San Francisco transit officials are promising to double efforts to install more bike racks citywide.
On Monday at a press event, city officials installed new bike corrals at the intersection of 16th and Sanchez streets and announced the plan to install 100 new bike racks each month, or about 1,200 bike racks annually.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which processes requests for additional bike racks and corrals, says they install an average of 500 to 600 racks per year.
Supervisor Rafael Mandelman in February urged the SFMTA to step up installations due to the growing number of dockless electric scooters and bikes surfacing on city streets.
The supervisor said in a statement:
“When we add options to get around our city, we need to make sure we’re adding capacity to safely secure bikes and scooters. The commitment announced today is a good start, and I look forward to working with the SFMTA and bicycle and pedestrian advocates to add racks everywhere they are needed in San Francisco.”
The SFMTA said they will also be looking at how areas around red zones can be utilized to add bike parking, such as at 16th and Sanchez streets.
The project’s funding will come from a number of sources, including e-scooter companies that will pay $75 per device to help mitigate the cost of citywide rack installations.
Jerold serves as a reporter and San Francisco Bureau Chief for SFBay covering transportation and occasionally City Hall and the Mayor's Office in San Francisco. His work on transportation has been recognized by the San Francisco Press Club. Born and raised in San Francisco, he graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in journalism. Jerold previously wrote for the San Francisco Public Press, a nonprofit, noncommercial news organization. When not reporting, you can find Jerold taking Muni to check out new places to eat in the city.
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The red zone is there for visibility. So car drivers can see pedestrians and pedestrians can see cars. Good job making pedestrians less safe, as usual.
The bike corral is pretty transparent, unlike an SUV illegally parked in the red zone. And a bike corral near an intersection forces the cars to make a wider turn, which is more safe for pedestrians.
The bike corrals are really effective at keeping people from double parking and blocking visibility. The largest bike still offers a clear line of sight for drivers.