SAN FRANCISCO—The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency will invest $112 million in 92 miles of bike infrastructure projects to build a better city for biking, as laid out in their Fiscal Year 2017-2021 Capital Improvement Plan.
The Capital Improvement Plan presented by the SFMTA shows their vision and plans to improve bike infrastructures. They want to provide secure and convenient parking, where bike racks will be installed on sidewalks, in public garages and in curbside bike corrals.
At the end of 2016, the SFMTA installed 5,200 bike racks and 70 bike corrals across San Francisco and plan to add at least 2,500 bike racks and 50 corrals by 2021. Protected bike lanes will be physically separated from vehicle traffic by using measures such as flexible posts, concrete barriers or lanes of vehicle parking.
As they explain in their guide, a big reason for the rise is the city’s growing investment in a network of safer, and better bikeways that allow more people across the city to bike easily.
According to the SFMTA, the conventional bike lane stripe on the roadway used in recent decades may be enough for commuters and seasoned sport cyclists, but they do not give the sense of comfort needed for the average person to ride a bike on streets with vehicle traffic.
According to the SFMTA, the city of San Francisco currently has a fleet of 350 bikes that is expected to grow to approximately 4,500 bikes starting in 2017 and continuing through 2019.
In 2017, eight miles of street-scape projects will undergo construction, and an additional 14 miles are planned to under construction throughout the city. In 2016, San Francisco had 13 miles of protected bikeways.
Due to the the results of the Bay Area Bike Share pilot program, the SFMTA will work with sponsor Ford Motor Co. and other partners to expand the system known as Ford GoBike.
