Published since 2005. San Francisco is a city that belongs to the people of the world. Hence this blog has a global focus. The name "Sam Spade's San Francisco" refers to an exciting era in the City's history, the time of Dashiell Hammett's fictional gumshoe and San Francisco character, Sam Spade. My name is Tom Dunn and I edit the blog. I'm not as exciting as Sam Spade, but I am definitely a San Francisco character.Contact or on Twitter -- Search blog below.
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Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Octavia and Market - BUTT OUT!
Last night's local television broadcast news reported yet another traffic accident at the corner of Octavia and Market. In 2003 they began building an on-ramp to US 101 and eastbound US 80 at that location. in the photo: the Octavia and Market Street on-ramp under construction
The folks in that neighborhood along with the bicycle lobby raised hell at City Hall until the plans were changed and signs were erected that prohibit motorists from turning right off Market Street onto the on-ramp. Politicians made this design change to accommodate the bicycle lobby who wanted a protected bike lane.
So, today there is a neatly painted white line going right across the intersection for the bike lane and there are red and black no-right-turn signs clearly posted. Did that solve the problem?
Of course not!
How in the world does anybody expect to keep motorists from turning right onto a freeway on-ramp from Market Street? No amount of signage or "dedicated bike lane" painted strips are going to keep people from using a freeway on-ramp.
The reason why bikes and motorists continue to be clipped and run over at this intersection is obvious to the whole world, but not to the politicians who are responsible for this mess. It's a goddam freeway on-ramp for God's sake! You can't design a bike lane to cross a freeway on-ramp and not expect frequent injuries and occasional fatalities.It's a stupid design.
The solution is self-evident to anyone with an IQ above the speed limit. Call in the professional traffic planners and engineers and ask them to re-design the intersection FREE of public interference. The bicycle people won't like that decision, of course, but to date they have not yet demonstrated that they have the collective intellectual capacity to understand even basic traffic laws and regulations.
This is what happens when we amateurs like to be actively involved in the traffic planning process, but lack sufficient knowledge and training to be effective. Let's leave traffic planning to the professional engineers.
The rest of us should BUTT OUT!
4 comments:
Anonymous said...
Wow. A voice of reason. Maybe you should run for office, Sam. Sounds like you have a good handle on some of San Francisco's many issues.
Nobody has mentioned those silly white plastic traffic tubes that have been installed. Somebody working for SF figured that would solve the problem. Ha!
Every one of those tubes have been run over multiple times. Just take a look at them. They look like they have survived roadside bombs or something.
Now the city wants to pout in a concrete barrier. Come on, people, instead of putting a band-aid on the problem, let's forget the damn bike lane and crosswalk.
Close that on-ramp to pedestrians and bicycles and let Cal-Trans come in and do the re-design work. I don't think there is anybody working for the city that has enough balls to tell the bicycle people to go take a flying leap.
4 comments:
Wow. A voice of reason. Maybe you should run for office, Sam. Sounds like you have a good handle on some of San Francisco's many issues.
Bicycles have a right to ride along Market Street and I don't care if they are inconvenienced or not. We truly are a Critical Mass!
Be careful, Sam. The bicycle Coalition and Critical Ass will run you over! They think they're a mini-mafia, you know.
Nobody has mentioned those silly white plastic traffic tubes that have been installed. Somebody working for SF figured that would solve the problem. Ha!
Every one of those tubes have been run over multiple times. Just take a look at them. They look like they have survived roadside bombs or something.
Now the city wants to pout in a concrete barrier. Come on, people, instead of putting a band-aid on the problem, let's forget the damn bike lane and crosswalk.
Close that on-ramp to pedestrians and bicycles and let Cal-Trans come in and do the re-design work. I don't think there is anybody working for the city that has enough balls to tell the bicycle people to go take a flying leap.
A. Veronese
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