San Francisco plans to provide its cyclists a safer space to ride with raised bike lanes. The protected bike lane on Valencia Street in the Mission District will promote cycling amongst people of all ages in the city.
The six-foot-wide bike lane will be elevated two inches above the road surface. The path will also have an additional 5-foot ‘buffer zone’ to ensure extra safety. The elevation will prevent motorists from straying into cyclists’ space.
The elevated bike lanes planned for Masonic Avenue. (SFMTA)
San Francisco’s Municipal Transportation Agency will soon be supervising the construction of this bike lane. The first lane will come up at Valencia Street, which currently has a high rate of bicycle-related injuries. Later on, the city will follow up with more protective bike lanes to other areas with high rates of bicycle-related injuries.
Although bike lanes are very popular in Europe, they are not in the Unites States. There are very few cities that have built raised bike lanes. Once the construction is complete, San Francisco will join that tiny group of Chicago, Milwaukee, and Bend, Oregon.
