A reader writes:
Rob,
The Masonic Ave drawing you posted shows a cross section of vehicles and Muni bus #43 going north and south.
At 2010 Masonic community meetings the MTA didn't inform attendees how pedestrians are going to cross Masonic east and west.
In Jan. 2011 MTA issued a Masonic Ave. final report showing the first time a boarding island on Masonic Ave. (below) Pedestrians can get run down by bicyclists before they cross the street.
Along Masonic Ave are residential buildings, and owners need to enter and exit their garages. In 2014 DPW modified the separated boarding islands (below). Now drivers have to go over the boarding islands to reach their garages. Look at the green car. This design doesn't make any sense.
Rob's comment:
Making "sense" has never been what the Masonic Avenue bike project is about. As Muni bobblehead Ed Reiskin told the Examiner the other day, it's about making one of the busiest North-South streets in the city "inviting" to cyclists, like the Panhandle bike project was always about making Fell and Oak Streets "comfortable" for cyclists.
The city deployed the safety lie about Masonic to justify the project, but the city's own report didn't back that up, so they dummied up some new numbers to feed to credulous journalists. The dim bulbs on the board of supervisors---including London Breed, our supervisor---did their part by spreading the safety lie. As you suggest, this design will actually make Masonic less safe, along with jamming up traffic for the thousands of motorists who now use it every day.
Note that the bus stop now keeps buses in one of the two remaining traffic lanes, a design that's been implemented on nearby Divisadero Street, where the #24 bus often traps unwary motorists in the intersection. You can see them looking around desperately to see if they can change lanes safely before the light changes.
Labels: Bicycle Coalition, District 5, Ed Reiskin, Examiner, London Breed, Masonic Avenue, Muni, Traffic in SF
