Golden Gate Ave., Tenderloin’s First East-West Bike Lane, Approved

A buffered bike lane is finally coming to a street where 10 people biking or walking are hit every year.

Golden Gate Avenue is a dangerous street in a neighborhood plagued by unsafe streets. Practically every street in the Tenderloin is classified by the SF Department of Health as a high-injury corridor, making the TL one of the most unsafe neighborhood to walk or bike in San Francisco. The buffered bike lane approved unanimously by the Board of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) yesterday will be the first east-west bike lane in the entire neighborhood.

Fellow SF Bicycle Coalition member Supervisor Jane Kim spoke in-person yesterday to add her voice along with the many other members who wrote letters in support of delivering the safer streets that Tenderloin residents deserve. We want to thank Sup. Kim and our members who wrote letters in addition to Kevin Stull at Central City S.R.O. Collaborative and Madeleine Savit at Folks For Polk, who both spoke about the need to connect Polk to Market with safer streets.

This project reminds us that streets are for people by converting one traffic lane into a buffered bike lane, better crosswalks and painted safety zones. With yesterday’s approval, this people-friendly design will quickly move towards implementation in the coming months.

This bike lane will be an important connection between two of the most popular bike routes in our city. Polk Street is planned for a complete street redesign, due to break ground later this year. Market Street, however, remains among the most dangerous streets to bike and walk in San Francisco, even though it is the most-biked street in our city. Please join our campaign today to see protected bike lanes on Market Street from the Embarcadero through Octavia. This week’s victory for people who bike the Tenderloin shows yet again that together, we can make a difference for safer streets.

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