2016 District 3 Candidate Tim Donnelly

Candidate Facts

3TD bike    Name: Tim Donnelly
   Campaign Website: N/A

Candidate Questionnaire

All official candidates were contacted and given the opportunity to answer our Candidate Questionnaire. Any candidate responses edited for length and clarity have been marked as such.

1. Do you ride a bicycle in the city?

Yes

If “Yes,” how often do you ride and for what purpose(s)?

I ride a several times a week on average. Sometimes for fun, other times for transportation.

2. The City has established a goal to at least double the number of bike trips in the next 3 years. Do you support this goal?

Yes

If yes, what would you do as Supervisor to help the city realize it?

I begged the DPT over twenty years ago, when Gavin Newsom was on that board, for a network of bike lanes, so riders could traverse the City without sharing a lane with cars. they were not supportive. I did not even own a bicycle at the time, but felt it was important. I have several bikes now and ride frequently. I created a bike room in the building I manage, to encourage tenants to own and ride bikes and have given bikes to friends to get them hooked. As a supervisor, I would support programs that encourage biking. [RESPONSE TRUNCATED]

3. Our City has embraced and adopted Vision Zero, the goal to eliminate all fatalities and serious injuries on our streets by 2024. Do you support Vision Zero?

[NO RESPONSE GIVEN]

If “Yes,” the city has yet to make significant progress since the introduction of Vision Zero in 2014. In fact, fatalities are on the rise. What would you do as Supervisor to help the city achieve Vision Zero?

I believe we need to assess the causes of bicycle accidents and take steps to reduce them. A network of separated bike lanes and educating drivers to check for bikes before they open their doors, would be a start.

4. Research and data has shown that building high-quality protected bike infrastructure is the most effective way to increase the number of people who bike. Despite this, there remain very few streets and corridors in San Francisco with protected bike lanes. Do you support the significant expansion of protected bike infrastructure, recognizing that this is often achieved by reallocating space on our streets that may decrease on-street car parking or vehicle travel lanes?

Yes 

If “Yes,” what is at least one street or corridor in your District that you think would most benefit from a protected bike facility and why?

Jefferson Street

5. The SF Bicycle Coalition participated in the Mayor’s Transportation 2030 Task Force, which identified significant funding gaps for a safe, reliable transportation system. To continue building out the bike network, the original need until 2030 was $360 million, which has now increased to $660 million, by City estimates. Do you support increased allocation and funding for bike projects to at least match the percentage of San Franciscans who bike?

Yes 

6. The Department of Public Health has used data to develop the “high-injury network” to show the 12% of city streets where over 70% of the collisions occur. This map has also shown that low-income communities are disproportionately affected by traffic collisions. If Supervisor, what would you do to prevent collisions in your District at these known locations?

Double-parkers are the scourge of transportation in SF, yet I never see any enforcement against it. That needs to change. We also need to create off street parking to allow flexible use of our curb spaces. We should use the curb space for deliveries, disabled, pick-up/drop-offs and short stays. We have to face the fact that the city is evolving and keep up with the changes. Forcing cars and trucks to circle around and double park is not helping anyone. We need to be accommodating to different needs. Squaring off against one another is not the solution. [RESPONSE TRUNCATED]

7. Market Street is San Francisco’s most-biked street, with nearly 7,000 trips by bike counted here every day. The City is working on the Better Market Street project, which calls for limiting private automobiles, creating a continuous, protected bike lane for the full length of the project from the Embarcadero to Octavia Boulevard and significantly advancing transit and pedestrian-friendly street design. Do you support this plan?

[NO RESPONSE GIVEN]

8. Data has shown that the five most dangerous behaviors are all driver-related offenses: speeding, failure to yield to pedestrians, improper right-hand turns, running red lights and failure to stop at stop signs. The San Francisco Police Department has committed to maintaining 50% of their traffic citations to “Focus on the Five,” a goal they have yet to meet citywide. Do you support Focus on the Five and smart, data-driven enforcement?

Yes 

9. As Supervisor, what will you do to ensure SFPD focuses enforcement on Focus on the Five or other known issues that make our streets unwelcome to bike on, such as double-parking in bike lanes, rather than ad hoc, complaint-driven enforcement?

[NO RESPONSE GIVEN]

10. Bay Area Bike Share is in the middle of a game-changing, tenfold expansion of its system to become one of the densest bike share networks in the United States. Do you support the expansion and placement of bike share stations in your District, even if this may mean repurposing of on-street vehicle parking?

[NO RESPONSE GIVEN]

District-Specific Questions

1.There is currently no dedicated north-south bike lane to connect Market Street to Chinatown, North Beach and beyond. The City is in the process of identifying the best corridor for bike improvements. If Supervisor, would you support the community outreach, planning and implementation of a north-south bike route here with dedicated, protected bike lanes?

Yes

2.District 3 and Chinatown in particular has some of the highest rates of walking as the main mode of getting around but has also been the site of tragic pedestrian fatalities in recent years. If Supervisor, what will you do to ensure District 3 is walkable and bike-friendly?

District 3 is the most challenging due to its density and topography, with regards to bike riding. It will take some creativity and sacrificing to reach our goals, but that is a challenge worth taking. I think an opportunity was wasted when the redo of Jefferson St. in Fisherman’s Wharf did not include a bike lane. The stretch through that area has a great number of bicyclists, many who are visitors, yet is extremely challenging to traverse. We need to reevaluate that stretch and perhaps redo our redo. A mistake that is corrected is no longer a mistake.

3. The City is in the middle of the public planning phase for the Embarcadero Enhancement Project to design a protected bike lane from AT&T Park to Fisherman’s Wharf. The SF Bicycle Coalition’s preferred design is a two-way protected bike lane on the waterfront side of the Embarcadero. Recognizing design challenges will require potential tradeoffs with on-street parking and travel lanes, would you support our preferred design as Supervisor?

No

If “No,” what design do you prefer?

I bike that stretch plenty and am not comfortable with the present configuration. I’m not an expert, but I would want to consider moving the bike lane to the left of the inside vehicle lane. That would eliminate the problems of right turning vehicles as well as the danger of “dooring” and cars parking in the bike lane. The waterfront lane works well but needs enforcement to eliminate parking in the bike lane, and intrusion from motorcycles.

4. A significant portion of Market Street is in District 3, including the intersection at Battery Street where a person biking was hit and killed by a Muni bus last year. What near-term improvements would you champion as Supervisor to improve street safety on Market Street?

Perhaps the “inside bike lane” could work for Market St. as well.

Return to November 2016 Candidate Summaries
 

 

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