Thursday, June 28, 2018

The Masonic Avenue "streetscape" project

Masonic Avenue Streetscape Improvement Project rendering
Public Works

Not surprising that Walk SF likes the "improvements" to Masonic Avenue:

In just a few days, major safety improvements to Masonic Avenue will be complete. Known for traffic-related injuries, this thoroughfare now has wider sidewalks, sidewalk bulb-outs, tree-lined medians, and raised bike lanes. Go check it out for a dose of inspiration. It's proof-positive for the kinds of Vision Zero changes we can win together.

I've already demonstrated that the claim is a lie that Masonic is "known for traffic-related injuries." But when the delusional mind-set is that entrenched, it's not strictly accurate to call it a deliberate falsehood. 

Instead, Walk SF, the Bicycle Coalition, Jihadists, Republicans and other True Believers really believe their own bullshit. The reference to the Vision Zero fantasy is further proof of a delusional mind-set behind the statement above.

The picture above from Public Works is also a fantasy: there are no cars visible on either Masonic (more than 32,000 cars a day) or Geary (more than 50,000 cars a day), not to mention the woman on a bike with no helmet. So few women ride bikes that bike advocates worry about it.

Way back in 2011, I blogged about the fact-free comments on Masonic Avenue by the first executive director of Walk SF (Streets of SF are not unsafe for pedestrians)

This part of Masonic, by the way, has always had wide sidewalks, as anyone familiar with the neighborhood knows. 

The "streetscape" bullshit was a branding strategy to avoid calling it a bicycle project, which is what it has always been: a bicycle project with some landscaping, not a "streetscape" project that happens to include bike lanes---the construction of which, not coincidentally, required eliminating 167 street parking spaces.

More on the Masonic Avenue project tomorrow.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

2 Comments:

At 3:31 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

There is no such thing as vision zero(zero emissions) "high injury corridors). What "high injury" really means is any street highly travled by autos.

Page street is an example of heavily travled by bike. No street changes have been made for their safety lie. However, Masonic, Folsom, golden gate have had changes. The next one starting in august will be 6th st from market to 280 reduced to one traffic lane.

 
At 2:01 AM, Blogger Mark Kaepplein said...

1. “Truth is the greatest enemy of the state” (allegedly Goebbels)


“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”

 

Post a Comment

<< Home