Mission Corridor Safety Campaign
So far, the City Council has cooperated admirably with People Power and other bicycle advocates in attempts to get a safer corridor along Mission Street on the city's Westside, but we are still a long way from seeing any changes on the ground.
On King Street, where People Power has asked for a bike boulevard or bike lanes to be installed (in that order of preference), the Council has allocated money towards drawing up plans for both. The bike lane plan will be drawn up by the Public Works Department while plans for a bike boulevard will be drawn up by noted bicycle planner John Ciccarelli. The boulevard was strongly supported by the city's Transportation Commission. It was also mentioned favorably during a city council meeting regarding new lights to be installed at Mission and Miramar as part of the Safeway expansion.
With regard to Mission Street, the City (with the cooperation and support of the Public Works Department) voted in favor of all of our recommendations, including our critical request for signs reminding car drivers that "cyclists allowed full use of right lane." The problem is that Mission is a Caltrans right of way, and the Caltrans response has been downright insulting. They refuse to admit that there is a safety problem, citing "a 50% reduction in collisions since 2003,". They further suggest that cycling in the lane on Mission could "increase danger by encouraging cyclists to ride in the lane," even though a variety of organizations, including the local Traffic Safety Coalition, think this is the safest place to ride. Their assertion also contradicts the city police department, who blamed the late John Myslin for riding to the right of the truck that killed him. The take-home message from Caltrans is: we don't want to think about how bicycles can ride Mission Street safely, despite the fact that there are three bike shops and other bike-friendly destinations on this street.
People Power is considering sponsoring mass rides on Mission in protest of a California Transportation Agency that doesn't want to recognize our existence. Please contact Micah with your thoughts or desire to participate: 831-425-0665.