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Meeting Information



2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 Bicycle Advisory Committee regular meeting
Thursday, March 16, 2006
6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

1. Roll Call: Andy Bindman (D1), Lisa Estrella (D4), Hitesh Soneji (D6), Bert Hill (D7), Francisco Hernandez (D9), Rufus Davis (D10), Casey Allen (D11).

2. Announcements & Acknowledgments: none.

3. Approve Minutes: Minutes for February 16, 2006 approved with minor revisions from Rufus Davis and Hitesh Soneji.

4. Public Comment: none.

5. Chairman's Report: Bert Hill appeared on Channel 7 news riding on 11th Street between Market and Mission, what he considers to be one of the worst sections of street in the city. He will make a motion next meeting to endorse the $28 million infrastructure plan submitted by Supervisor Elsbernd to resurface streets.

6. Committee Member Reports
Rufus Davis (D10): Bert asked Rufus if Supervisor Maxwell will need an electric bike to tour areas of D10 including Cesar Chavez and Potrero. Rufus said that she should be fine without one but will check.

Hitesh Soneji (D6): Hitesh attended a mid-Market community meeting with merchants with businesses on Market between Van Ness and Octavia.  These include furniture stores and a caterer. The current MTA proposal would move parking spots from Market itself to the side streets.  Dustin White and Mike Sallaberry of MTA were there to take feedback from the community. The committee discussed the legality of using the bike lane when loading and unloading a vehicle as long as the vehicle is attended.

Rufus asked about the Caltrain bicycle station at 4th and King. Bert and Hitesh said that only the groundbreaking ceremony has taken place.

Bert Hill for Susan King (D5): Bert will write a letter to the Golden Gate Park Concourse Authority about illegal parking in the bike lanes.  Bert asked Andy Thornley (SF Bicycle Coalition) who said the SFBC has sent a letter to Yomi Agunbiade, General Manager of the SF Recreation & Park Department, about the De Young's instructions to valet parking vendors about occupying the bike lane.

Francisco Hernandez (D9): Francisco was recently married to Sarah Carp and is an expectant father.

Andy Bindman (D1): none.

Casey Allen (D11): Casey and Andy Thornley (SFBC) attended a community meeting with Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval and his aide, Judson True, celebrating the new Alemany bike lane. Casey, Andy, Judson, and others then went on a neighborhood ride to survey discontinuities of bikeways around Lake Merced and on Brotherhood Way. Casey has also been reappointed as the D11 BAC representative.

Bert asked Peter Tannen (MTA) about the signage near the Glen Park BART station after going east on Alemany and under the 280 freeway. It currently directs cyclists up the Laidley hill, but he thought it should also highlight the way to the new San Jose Avenue lane. Andy Thornley also noted signs for the Cayuga route should be on Alemany.

Lisa Estrella (D4): Community meetings are about to begin for the bike lane on Sloat between Great Highway and the SF zoo.

Francisco Hernandez (D9): The Cesar Chavez group, Si Se Puede, submitted their traffic calming application which would remove a lane of car traffic and add a bike lane in each direction from Guerrero and Highway 101.
7. Reports on the Bike Plan
a. MTA Report (Peter Tannen, MTA)
Rufus Davis: A.10. Rufus is glad to see progress on D10 projects, especially the controversial Illinois Street.

Hitesh Soneji: A.1. Hitesh confirmed that the goal for Howard and 9th Street was to have one right turn lane.

Hitesh Soneji: B.3. Hitesh confirmed that the bicycle parking would be similar to that in front of the Main Library, but Peter said it would not be as fancy.

Hitesh Soneji: B.2. Peter said they are hoping to have one car parking's worth of space for on-street bicycle parking when the street is repaved, and the MTA hopes to work with the community to find a replacement car parking space.

Francisco Hernandez: Francisco asked about the bad state of Valencia, especially with the steel plates. Peter recommended contacting DPW to have inspectors make sure the contractors are abiding by the rules for plates. Andy Thornley (SFBC) commented that it's the work of PG&E and that he has contacted the SFPD to enforce a safe path of travel.  Peter mentioned there was some time period, say 72 hours, after which bare plates would be in violation. Andy added there is a blue book of rules that state that a detour route and sign must be in place if a bike lane is blocked by construction.

Andy Bindman: D.5. Andy Bindman asked about the compromise. Peter explained that one arm of the city wants to do a before and after study and collect data while another arm of the city just wants to color the lanes.

Andy Thornley: D.5. Andy Thornley stated the SFBC's position was to go ahead with the color. From a liability and acceptance perspective, he thought actual experience with the colors would be just as valuable as CTCDC or federal endorsement. He also noted colored lanes have been used in other countries. Furthermore, he and Oliver Gajda (MTA) both felt the Market and Octavia intersection represents an exceptional case due to nearby freeway traffic, and color should be used to represent the continuation of a bike lane across the mouth of a freeway.

Andy Thornley: A.10. Regarding the Blue Greenway, the mayor's office is aiming for a late June ribbon cutting ceremony for the Illinois and Cargo Way bike lanes. Andy then explained that Marshall Foster, Director of City Greening, thought the Blue Greenway could also use colored pavement to help declare a lane as a public pathway.

D.5. The committee then discussed whether colored lanes should be restricted to only the most exceptional cases where a bike is not expected or whether coloring anywhere would highlight the presence of cyclists. Bert Hill warned that Bayshore and Cesar Chavez is even more deserving of colored pavement than Market and Octavia.

Casey Allen: A.3. Casey asked what the bike lane configuration would be on Phelan. Peter Tannen said that the City College had raised new concerns at a meeting to Frank Markowitz, MTA Pedestrian Program Manager. Bert Hill added that the college already has a huge parking lot across the street.

Casey Allen: A.5. Casey asked why the Scott left turn bike lane had been dropped. Andy Thornley said that he had been working with Dustin White (MTA) on this project to facilitate northbound cyclists turning left onto Fell from Scott. The prior intersection of Scott will have a bike box before Oak. After Oak and approaching Fell, there was supposed to be a left hand bike lane to guide left turns. However, this would require removal of some car parking, and pedestrian advocates also felt safe when shielded by a row of parked cars.

Bert Hill: A.5. Bert said guidance is needed for cyclists coming eastbound on the Wiggle and entering Market because the light is always red.

Casey Allen: D.2. Bike heads would be great for Market Street.

Casey Allen: D.3. Casey confirmed that the city was able to apply for the Bicycle Friendly City designation from the League of American Bicyclists.

Lisa Estrella: A.7. Lisa asked whether the bicycle parking would be for zoo patrons or the general public. Peter assumed the former, but the committee said it could be accessible to the public depending on the location of the facilities.

Bert Hill: D.4. Folding bikes on LRVs were seen as successful.  Standard bikes on LRVs are more challenging. The general consensus was that entering the front fare area with a bicycle would be problematic, so the mechanics of fare payment with a bicycle still need to be worked out. The experiment led by Oliver Gajda (MTA) on a parked LRV at the MUNI yard was informative.

Bert Hill: C.1. Bert is conducting both Day 1 and Day 2 of the Bike Education classes.

Hitesh Soneji: D.1. Peter Tannen clarified that MTA Staff looked at new designs for bringing bicycles up and down stairs at the 16th Street BART station.
b. SFBC Report (Andy Thornley): The SFBC has a new staff member, Rachel Kraai, as Membership & Volunteer Organizer for six months after which she'll attend graduate school. Andy will be leading a Bay to the Beach ride on Saturday, March 25, to survey the crosstown route. Andy compliments Mike Sallaberry (MTA) on his engineering work for the Alemany bike lanes. The Golden Wheel Awards will be on Wednesday, April 12, and Mayor Gavin Newsom will be present.  Legislation for Saturday closure of JFK has been introduced and will be discussed at an April City Operations and Neighborhood Services (CONS) Committee meeting. The Si Se Puede community group delivered many signatures of a petition for Cesar Chavez traffic calming to Bond Yee, DPT Director. ISCOTT is holding a decision to remove the second right turn lane from Howard and 9th Street, as the Port representative of ISCOTT has issues with the reconfiguration. As part of the Blue Greenway project, there is a push to get Illinois and Cargo Way striped with bike lanes for a ceremony at the end of June. This will go before the Port Commission meeting on March 28.
8. Task Force Reports
a. Bike Theft & Security (Bert Hill, D7): no report.
b. Bike Plan implementation progress measurement (Andy Bindman, D1): The task force of Andy Bindman (D1), Bert Hill (D7), Francisco Hernandez (D9), Andy Thornley (SFBC), and Oliver Gajda (MTA) met the preceding Monday to learn each other's goals. The SFBC is pursuing a survey of bicyclists and the general public in time for Bike to Work Day, May 18. The MTA has been trying to secure funds to a similar survey. The task force also discussed other types of data they would like to see and examined reports from other cities.

Andy Bindman felt the group had the right ideas but not the resources to design and carry out a survey. The members of the task force then how the SFBC's shorter term goals of quickly polling the bicycling community by Bike to Work Day diverge from the City's need to more formally survey the general public. At the very least, the MTA can build upon the SFBC's initial survey. The committee then discussed possible sources of funding a larger study by the City.
c. Bayshore Blvd. (Rufus Davis, D10): none.
d. Golden Gate Park: none.
e. Committee Member Business: District 2 still has a vacancy, but Casey Allen has been reappointed for District 11.
9. New Business
b. Retirement of Peter Tannen (Bert Hill): The resolution in recognition of his service was approved.
a. Five Year Plan (Peter Tannen, MTA Bicycle Program Manager): the committee reviewed the plan and discussed the budget sources and allocations. Peter added that it will take some time to hire a replacement after he retires, and it will then take further time to hire a second, new staff member if the Bicycle Program Manager slot is filled from within the current staff.
10. Adjournment