City starts marking new bike lanes after court ruling

A San Francisco Superior Cout judge ruled Friday that the city may continue with several bike projects after he found that the city was in compliance with enviromental reviews of traffic and parking problems.

The decision by Judge Peter J. Busch allows the city to start implementing the Bicycle Plan Program, which includes adding more bike lanes on city streets. The plan was approved by the Board of Supervisors 2005, but an injunction was placed the following year, according to The San Francisco Chronicle.

A lawsuit was filed by the Coalition for Adequate Review, led by Rob Anderson. Anderson said a review needed to be done to look at the impact of lost parking spaces and traffic lanes if the Bicycle Plan Program was implemented.

“This is the first time in San Francisco’s history that this many bike lane projects are approved and ready to be striped and we’re so pleased that the city is acting so quickly to get these new improvements on the ground to help growing numbers of people feel more confident, comfortable and safe when they bike to shop, to work and to play,” said Renée Rivera, acting executive director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.

The coalition said that despite the injunction on bike projects, the city saw a 53 percent increase in bicycle ridership.

The city began marking new bike lanes on Monday as Mayor Gavin Newsom was on hand to celebrate the bike lane striping on Townsend Street. Other bike projects include North Point Street and Ocean Avenue.

“We are eager for these types of innovations to be added to streets all across San Francisco to create connections and make our city an easier and safer to place to live, shop, and do business,” said Rivera.