Wednesday, June 23, 2010

City's bike plan may fully roll out

By: Mike Aldax June 22, 2010 Room to roam: S.F. is planning to add 34 miles of bike lanes to the existing 45. (Cindy Chew/The Examiner)

SAN FRANCISCO — The green light to vastly expand the number of bike lanes in The City may finally come this summer.

Today, Superior Court Judge Peter Busch, who imposed an injunction on San Francisco’s long-awaited bike plan in 2006, will hear the city attorney’s final arguments about why he should lift the ban.

The bike plan would add 34 miles to The City’s current 45 miles of on-street bicycle lanes during the next several years, along with parking spots and traffic signals for cyclists and colored lanes on some streets.

The plan was ultimately stifled by a 2005 lawsuit demanding an environmental review that would adequately address traffic issues and other impacts. That review has been completed.

In November, Busch lifted the injunction on a conditional basis, prompting The City to embark on 10 of the 45 projects that received approval from city lawmakers. The judge’s lifting of the ban would allow The City to move forward with the remaining projects.

After the hearing today, the court will have up to 90 days to issue a ruling. Advocates hope the injunction will be lifted this summer.

"By the end of the year, we hope to see at least 20 new bike lanes and innovations like colored bike lanes that will make our city an easier and safer place to live, shop, do business, work," said Renée Rivera, acting executive director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, in a statement.

Bicycle ridership in The City has increased 53 percent during the past four years, the organization said.

maldax@sfexaminer.com Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/Citys-bike-plan-may-fully-roll-out-96858174.html#ixzz0riiTYiIs

No comments: