5 Steps to Safer Bike Lanes

And how to turn the bike safety illusion into a reality

Like many San Franciscans, my primary form of transportation is cycling. Since cycling is the cheapest and fastest mode to and from downtown at rush hour, it seems crazy to me that anyone wouldn’t bike to work.

The reason is always the same: Because biking in San Francisco is dangerous. It pains me that I can’t honestly argue against this.

“Less Intimidating”

Last year, Amelie Le Moullac was tragically killed by a driver on Folsom Street. The incident quickly became a PR nightmare for the city as police harassed cyclists at a memorial rally and then lied about the presence of security camera footage of the accident.

Patrick Traughber’s Ride for Amelie on Strava

The ensuing media coverage forced the city to accelerate plans for the removal of a traffic lane and widening of the bike lane. With the successful completion of the project, Mayor Ed Lee boasted:

The buffered bicycle lane in this pilot will create a safer, less intimidating street, while giving us an opportunity to study how measures like these can be implemented in dense and rapidly growing areas of San Francisco to make our city streets safer for everyone.

Less intimidating? Absolutely. Safer? Perhaps not.

The new Folsom Street bike lane is merely an illusion of safety. Taxis often use it to bypass traffic, and will drive in the bike lane for several blocks without picking up or dropping off a passenger.

Taxicab #771 crossing 5th Street using the Folsom Street bike lane

I recently filed a complaint to the SFMTA and attached a photo of a taxi committing the crime. To my surprise, they listened:

I received your complaint and have spoken to the driver. I hope you do not experience this again, but if any other drivers are parked in the bike lanes, please do not hesitate to call or email 311. Thank you.

Best,
Peter Woods
Taxi Services
Investigations and Regulatory Affairs

Someone at the city not only read my complaint, but actually spoke to the driver. This means the city cares more than I thought. They’re willing to listen. If we do our part, we can count on them to do theirs.

How you can help

SF311 Taxi Complaint Form

I’ve outlined 5 steps to start reporting illegal and dangerous taxi driving to the SFMTA:

1. Purchase a bike mount for your phone. Make sure there’s a hole for the front-facing camera. For iPhone 5/5S, I recommend the iBikeConsole ($40). For Android, mounts will depend on your particular device.
2. Mount your phone and use it to record videos of your commute. Please don’t interact with your phone while biking.
3. After you witness a taxi using the bike lane, grab a still from your video that includes the giant number on each side of the taxi (after you’ve safely arrived at your destination, of course). For iPhone, I recommend Vhoto to find photos from your video. Or simply pause the video and take a screenshot.
4. Tweet the photo with #sfsafelanes and mention @SFSAFE
5. File a complaint with the SFMTA and include a link to your tweet.

Nothing will bring back Amelie. But hopefully, if enough of us report unsafe driving in the bike lane, we’ll make a difference. And maybe one day, we can honestly argue when friends claim biking is too dangerous in San Francisco.