[Carfreeliving] BoS Land Use -- Market/Octavia freeway ramp

[A P Thornley]

Good people of all modes, but especially you Pedestrian Advocates --

Tomorrow (Weds 11/2) the BoS Land Use Committee will be hearing from 
DPT and others on the Market/Octavia freeway ramp, a status report, 
what's dangerous, what needs fixing. The banned right turn off EB 
Market onto the freeway has been made by some into a bike lane issue, 
but much more than that it's a pedestrian issue -- no matter where 
the bike lane is positioned (against the curb, to the left of a turn 
pocket), pedestrians are imperiled by the fast downhill careless turn 
onto the freeway (the most common pedestrian injury/fatality? seems 
like there's a superlative statistic I've heard about fast turns and 
injuries) . . .

So it'd be great to get a few eloquent pedestrians up for comment at 
tomorrow's meeting. It starts at 1:00 pm (City Hall, Room 263) but 
the Octavia Market Freeway item probably won't come up till an hour 
or two into the meeting (it's #5, the last item):

     http://sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_page.asp?id=13956

And if you can't come, please send Sup. Dufty a note 
(Bevan.Dufty at sfgov.org) . . .


Use your bell,


	--Andy--


==== from the SFBC Bike Bulletin, pardon any repetition =====

LAND USE COMMITTEE HEARS MARKET/OCTAVIA/FREEWAY CONCERNS WEDS 11/2

The new central freeway ramp at Market and Octavia has been open for 
almost two months, but that gnarly intersection is still missing some 
key safety features to help assure pedestrians and cyclists of safe 
passage along the street. This Wednesday (11/2) the Board of 
Supervisors' Land Use Committee (1:00 pm, City Hall, Room 263) will 
conduct a hearing on the Market/Octavia freeway ramp, what's been 
done so far and what's left to do. We'll be there to emphasize the 
city's commitment to keeping Market Street a transit/ped/bike space 
and not a freeway feeder route, and ask that colored bike lane 
pavement be installed across mouth of the freeway, as recommended in 
the Board's August 2004 resolution banning the eastbound right turn 
onto the freeway. (You may notice that a new bike lane has been 
striped along a key block on eastbound Market St. near the new 
freeway ramp, but it's not a colored bike lane as it should be to 
draw more attention to this tricky area.)

Please come to this hearing if you can, and contact Supervisor Dufty 
(Bevan.Dufty at sfgov.org) and let him know that you want colored bike 
pavement ~now~ as part of the safety treatments for this intersection.