bleak section of Masonic at Geary

Masonic as a proposed Complete Street with safer use for all modes of transportation

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is ready to take plans for the redesign of the Masonic corridor to a public hearing before a hearings officer. Late this afternoon, SFMTA released the official announcement of the meeting that will be mailed to Masonic area residents and posted throughout the nearby neighborhoods. The flyer includes the traffic calming elements proposed for the blocks between Fell and Geary as well as the traffic configurations to be removed. The meeting is set for Friday, May 13, at 10 am in City Hall, Room 416 (Hearing Room 4).

The Masonic hearing will consider the proposed Boulevard design that includes measures to improve safety, livability, and improved transportation. The elements of the plan were developed with Masonic residents and community members in the summer and fall of 2010. Several surveys -- conducted by the SFMTA as well as neighborhood associations -- have reflected significant support for the full package of changes now proposed by city planners.

A new element to the proposal is the addition of 20 new parking spaces along the north side of Turk Street between Central and Baker streets. The new 45 degree, back-in, angled parking will help mitigate the removal of parking along Masonic. The wide transportation lanes of Turk can easily accommodate the angled parking, and there are no driveways along much of the proposed stretch.

As previously discussed, the Boulevard proposal includes several features to keep the vehicle traffic to the 25 MPH posted, add a safe separated bikeway for cyclists, improve pedestrian crossings, and enhance Muni bus stops. A full-length landscaped median with and a mini-park at Geary will encourage motorists to maintain legal speed and provide residents with a greener, more attractive environment.

The specific changes to be considered at the hearing, as noted in the official announcement:

RESCIND – TOW-AWAY NO STOPPING 7 TO 9 AM MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY
Masonic Avenue, east side, between Fell Street and Geary Boulevard

RESCIND – TOW-AWAY NO STOPPING 4 TO 6 PM MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY
Masonic Avenue, west side, between Geary Boulevard and Hayes Street

ESTABLISH – TOW-AWAY NO STOPPING ANYTIME
Masonic Avenue, east side, between Fell Street and Geary Boulevard
Masonic Avenue, west side, between Geary Boulevard and Hayes Street

ESTABLISH – RAISED MEDIAN
Masonic Avenue, between Geary Boulevard and Fell Street (5 feet wide)

RESCIND – BUS ZONE
Masonic Avenue, west side, from Golden Gate Street to 80 feet southerly
Masonic Avenue, east side, from Golden Gate Street to 80 feet southerly
Masonic Avenue, west side, from Fulton Street to 80 feet northerly

ESTABLISH – BUS ZONE
Masonic Avenue, west side, from Fulton Street to 80 feet southerly

ESTABLISH – BUS BULB
Masonic Avenue, west side, from Geary Boulevard to 110 feet southerly (8 feet wide)
Masonic Avenue, east side, from Turk Street to 80 feet northerly (8 feet wide)
Masonic Avenue, west side, from Fulton Street to 80 feet southerly (8 feet wide)
Masonic Avenue, east side, from Hayes Street to 80 feet northerly (8 feet wide)

ESTABLISH – BICYCLE LANE
Masonic Avenue, both sides, from Fell Street to Geary Boulevard (raised cycle track)

ESTABLISH – NEW TRAFFIC SIGNAL
Masonic Avenue at Ewing Terrace

ESTABLISH – 45 DEGREE BACK-IN ANGLE PARKING
Turk Street, north side, between Baker Street and Central Avenue (adds approximately 20 more parking spaces)

Opinions on these proposed changes may be filed in writing prior to the hearing with the City Traffic Engineer at the Sustainable Streets Division, One South Van Ness Avenue, 7th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103-5417. Written opinions may also be transmitted to the Sustainable Streets Division via fax at 415.701.4737. Submitted opinions will become part of the official public record and will be brought to the attention of the person(s) conducting the hearing. Information on the proposed changes may be obtained from the Sustainable Streets Division at the above-referenced address or by telephone at 415.701.4500.

Medic on Wheels: From Hospital to Clinic to Office, Kurtis Opp Bikes Everyday As Much As He Can

2011-04-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

Kurtis Opp leaving CPMC/Davies for next stop

Convenient, secure parking at CPMC Davies Medical Center

Kurtis Opp has been part of the local medical community for 20 years, since 1991, and the last dozen of those he's relied on his bike to get around town. He lives in the Mission and bikes via the Wiggle and the Panhandle to St. Mary's Hospital on Stanyan street. Four days a week he bikes "six to nine minutes" from his home to Davies Medical Center at Duboce and Castro. Add his office hours at the Mission Neighborhood Health Center and working with colleagues at other clinics and Opp logs a lot of miles every week on two wheels.

“I bike everyday as much as I can," Opp explained from his dermatology office at Davies. He even finds time to bike to workout sessions at Bush and Van Ness. For him, biking is part of a healthy life. But it's also the best way for him to keep a busy schedule without worrying about slow traffic and parking hassles.

Opp is a San Francisco native who attended SF State and then graduated from Stanford University's Physician Assistant program. His first medical job was in cardiac surgery followed by urgent care in an Emergency Room setting. In 1993 he started working with a pioneer of HIV/AIDS care, Marcus Conant, MD, who began one of the first HIV- related clinics in the country at UCSF. Opp has been heavily involved in HIV work since then. He took a position at Davies Medical Center as a PA-C in 2003 with a focus on medical dermatology. "HIV dermatology is my specialty with skin cancers and HIV cancers," Opp said. His Davies practice also includes cosmetic dermatology. In addition, Opp works as the HIV dermatologist at St. Mary's Hospital, takes appointments at Mission Neighborhood Health Center, and treats people with HIV seeking liposuction injections.

Opp sees bicyclists with injuries all too often. "Most have been seen in an ER somewhere first, but then they seek follow-up care. It happens every five to six weeks." Many of his patients report injuries due to getting doored or from slipping on Muni tracks. On his daily rides, Opp said he is annoyed with the frequency of motorists blocking his way. "I would like to see more police enforcement of double parking in the bike lanes.”

Not many of Opp's colleagues at the Davies office building ride, but he noted that the bike racks at the medical center are usually full. His own biking passion has taken him on four AIDS rides from San Francisco to Los Angeles and another from Fairbanks to Anchorage. He learned to keep his bike helmet on at all times while riding. "Wearing helmets and safe biking was ingrained in us on those rides. Now I don't leave anywhere without a helmet and my high visibility jacket." Or his matching pink and orange pig on his handlebar.

North Panhandle Eyesore on Track for Removal; Work Set for New Fire Escapes

2011-04-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

Scaffolding serving as fire escape on Lyon street at Golden Gate

After years of wanting the ugly structure to come down, North Panhandle residents are likely wary about any news that the four-story scaffolding sidling the apartment building on Lyon at Golden Gate may actually be seeing its final weeks. But that appears to be the case. Pat Buscovich, a developer working with the owner of the apartment building, told BIKE NOPA that the process to replace the structure with a real fire escape is underway.

"Once we get the go-ahead, it will take six weeks or more to fabricate suitable fire escapes. We have a manufacturer lined up and ready to start. During that time we will prepare the building so it will be ready for the fire escape to be bolted to it. We will get the larger unit for the Golden Gate side of the building installed first. Then we'll be able to dismantle the scaffolding along Lyon one floor at a time as we put up the exits on that side."

Few manufacturers remain in the fire escape business, according to Buscovich. "The code for the equipment changed in 1995 and many steel fabricators stopped making them since then." The fire exits for the Lyon building are expected to cost $30,000 or more. Over the several years that the scaffolding has been occupying the 40 feet of curb space, the owner might easily have purchased the equipment for the cost of the rental fees.

Buscovich said contractors were at the site yesterday and had begun the preparation. His reading of the situation is that everyone wants to bring this long story of tenant/landlord conflicts and complications among city agencies to an end. "The owner wants it done, the residents want it to happen, and I'm sure the neighbors are ready to see this over with."

Although BIKE NOPA previously suggested the permit granted for ongoing work might be simply one more delay after several years of inaction, it now appears that the owner is ready to proceed and the city has signed off on the project. A building permit to do so is essential. We hope the next chapter in this story includes photos of the new fire-escapes and a scaffolding-free street.

Baker Street Gets Curb-to-Curb Treatment, Smoother Bike Lanes Ahead

2011-04-19T12:26:00.000-07:00

Asphalt-grinding and spitting leviathan visits Baker Street

A smoother surface for all street users

Scrape the old, repair the holes and get ready to go smooth

Bike parked and waiting for the smooth ride

Baker Street from Turk to Fell is about to become one smooth ride for anyone travelling by bike, bus, or other vehicle. Following sewer and water repair work on the much-used north-south route, several blocks of Baker are being "milled and filled" with the old asphalt removed and a new layer added. Once completed the newly re-surfaced blocks -- matched with those repaved a few months ago -- will be one long smooth ribbon. Bicyclists will especially appreciate the new surface between Fell and Hayes where several years ago the city repaved the traffic lanes but left the bike lanes rutted and worn.

SFMTA Begins Re-Striping Masonic Traffic Lanes; Second Person Injured in Monday's Red-Light Running

2011-04-13T08:35:00.000-07:00

Before: lanes on Masonic hardly discernible

After: Northbound travel lanes on Masonic

Re-striping from Fell to Turk

SFMTA crews started re-striping the badly faded traffic lanes of Masonic Avenue last Friday, beginning with the northbound side of the corridor. As of Tuesday morning, fresh thermoplasty stripes had been applied from Fell to Turk streets. Hopefully, this morning's showers will cause only a temporary delay on completing the work in both directions. Other traffic calming measures due to appear are stenciled 25 MPH advisories on the pavement and merge indicators.

Although the work was planned for several weeks, the Masonic striping occurs in the midst of renewed concern about the safety of the corridor. A 35-year-old woman was struck by a motorist running a red light on Masonic at Grove yesterday morning. She broke both legs and suffered internal and head injuries. The woman was jogging through the crosswalk with the right-of-way at the time of the collision. The motorist hit her and then continued through the intersection and collided with another vehicle. A second person was also injured and taken to the hospital. SFPD Park Station has announced that officers will focus their traffic enforcement operations along the Masonic corridor for the rest of April.

Jogger Hit by Red-Light Running Motorist on Masonic, SFPD To Resume Enforcement Tomorrow

2011-04-11T16:24:00.000-07:00

Pedestrian injured this morning on Masonic. Photo: Matt Smith

A 35-year-old woman was struck and seriously injured this morning by a red-light running motorist traveling on Masonic at Grove. The motorist struck the woman and continued through the intersection colliding with other vehicles, according to Capt. Denis O'Leary of SFPD Park Station. Tomorrow morning SFPD will place officers along Masonic to enforce the 25 MPH speed limit and to cite motorists who fail to stop for red lights.

The woman was jogging and in the crosswalk at about 8:30 a.m. when she was struck by the motorist. Capt. O'Leary said her injuries were extensive. "She was taken to the hospital. She has two broken legs, head injuries, and internal injuries," he said. "She needs our thoughts and prayers."

The motorist stopped -- or was stopped as a result of the collision with other vehicles. No arrest and no citation resulted. O'Leary explained that California law does not permit officers to give citations unless they witness the incident. A "notice of violation" can be given but that action often follows a conference with the station sergeant. O'Leary said he would check into the status of such a citation. He stated that a Traffic Division officer, rather than one from Park Station, filed the police report.

First reported by Matt Smith of SFWeekly, the collision and injury is one of several that have occurred on Masonic. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency has installed a number of traffic calming measures in the last nine months, but additional steps promised for early this spring have yet to be taken.* These include re-striping badly faded travel lanes and including directions for motorists to merge where the number of lanes on Masonic change, and painting 25 MPH on the street surfaces. Yet many observers and city planners agree that significant risk reduction will only result when Masonic is re-designed to better cue motorists to drive within the speed limit and when changes are made to increase safe travel for pedestrians and bicyclists as well.

As previously reported, a Masonic traffic calming plan -- dubbed the Boulevard -- is expected to go to a public hearing in May or soon thereafter. Today Javad Mirabdal, project director of the Masonic re-design study, confirmed that a hearing in May remains possible. "We don't have a date yet," he said, "but we're trying to bring it in May." Mirabdal presented the Boulevard plan to a Citizens Advisory Committee last week. He said they are taking the necessary steps moving toward the hearing and, hopefully, approval.

After hearing of this morning's collision and injury, Cheryl Brinkman, a member of SFMTA's Board of Directors, said she intended to do everything she can to support traffic calming on Masonic.

"It's heartbreaking to continue to have drivers disregard the safety of all other road users. Thank goodness the woman was not killed by that car driver and no one else was killed. I feel frustrated that some car drivers just don't seem to care."

For other articles in the A Better Masonic series, check here.

---------------------------------

* The SFMTA stated this afternoon that the striping work began last Friday and will require about a week to complete. The several wet days of March created a backlog in bike lane striping projects and pushed back the Masonic work.

Personal view: Striping bike lanes is a top priority and we celebrate each occasion, but the daily hazards along Masonic deserve priority.

SF Bike Party Spins Through NOPA Tonight

2011-04-01T08:32:00.000-07:00

SF Bike Party Spins Through NOPA on Hayes to the Panhandle

A party-on-wheels is coming to NOPA tonight, and you don't want to miss it. The San Francisco Bike Party is unlike any other bike ride in the city. It's hugely popular with a 100 or so cyclists, it starts mid-evening, makes stops along the way to, yes, party, and goes to great lengths to be safe and wise about rules-of-the road.

NOPA's own neighborhood bike group, NOPA VELO, has touted themes like Patty Hearst, Maria von Trapp, David Broderick with his duel-to-the-death, but we've never taken on something like ROBOTS AND CYBORGS. With this great weather and high spirits in town, this is the perfect Friday evening outing.

Here's the SFBP organizers spin on the 4th SFBP ride:

Join us for the 4th San Francisco Bike Party! We have an amazing route planned and with a break in the rain, it’s time to get out! Get your nerd on with this month’s theme of Robots and Cyborgs. The ride will take a leisurely tour of Golden Gate Park, the Sunset and Haight St, while rocking to mobile sound systems, and stopping to regroup and party along the way. We will have t-shirts available with a suggested donation price of $20 -- exact change appreciated!

How We Ride

Stay in the right lane
Stop at red lights
Leave No Trace
Ride predictably and in control
Roll past conflict
Ride Prepared
When in doubt, “Bike Party!!”

Your First Ride With Us?
We try to maintain a leisurely cruising speed. Routes are designed for a wide range of riders to keep pace. Though, with hundreds of riders on different types of bikes, some will find hills more challenging, or have flats and mechanical troubles. Before the ride, make sure your bicycle is in good working order. You should be comfortable riding San Francisco streets which may have traffic, train tracks, occasional steep hills, and other hazards. Bring friends and make new ones riding at your speed. Within your friends be prepared with a flat kit or to fix basic mechanical troubles. If you see someone in need, it’s good bike etiquette to help. That’s also a great way to make new friends in the biking community. Which is what the Bike Party is all about!

San Francisco Bike Party 4th Ride: Robots and Cyborgs
Friday, April 1

Gather 7:30 PM, Rollout 8 PM |

Meet Civic Center (Larkin Street - between Grove & McAllister)

Route here!

Stay in the Loop:
WEB: http://www.sfbikeparty.org/
EMAIL LIST: http://groups.google.com/group/bike-party-sf/boxsubscribe
RSVP: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=100765946673521
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/pages/San-Francisco-Bike-Party/118246874907825
TWITTER: http://twitter.com/SFBikeP

Bicyclists Beware: Hazards During Construction on Baker and Grove in NOPA

2011-03-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

Baker bike lane southbound: curb to curb to be paved in weeks ahead

Grove bike route pavement construction hazards, between Baker and Lyon

Two to three inch trench after initial PUC work on Grove

Defined edges like this should have asphalt shoved up to them for safety

UPDATE, Wednesday, March 30, 5pm

This afternoon Ms. Dadisi Najib, DPW Public Information Officer, reviewed the street conditions and hazards for bicyclists on Grove and Baker. She followed up within hours of being alerted to the problem. She confirmed that curb-to-curb repaving is planned for Grove between Baker and Lyon and for the blocks of Baker recently worked on. She also said she would find out about DPW's or the construction firm's interim plans for reducing risks for bicyclists by shoving asphalt along the edges ("cutback") of the construction lip.

__________________________________________________________________

The Public Utilities Commission is replacing sewer lines under North Panhandle streets, and that's a good thing. The city's aging infrastructure -- above and below ground -- needs all the attention it can get. But the construction itself is creating problems with a lack of attention to safety precautions and warnings to bicyclists.

Grove street between Baker and Lyon has been plagued with the tell-tale signs of sewer problems -- large sinkholes and many fill-ins -- for years. Now the sewer lines have been replaced but the temporary surface has been left two to three inches below grade with hard-edged trenches. Baker between McAllister and Fell has similar trenches. None of the drop-offs have asphalt shoved against them to smooth travel along the block, and, in a few areas, the trenches cut directly across the Baker bike lane and Grove bikeway.

Once all the sewer work is completed, the city will repave the blocks curb-to-curb. Although it's more economical to resurface the blocks at the same time, it's unnecessarily hazardous to leave the trenches as they are and not post warning signs. The city will likely address the risks, but, in the meantime, bikers beware, especially at night if you're unfamiliar with the street conditions.

North Panhandle Eyesore Remains, City Renews Permits for Fire Escape That’s Never Completed

2011-03-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

Scaffolding has become an unwelcome fixture on NOPA street

On Lyon street towering over Golden Gate Avenue for years

Wire strung through structure to utility pole

Scaffolding leans against exterior but not secured

The extent of secured footing for scaffolding on Lyon street

Although the structure on Lyon Street at Golden Gate Avenue re-purposes parking spaces and attracts attention to the sidewalk, no one would point to it as one of the new parklets sprouting all over the city with the spring rain. Instead the barely-secured scaffolding meant for temporary use remains as a persistent blight in the North Panhandle neighborhood that the city continues to allow year after year. City staff suggest there’s nothing to be done.

According to a Department of Public Works inspector who most recently verified the permit for the scaffolding at 800 Lyon Street, “There’s not anyone who can do anything about it.” She added, “They have a legal right to be there as long as they’re doing work there.” She mentioned in January of this year that on her last visit she “saw someone scraping paint.” But after years of no apparent, substantial work or improvements, the series of six-month renewals appear to reflect inertia and permit gridlock rather than effective inspection, oversight or resolution.

The scaffolding is in place as the result of a long struggle between building tenants, the property owner, and city agencies. The three story structure was installed to serve as a fire escape for a tenant who resides in an illegal unit at the top of the building. In October 2010 the city approved plans to allow the addition of new fire escapes on the Golden Gate and Lyon street sides of the corner apartment building. Presumably these would be standard installations that would not obstruct the parking lane or the sidewalk.

When BIKE NOPA first reported on the Lyon structure in January 2010, the building owner’s attorney, Andrew Zacks of Zacks & Utrecht, said his client was sympathetic to neighbors’ concerns. “The owner understands this is a blight on the neighborhood,” he told us. In January of this year Zacks said he would provide an update on the situation but no information was forthcoming, and he stopped responded to inquiries.

A close look at the scaffolding reveals a structure barely secured to the building exterior, loose footings, and electrical wires strung through the apparatus to a nearby utility pole. The 800 block of Lyon features a steep grade with head-in parking on the same side of the street as the scaffolding. Residents in the building told BIKE NOPA that they worried about a vehicle hitting the scaffolding and bringing it all down on the sidewalk and street, disconnecting electrical wires in the process. Beyond the safety issues and blight, the structure also occupies two to three parking spaces around the clock in a neighborhood where many residents complain about the lack of available parking.

After several years of the status quo, might the city finally resolve the issue at 800 Lyon and make the block safer and more attractive? Several neighbors have indicated they are ready to petition the city for resolution of the eyesore they've lived with much too long.

Lyon Street Scaffolding Stats
800 Lyon Street at Golden Gate, 40 feet of curb space
DPW permit for scaffolding: # 1227100
Permit type: major encroachment
DPW permit office: 415 554 5810
Online Permit and Complaint Tracking for this address

Masonic Proposal Refined to Include New Parking; Interim Measures Await Clear Skies

2011-03-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

Masonic residents and neighborhood associations support Masonic re-design

Extra-wide Turk looking west from Lyon intersection

Ample space for angled parking on Turk and a measure to discourage speeding

City planners have refined the Masonic Traffic Calming Project to include new angled, on-street parking along the north side of Turk Street east of Masonic. The changes come as part of an internal review at the Municipal Transportation Agency prior to submitting the proposal to a MTA hearing officer at a public hearing expected in May. Interim traffic calming measures – primarily re-striping cross walks and faded lanes and adding new 25 MPH

advisories on the roadway surface – are ready for implementation but have been delayed during this month’s wet weather.

Last year community members encouraged adding new parking to the Masonic proposal and suggested the north side of Turk east of Masonic between Central and Baker. These two blocks are especially wide and, along the north side, do not have curb cuts or driveways. In addition to mitigating the impact of parking removal on Masonic, back-in angled parking on Turk could calm traffic on a street that neighbors often complain is too dangerous for crossing. Angled parking would present drivers with less of the open freeway appearance that Turk now provides without actually reducing traffic lane width. Motorists backing up their vehicles would be another visual cue to other drivers to proceed with more caution.

Javad Mirabdal, the MTA Project Director for the Masonic re-design, said last week the proposal has been reviewed by two internal “task groups.” Part of that process is to determine whether the plan raises red flags among police, fire, and ambulance services over adequate access and travel during emergencies. Then another, larger group of 40-50 planners will review the plan before a public hearing is scheduled.

We’re moving forward to a public hearing. We’re shooting for it to be in May. We’ve done some fine-tuning and we’re working on the environmental clearance.

Mirabdal said he hopes there won’t be problems with the environmental clearance, and so far there haven't been. Other observers of the process explained that bicycle and pedestrian improvements as well as parking have been removed from environmental reviews required by the state. Basically, no definition or threshold for what it or isn’t acceptable in these areas exist, and thus the changes cannot be determined detrimental on an environmental basis.

If the many supporters of the Masonic proposal – especially those who live on or within a block of the corridor – testify at the public hearing, the hearing officer will likely feel confident about approving the plan, according to Mirabdal. He said he remained optimistic and hopeful for the project.

If we get this through, Masonic will be a good case for the city. It will show that we can redesign a street and get so much more from it.

For other articles in the A Better Masonic series, check here.

Bike Education Part of Livability Programs at St. Cyprian's

2011-03-20T20:05:00.000-07:00

SFBC Bike Ed instructor Bert Hill and community meet at St. Cyprian's

35 people introduced to urban bicycling strategies

St. Cyprian's - 50 years on Turk and Lyon

Photo: Nathan Frankel

Take the lane and Avoid the door zone. According to Bert Hill, bicycle education instructor for the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, these are two of the most important lessons to learn for new cyclists in San Francisco. He shared these and other tips-of-the-road with 35 people -- many of them new to bicycling -- during a four-hour classroom session last Saturday at St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church.

St. Cyprian's isn’t new to livability programs. Last year the congregation hosted a similar bike ed class and participated in Sunday Streets in the North Panhandle. In 2009 St. Cyprian’s pastor Rev. Will Scott and associated clergy Rev. Dr. Susanna Singer offered a popular bike blessing during the neighborhood’s BIKE THE BLOCK party. Long before that the church hosted the after-party for a neighborhood tree planting effort. This spring, however, St. Cyprian’s will pick up the livability pace with a set of programs and initiatives.

A new series -- Dinner & Conversation at Cyprian's* -- continues this week when Elizabeth Stampe, Executive Director of Walk SF, joins community members for a simple meal followed by an interview and discussion of pedestrian safety concerns in San Francisco. In the following weeks, other neighborhood groups will discuss their projects for a better, more sustainable city:

March 30, Dale Danley, leader of the award-winning Panhandle Park Stewards
April 13, University of San Francisco students on permeable, landscaped sidewalks for St. Cyprian's along Turk and Lyon streets
April 20, Lenore McDonald and Michael Helquist on "Bicycling for Community" featuring the NOPA VELO biking group and BIKE NOPA

In the realm of safer, friendlier streets, St. Cyprian's has applied to the Municipal Transportation Agency for installation of bike parking. The congregation hopes to get crosswalks re-striped and better lighting at Turk and Lyon streets, and the church plans to undertake sidewalk improvements. The latest features are sidewalk benches along Turk – built, of course, from recycled scrap wood.

Dinner & Conversation at Cyprian's
2097 Turk at Lyon
6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
For information and reservation: Will Scott, turkandlyon@gmail.com
Accessible via Muni #31, #24, #5, #43
Donations for dinners appreciated

Note: I serve as coordinator of special events at St. Cyprian's, including the new music venue Cyprian's

The Secret Life of Bikes

2011-03-16T08:09:00.000-07:00

Photo: MC Cyclery

Perhaps you think of your bike as your best friend. Many cyclists do. You share so many times together, ride through the storms of the city (and of life) and celebrate the bright, clear patches. Like all good friends, you spend time apart. You're busy with meetings, study, work, dinners, films, music. Your steady, stalwart bike waits for your return. Or does it?

A new video from Sydney captures the times when your bike is on its own. You may have more to share than you realized.

The Ride Sydney Experiment - Prelude from MC Cyclery on Vimeo.

Thanks to Ron Richings of Vancouver, BC for alerting local cyclists to this phenomenon.

Bicycle Commuting Trends Across the United States

2011-03-10T21:07:00.000-08:00

A University of Oregon student, Kory Northrup, has completed an interesting set of graphs to depict trends in bicycle commuting in every state of the union. For an advanced cartography class at the Eugene campus, Northrup analyzed data from the American Community Survey of the U.S. Census Bureau and other sources to depict a comparison among states and rank the top ten cities with the highest bicycle commuting rates among the 70 largest U.S. cities.

The UO student reports that bike commuting has surged 150% since 2004 and suggests that even more people will take a bike for their commute if more funds are invested in better, safer, and more extensive bikeways.

Half of the trips in the United States could be traveled in 20 minutes or less via bicycle and a quarter of the trips could be walked in 20 minutes or less.

Northrup also tracks the declining trend in number of bicycle fatalities, the bike commuter gender split, and the increase in funding for bicycle and pedestrian improvements.

Thanks to Shane MacRhodes of webikeeugene.org for reporting the results of Northrup's study and the graphics.

This week at the National Bike Summit the University of Oregon received a silver level award from the League of American Bicyclists in recognition of the 17% of people at UO who commute by bike.

Mayoral Candidate David Chiu Takes District 5 Transportation Tour, Backs Cross-town Separated Bike Lanes and the Boulevard Design for Masonic

2011-03-09T17:09:00.000-08:00

Dennis Yee of Martini Cleaners is on board with Chiu campaign

Chiu noted Divisadero's unfortunate "skinny sidewalks," toured with Dan Nguyen-Tan

Chiu assured Walt Bell of Black Dog Trading Company he wanted to help small businesses

Chiu with Remy Nelson at the city's first parklet outside Mojo Bicycle Cafe

Board of Supervisors President David Chiu launched his second week as an official mayoral candidate with a “transportation tour” today of District 5, stopping in Japantown and along Divisadero. In the few hours squeezed between meetings at City Hall, Chiu walked, biked, and took Muni to meet local merchants and residents. He described his transportation choices as part of his message to city voters, telling BIKE NOPA, “I am absolutely committed to sustainable transportation in District 5 and all the districts as part of a more livable city.”

Chiu said his transit-first vision for the city includes a safer Masonic Avenue, and he strongly endorsed the Boulevard design developed by city planners with support from several neighborhood groups. “We should make Masonic one of the great streets of this city,” Chiu said. He recognized that “creative financing” will be required to pay for the traffic calming changes proposed for the corridor.

Without hesitation, Chiu also backed the cross-town separated bikeways proposed in an initiative developed by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and supported by Mayor Ed Lee and the SFMTA Board of Commissioners. In District 5, these changes would include bikeways on Fell and Oak streets between Scott and Stanyan. “This is how we start building a more sustainable transportation system in the city,” he said. “When you improve travel for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users,” Chiu added, “motorists benefit as well.”

Taking his mayoral campaign around the city without a car still has its challenges, as Chiu found when he waited for the #22 Fillmore bus from Japantown. With the clock ticking on his time away from City Hall, he jumped on his bike to reach his next stops on Divisadero. Later he commented on the state of the MTA. “Muni is dysfunctional, for many reasons. MTA management has frustrated many of us. We need the transit union to support needed changes. And several parts of the Transportation Effectiveness Project lack implementation.”

The condition of city streets rounds out Chiu’s concerns for transportation policy. He said he looked forward to further consideration of a streets bond measure to secure funds to repair and maintain city streets. Several district supervisors initially backed a streets repair bond measure for the November 2009 ballot before determining that the recession and public sentiment made passage unlikely. City planners are now looking to November 2012 for a similar streets measure, although Chiu said it might appear in the current election cycle instead.

On his tour of Divisadero, Chiu met with three popular merchants. Dennis Yee, proprietor of Martini Cleaners, told Chiu he was generally satisfied with the city in his dealings as a small business owner. After his visit with the supervisor, Yee said he was ready to back Chiu for mayor. “For my dollar, he’s been doing the work the city requires. We need someone who knows the operation going in.” Yee didn’t hesitate to take a campaign sign for his window.

Walt Bell, owner of Black Nose Trading Company, reported that his business was doing well. Six employees work with him in the dog specialty store that offers doggy day care, a dog walking service, and a huge assortment of dog grooming and care products. Bell is also a member of the Divisadero Merchants Association. “Our biggest concerns are the eleven to twelve empty storefronts on the street and the city’s permit process that gets ridiculous.” The complaints are familiar with anyone who has tried to start a business or make changes in operations. As Bell noted, permit expediters are used by those who can afford them because the process is so convoluted and difficult.

Chiu made his last stop before spinning back to City Hall for a budget meeting at the city’s first official parklet, outside Mojo Bicycle Café. In response to another reporter’s question, the candidate said he was “totally in favor” of the city’s several mini street and sidewalk parks. “Parklets represent the formation of community.” Mojo’s owner Remy Nelson reiterated the concerns of his colleague Walt Bell about keeping Divisadero viable for local businesses.

Chiu’s car-free campaign has booked nine more neighborhood tours in March.

Panhandle Park: New Video Shows How Good It Will Get This Year

2011-03-09T07:00:00.000-08:00

The Panhandle Park keeps grabbing attention and for good reason. The block-wide green expanse is a city treasure and a neighborhood delight. It calms edgy urban folks, muffles the roar of Fell and Oak traffic, cleans the air, offers great picnic and frisbee grounds, and features a prime path for strollers and bicyclists. And then there's the kids' playground, the basketball court, and everyone's meeting place, the McKinley Monument.

Now the Panhandle Park Stewards has released a new YouTube video to tout the capital improvements coming to the park later this year. Written, narrated and produced by Dale Danley, leader of the park group, the video describes the new features expected in the central area of the park, specifically between Ashbury and Clayton Streets. Last year Danley's group was awarded a Community Opportunity Fund grant to upgrade paths, install new irrigation, re-design entries and exits, and include new landscaping and bike racks.

"I hope this video helps improve perceptions about the Panhandle Park by people across San Francisco," Danley commented with the launch of the video. The Neighborhood Parks Council ("Revitalizing Communities, Park by Park") likes the new video so much that it features the production on its site as well.

Every month the Panhandle Park Stewards welcomes neighbors and friends to join them for a morning of park-care. Next workday: this Saturday, March 12th, 9-11:30 a.m. See the group's site for more details.

Grove at Divisadero Gets Right Turn Only Signs Except for Bicyclists; New Signals Set for Spring 2012

2011-03-07T07:00:00.000-08:00

Only one way for motorists to travel on Grove at Divisadero

Westbound on Grove at Divisadero, right turn only

New Right Turn Only signs installed on either side of Grove at Divisadero make travel on the corridor safer, at least once motorists become familiar with the directions. The SFMTA added the turn signs as interim measures “to simplify the intersection” until the proposed signal light project is made operational in the spring of 1912.

Previously, motorists wanting to cross Divisadero at Grove either edged into the crosswalks to see oncoming traffic or sat in the middle of the intersection waiting for an opening in the traffic. Now, neither option is available. Turns are required either to the south on the NOPA side of Divisadero or to the north from the Alamo Square side. Bicyclists, however, are allowed to cross Divisadero from either direction on the Grove Street bike route.

Mike Sallaberry, SFMTA traffic engineer, wrote in a late February email that a contract for the new intersection signal will be advertised this spring with construction to follow a few months later. “The new signal should be operating in April/May 2112,” he said. He also explained that a signal at Grove was anticipated as part of the completed Divisadero traffic calming project.

Much of the underground infrastructure for the future signal (conduits and pull boxes) was installed in 2009 ahead of the Divisadero paving and streetscape improvements. This advance work will reduce the impact of the construction of the new signal as we will not need to cut trenches into a newly paved street or damage newly constructed curb ramps.

In a previous article, Sallaberry explained that the standard time period for planning, preparation, and installation of a new signal is three years. He added that temporary tape striping is used on a street, like Divisadero, to avoid ripping into the new asphalt surface when the signal light is ready to place.

NOPNA Board Votes Strong Support for Masonic's Boulevard Design

2011-03-04T09:06:00.000-08:00

The Board of Directors of the North of the Panhandle Neighborhood Association (NOPNA) has added its support to an extensive re-design of Masonic Avenue dubbed the Boulevard option. Jarie Bolander, NOPNA President, informed city planners this morning by email, that the board decided to support the Boulevard option "because that's what the majority of our neighbors want." The NOPNA board's decision is based on a recently completed survey the group presented to NOPA and Masonic area residents.

Bolander noted the data from that survey revealed a preference for the Boulevard treatment by more than 87% of respondents compared with nearly 54% for an alternative, less extensive option. Especially persuasive to board members was the striking 86% support for the Boulevard among paid NOPNA members. The board's official decision for NOPNA now places the association among other neighborhood groups who support the safety and re-design measures for Masonic as well as the majority of residents who supported the same proposal in a SFMTA survey last year.

Bolander guided the association board's discernment of the Masonic-related issues through a thorough and sometimes contentious process that reached resolution only with the additional evidence of strong support from the neighbors that the NOPNA survey provided. He noted in his letter to the city that the board's decision was not unanimous.

For other articles in the A Better Masonic series, check here.

SFMTA Hopes to Put Masonic Traffic Calming Steps in Place by End of March

2011-03-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

Lanes to be re-striped, crosswalks upgraded at several locations along Masonic

Median with signal light and pole is prone to damage from motorists and will be removed, new signal will be placed at the sides of Masonic

The SFMTA expects to implement another round of traffic calming measures by the end of this month, according to traffic engineer Manito Velasco. During a telephone call last week, Velasco said he had placed work orders with the paint shop and sign unit in late January of this year and he hoped all the changes will be completed this month. Several of the improvements were requested by Fix Masonic late last year.

Velasco identified specific locations for the upgrades and changes:

Crosswalks will be re-striped at Anza/O’Farrell, Grove, and Hayes
Sections of center traffic lanes will be re-striped the length of the corridor
25 MPH will be painted on north bound traffic lane surfaces at Fell and at Fulton and on southbound lanes at O’Farrell and Fulton
Warning signs for motorists to merge into the adjacent lane will be posted at Fell and at Hayes
Signals at Anza/O’Farrell will be upgraded as well as pedestrian signals at Turk
Median signal and pole at Anza/O’Farrell will be removed (Velasco said this was a maintenance issue as the pole is frequently hit and damaged by vehicles and the agency prefers “side-mounting” signals)

Fix Masonic had also requested that the SFMTA seek a “double fine zone” along Masonic and change the corridor to a school zone. Both measures require legislative approval, and Velasco said the agency is considering legislation. Another recommendation by the group has been to obtain greater enforcement of the 25 MPH speed limit. Velasco said the SFPD Traffic Company will increase its monitoring for speed violations.

The SFMTA recently helped complete a final report that recommends a re-design of Masonic Avenue between Fell and Geary to reduce speeding and increase safety for all road users. The proposal, dubbed the Boulevard, has received the support of neighborhood associations and a significant majority of residents in the Masonic area.

For previous articles in the A Better Masonic series, check here.

My regrets for mis-spelling Manito Velasco's name in the original version of this article.

World's Fairs and Celebrated Author All in One NOPA VELO Ride

2011-03-01T17:45:00.000-08:00

Palace of Fine Arts

Gail Sheehy (2nd from right) joins NOPA VELO ride

Ready for the World's Fairs

After last Saturday’s wet and chill, Sunday’s brisk and sunny morning was a treat for the sixteen riders gathered for NOPA VELO’s first bike ride of the year. With a Lions-to-Maidens World’s Fair tour in mind, cyclists met up at Central Coffee, Tea and Spice, a prime neighborhood spot to meet, greet, and power-up.

Then with a flourish of pink, the day’s Celebrity Rider appeared. Noted and influential author, journalist, and lecturer Gail Sheehy rolled up with her good friend and regular NOPA VELO rider, Steve Hershoff. (Check Sheehy's interview talking about her latest book, Passages in Caregiving). Gracious and poised, Ms. Sheehy said she happened to be in the city and the morning’s ride seemed “so San Francisco.” Besides, she added, “I haven’t been on a bike since last summer.” She lives mostly in New York, and we know about the weather back East.

Soon enough riders spun their way back in time to the site of the 1894 California Midwinter Exposition in Golden Gate Park. The Music Concourse got its start when Michael H. de Young, publisher of the San Francisco Chronicle, persuaded the city to sponsor a world’s fair on the undeveloped park land. An astute and calculating fellow, de Young managed to lure many of the exhibitors from Chicago’s celebrated “White City” World's Fair the year before to transport their exhibits to San Francisco. Seventeen countries and most of the states showed off their wares, and more than 1.3 million people attended during the six-month run of the fair.

NOPA VELO riders checked out the exposition’s remnants including the two sphinxes in front of today’s de Young Museum, the Japanese Village (now the Japanese Tea Garden), and the Cider Press statue.

After a spin around the concourse, riders zipped 21 years forward to the Palace of Fine Arts and the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition. Fair enthusiasts have their favorites, but the PPIE, as it became known, was truly San Francisco’s most extravagant and wildly successful presentation to the world. The Tower of Jewels alone, a 43-story building glittering with more than 100,000 colored-glass ornaments, suggests the flamboyance of the fair. The Palace of Fine Arts, designed by Bernard Maybeck and the prized remnant of the celebration, beckoned riders for self-guided tours before heading back to NOPA for lunch at Ziryab restaurant, a jewel in itself on Divisadero.

Next NOPA VELO ride set for April. To get the news first join the NOPA VELO Google Group.

Largest Survey Yet Confirms Strong Support for Complete Masonic Re-Design; NOPNA Finds Members Back the Boulevard Plan

2011-02-26T23:07:00.000-08:00

One traffic calming measure already in place on Masonic

North Panhandle neighbors gave significant support once again for a complete re-design of Masonic Avenue in an online survey completed by 377 residents. Of the total, 87% favored the Boulevard option as the best way to make Masonic a safer street for all users. The plan offers a complete package of traffic calming measures, including a fully-landscaped median, bus bulb outs, a separated bicycle lane, improved traffic lane configurations, and sidewalk upgrades for pedestrians. To make the improvements, the Boulevard proposal removes parking from both sides of Masonic between Geary and Fell. The other option, dubbed the Gateway, would employ less extensive measures to improve safe travel on Masonic. Compared with the Boulevard’s 87% support, the Gateway garnered significantly less with 54% preferring it. The North of the Panhandle Neighborhood Association (NOPNA) released the results of the survey along with the raw data yesterday.

In an executive summary, NOPNA President Jarie Bolander noted that “the vast majority of respondents want to see Masonic safer and feel that something must be done.” He added that most survey respondents (66.4%) had not attended the community meetings organized by the SFMTA last year. Thus, the NOPNA data reflect the preference of a great many residents not previously tallied and indicates even greater support for the Boulevard plan.

Image: NOPNA Masonic Survey Analysis

At the conclusion of last year’s Masonic meetings, 76% of participants who completed a SFMTA survey chose the Boulevard over the Gateway option. Based on that input, city staff recommended adoption of the Boulevard measures in a final report completed in January. The proposal has already been endorsed by the Ewing Terrace Neighborhood Association, a majority of University Terrace Neighborhood Association members, and Fix Masonic. The NOPNA board previously stated that they wanted to undertake the survey to obtain greater input from members before deciding what action to take.

In addition to the decided preference for the more ambitious street design, the NOPNA survey revealed other information pertinent to the discussion. Of the 373 who completed the survey, the greatest number of Masonic area residents heard about the proposals from three sources: the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (SFBC) (46.9%), the NOPNA newsletter (41.4%), and BIKE NOPA (36.2%). More than 58% of respondents indicated they live within the NOPNA boundaries (Fell, Turk, Divisadero and Masonic) while 80% reside within or just one block beyond these streets.

Of the 477 residents who started the survey, 45 live on Masonic, and 81.8% of them strongly like or somewhat like the Boulevard proposal compared to 44.1% for the Gateway plan. Of the 127 who self-identified as being NOPNA members, 86% strongly liked or somewhat liked the Boulevard versus 59.9% for the Gateway.

When it comes to discussions about driving and biking in NOPA – as in other neighborhoods -- residents sometime adopt an “us vs. them” approach, suggesting that motorists don’t care about road safety for others, that bicyclists only favor improvements for themselves, or that peoples' modes of travel define their identity and affiliations. But the NOPNA survey shows much the opposite. Although the vast majority of respondents indicated that they belonged to the SFBC and 43% identified themselves as NOPNA members, a very high number (42%) actually belong to both groups. Other group affiliations mentioned include Fix Masonic (14.2%), NOPA+ (12.6%), Wigg Party (7.1%), and WalkSF (7.1%).

The removal of street parking for a safer Masonic was included in both proposals, although the Boulevard takes away parking on both sides of the street, while the Gateway removes it from just one side. Not surprisingly, those who support the Boulevard largely like the plan’s removal of parking to allow space for improvements. But Gateway advocates are almost evenly split on liking or disliking removal of half the parking.

The strong feelings of residents about changing Masonic are apparent in the large number of written comments for each proposal and for the overall situation. Nearly 300 comments were added to the survey. As can be expected, observations cover the range from enthusiasm to dismay for the proposed changes, but the tone was generally more positive than not. The plea of one neighbor is especially poignant:

Please fix Masonic. I’ve lived at Fulton and Masonic for less than a year and I regret moving here every day. The noise and speeding vehicles and honking horns is overwhelming. The crosswalks are terrifying. I drive occasionally and something about this street encourages aggressive behavior.

Mayor Lee Calls for SFMTA to Move Quickly on Fell Street Protected Bikeway by Bryan Goebel and Michael Helquist

2011-02-25T12:56:00.000-08:00

The current bike lane on Fell Street would be transformed into a curbside cycletrack.

Image: RG Architecture for SFBC

Mayor Ed Lee's comments to Streetsblog earlier this week that he would like to "quickly" see a physically-separated bike lane trial on Fell Street along The Wiggle came as exciting news to bicycle advocates who are proposing a continuous green stretch along the curb from Scott to Stanyan Streets.

"I want to get to that experiment on Fell Street quickly because I’d like to see how these lanes that we are dedicating would be away from the open doors, and away from fast traffic," the Mayor told Streetsblog.

Both Fell and Oak, which run adjacent as one-way arterials, present an ideal opportunity to build San Francisco's first parking-protected bike lane, and to begin restoring some of the safety and civility the neighborhoods knew before traffic engineers began turning the quiet streets into residential freeways.

"We're encouraged to hear Mayor Lee's interest in making Fell Street safer and more inviting for everyone, and look forward to working with the city to help get this bikeway on the ground," said SFBC Executive Director Leah Shahum."Creating a physically separated bikeway on both Fell and Oak Streets will be essential to connecting our city with safer streets and helping more people of all ages to feel comfortable and confident biking."

Bicycle advocates have urged the SFMTA to experiment with a physically-separated lane on Fell Street, especially on the three blocks of Fell between Scott and Baker. Those blocks currently connect the popular Wiggle bike route with the multi-use Panhandle Park path for points further west, as well as connections north and south.

Cyclists cite the ongoing hazards of traveling along fast-moving traffic and maneuvering around vehicles that fully or partially block the bike lane, especially at the entry to the Arco gas station at Divisadero. Although car and bicycle traffic moves more smoothly through that area since the SFMTA installed new lane configurations, difficulties remain. Bike riders also have to watch for car doors swinging open on other portions of Fell.

A rendering of one recommended option on Fell Street from www.connecting the city.org

Despite those conditions, the route has become very popular since being striped over a decade ago, because it is a major east-west connection. Ridership has nearly doubled on that portion of The Wiggle in recent years. According to the latest SFMTA data, 52,055 people rode on Fell Street between Scott and Divisadero last September. Most of those rides took place in the evening commute hours, when the street is busiest and the bike lanes are most often obstructed.

The very popularity of the route has caused some consternation among other users of the Panhandle Path, especially older pedestrians and parents with young kids. Fast-spinning bicyclists and walkers easily get in each other’s way and conflicts appear regularly on the narrow mixed-use path. In this case, non-bicyclists are becoming strong supporters of a separated bike lane on Fell, if the new facility reduces fast bike traffic on the multi-use path.

"A physically separate bikeway up Fell street would be a tremendous benefit to the Panhandle," said Jarie Bolander of the North of Panhandle Neighborhood Association (NOPNA). "Not only would it provide a safe way for bicyclists to commute east and west, but it also calms traffic and would make it more pleasant to stroll in the Panhandle. In addition, the Panhandle needs some major upgrades and this project is a great way to bring focus on those efforts."

The SFBC is urging the SFMTA to install a green physically-separated bike lane from Scott to Stanyan on Fell and Oak, acting as a couplet for bike traffic. The changes would look similar to the several blocks of green separated bike lanes on Market Street, but could utilize parked cars instead of soft-hit posts to separate vehicle traffic from bicyclists.

The SFBC proposes two options for addressing the safety problem. The first would be to remove the parking on the south side of Fell and the north side of Oak to permit space for bike lanes, using a design almost identical to the popular bike lanes on Market Street.

The alternative would be to keep the parking but convert the curbside space into a bike lane, reduce the number of lanes on Fell and Oak from three to two between Scott and Baker, and from four to three lanes between Baker and Stanyan. It would allow cars to park along the outside of the bike lane with a five-foot buffered space between the bike lane and parked cars.

Grand Street in Manhattan. Photo: www.streetsblog.org

It took a matter of days to install a similar treatment on Grand Street in New York, which now has 14.8 miles of protected bikeways, compared to less than a mile for San Francisco. The Grand Street lane is about a mile long and provides a crosstown connection leading from downtown Manhattan to the Williamsburg Bridge and Manhattan Bridge. The Fell and Oak improvements would be similar and just as easy to do.

The option to maintain parking is one that will probably be favored most by residents concerned about tight parking in the neighborhoods. It would also benefit people on foot because it could be accompanied by bulbouts and other pedestrian-friendly treatments at intersections, making it easier and safer to cross Fell and Oak Street.

The area is a prime location to experiment with the proposed design, which has also been successful in Vancouver and Portland. It also works well because there are generally few residential curb cuts and driveways along the proposed green bike lanes. In spots where curb cuts do exist, the bike lanes would become dashed.

The Arco station presents several complications, and any solution will likely yield less-than-perfect results, but advocates believe city officials can eventually get rid of the curb cuts at the troublesome location. For now, though, the SFBC's recommendation is to have the curbside lane bike become dashed where it crosses the curb cuts, and allow drivers to queue up in a left turn-lane on the outer side of the bike lane.

The city has recently shown more willingness to experiment with innovative projects and avoid the great-study-on-the-shelf syndrome. Mini-parks and parklets throughout the city have earned rave reviews among early skeptics and changes to lane configurations have always been a feature of traffic in the city.

The SFBC, neighborhood leaders, and other livability advocates hope – and urge – the city to adopt the separated bike lanes on Fell and Oak to improve safety and traffic flow for all road users.

This story is a collaborative piece from Streetsblog San Francisco and BIKE NOPA.

World's Fair NOPA VELO Ride this Sunday Morning

2011-02-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

Maidens, lions, sphinxes, and a cider press -- just a few of the sites NOPA VELO riders will see on the first spin of the year during its Lions to Maidens World's Fair Tour Sunday morning. After days of snow on city streets -- or, well, maybe not -- the sun will come out for this special ride through the neighborhood and into two of San Francisco's favorite scenic spots.

Everyone welcome for this NOPA-based biking group. Join us for a brisk morning spin.

Check out our previous rides here.

NOPA VELO Lions to Maidens World's Fair Ride
Sunday, February 27
9:30 am - Meet at Central Coffee, Tea & Spice, corner Central & Hayes
10:00 am - Ride begins
All level riders welcome. Kids on own bikes OK if with guardian.
Pets too if on bike or leash.
Info: Lenore at 415-300-6744, lmcjunker@gmail.com

Join NOPA-VELO Google Group:
http://groups.google.com/group/nopa-velo
Updates and pics @ BIKE NOPA: ibikenopa.blogspot.com

BIKE NOPA Reader Can't Wait for Bike Parking in the Panhandle, Installs His Own

2011-02-24T07:00:00.000-08:00

Until the official bike racks are installed in the Panhandle Park, this one helps

Bike parking at the bulletin board near the restroom west of Masonic

Impatient for the official, authorized bike racks to be installed in the Panhandle Park, one of BIKE NOPA's readers decided to provide secure parking for himself and any of the other thousands of bicyclists who use the Panhandle Path in the interim. Yes, the bulletin board posts are public property, but instead of any admonition, how about saluting the public spiritedness of the stealthy bike parker?

I appreciated that Dale Danley -- with his eyes-on-the-Panhandle everyday -- had yet to notice the bike parking addition in the midst of the proposed make-over area that he is helping to coordinate west of Masonic. "I'm glad that someone else realized how badly we need bike parking in the Panhandle," Danley remarked. "Getting real racks installed can't happen quickly enough for me either." When will the Panhandle project get underway? Danley said he was optimistic about the timeline, but ventured only a vague "Sometime this year."

For all the news on the Panhandle, check Panhandle Park Stewards.

Repaving Finally Set for MLK Drive in Golden Gate Park

2011-02-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

Western section of JFK Drive used to look like this -- how soon we happily forget

Worn-to-concrete-base pothole on MLK Jr. Drive was first tagged a long, long time ago

Part of the "treacherous section" of MLK Jr. Drive in Golden Gate Park

At long last repaving is coming to the south side streets of Golden Gate Park, primarily to Martin Luther King Drive. While a repaved western section of JFK Drive has delighted bicyclists, motorists, and pedestrians since last spring on the north side of the city's premiere park, MLK has posed a dodge-and-swerve guantlet to travelers for years. Body-rattling and sometimes jaw-dropping craters have plagued the long stretch between the Great Highway and Kezar Drive. Even the Recreation and Parks Commission's Capital Committee referred to the "treacherous eastern section of MLK Drive" in a memo last month to General Manager Philip Ginzburg.

The repaving project includes the MLK roadway between Kezar Drive and 19th Avenue, including Bowling Green Drive and Stow Lake Drive. Additional options include segments of MLK Drive west of 19th Avenue to the Great Highway. The $2.5 million resurfacing will rely mostly on Proposition 40 funds along with a half million dollars from the Open Space Fund.

The scope of work will include a process familiar to BIKE NOPA readers who followed the stages of repaving JFK Drive last spring:

grinding off the top 2 inches of asphalt
cutting away of damaged areas and more repair as needed
adding new curb ramps
installing new paving fabric
applying 2 inch overlay the full length of the roadway
road and crosswalk striping

Work is expected to begin this Spring.

NOPA VELO'S Lions to Maidens World's Fair Ride Sunday February 27

2011-02-22T13:45:00.001-08:00

Image: Rick Helf www.helf.com

Celebrate two of San Francisco's great World's Fairs in one awesome bike ride as NOPA VELO launches its second year of distinctive, thematic spins through the neighborhood and beyond this Sunday morning. Join the NOPA VELO cyclists at one of our favorite cafes for the much-needed power-up and then kick off seeking the lions and sphinxes of Golden Gate Park.

On August 24, 1893 San Franciscans gathered to cheer the first shovel-full of earth turned for the start of construction of the California Mid-Winter International Exposition. Michael de Young, publisher of the San Francisco Chronicle, hoped to attract new settlers by extolling the midwinter climate of California, the land of sunshine. (Ummm, ok). Today's Music Concourse in Golden Gate Park featured four exotic exhibition halls with the style and design of the Middle and Far East. More than 72,000 people flocked to the park for opening day ceremonies on January 27, 1894. NOPA VELO riders will stop by the few reminders of the city's first world's fair: the bronze lion and pair of sphinxes near the de Young Museum, the Wine Press statue, the bronze Roman Gladiator, and the Japanese Tea Garden.

Spinning out of Golden Gate Park riders will head cross-town to the site of the even grander Panama Pacific International Exposition (PPIE) of 1915. When fair organizers proposed returning to Golden Gate Park once again, local folks objected in their very San Francisco way. The city had barely recovered from the 1906 Earthquake and Fire with refugee camps situated all over the park, and advocates wanted to protect the city's prize park. Instead, the promoters filled in the mudflats of what was known then as the Harbor View District -- and today is the Marina District -- to construct an architectural fantasia with a 43-story Tower of Jewels in the center. One of the most beloved structures was the Palace of Fine Arts designed by Bernard H. Maybeck. NOPA VELO riders will visit the newly renovated Palace 95 years and seven days after the official PPIE opening.

If you haven't stopped by either World's Fair site lately, this ride will be a treat, especially to see the makeover at the Palace. Join NOPA VELO for a fine ride through the city with one long climb and one sweeping descent (but all very manageable) followed by lunch at NOPA's own Ziryab Grill on Divisadero at about noon.

NOPA VELO Lions to Maidens World's Fair Ride

Sunday, February 27

9:30 am - Meet at Central Coffee, Tea & Spice, corner Central & Hayes

10:00 am - Ride begins

All level riders welcome. Kids on own bikes OK if with guardian.

Pets too if on bike or leash.

Info: Lenore at 415-300-6744, lmcjunker@gmail.com

Join NOPA-VELO Google Group:

http://groups.google.com/group/nopa-velo

Updates and pics @ BIKE NOPA: ibikenopa.blogspot.com

Special thanks to Robert Ehler Blaisdell's fine evocation of these expositions in San Francisciana Photographs of Three World Fairs. (Marilyn Blaisdell, Publisher, 1994, San Franicsco).