Quick-Build Process Speeds up for Seventh and Howard Streets
The quick-build process was approved just six months ago, and the progress following the approval has been stunning. With the well-attended open house on Wednesday in SoMa, we’re ready to approve more protected bike lanes that will close two critical gaps: Seventh Street (from Folsom to Townsend) and Howard Street (from Third to Embarcadero).
Once again, Supervisor Matt Haney stepped up to support bicycle safety and hosted a community meeting at Bessie Carmichael Elementary School in SoMa. In a busy room filled with City planners and staff from the SF Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), over 50 attendees poured over a wide range of presentation boards to provide written and verbal feedback about the projects.
“My favorite part of the open house was the way it spurred conversations between attendees and traffic engineers,” said SF Bicycle Coalition member Parker Day, who lives in the neighborhood. “Instead of a one-way public comment, there was an actual dialogue. I think this generates better feedback and ensures concerns are heard. It also helped me understand what is happening and why.”
SFMTA staff were present to receive feedback as part of the public hearing.
The quick-build process now brings the public hearing process into the neighborhood, rather than a stark City Hall hearing room on a Friday morning. This means that City planners are more accessible and the process of getting protected bike lanes built is expedited. “I’m so excited that we get to be part of making the approvals of these quick-builds happen here,” said Gail Seagraves, a tenant organizer with CCSRO Collaborative in the Tenderloin. “We don’t even have to go to City Hall!”
Your San Francisco Bicycle Coalition fought hard to bring urgency to our street safety projects, and this new process has now helped upgrade bike lanes across the city. Make sure to write a letter today so that these two protected bike lanes move rapidly towards construction in early 2020.