In response to Andy Thornley’s March 14th article “San Francisco Should Move on Colored Bike Lanes,” I would like to clarify the San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency’s (SFMTA’s) position on the use of colored pavement for bicycle facilities. SFMTA supports the concept of colored bicycle lines where appropriate. However, the San Francisco Superior Court issued an injunction in 2006 that prohibits the City from installing bicycle lanes until the City completes environmental review of its Bicycle Plan. In addition, state law prohibits the City from installing traffic control devices that have not been approved by the California Traffic Control Devices Committee (CTCDC). Colored bicycle lanes have not received such an approval.

There is no clear evidence that installation of colored bicycle lanes in this country improves safety for cyclists. The only comprehensive study of colored bicycle lanes in the United States to date was done in Portland, Oregon and it had mixed results, showing some reduction in conflicts, no significant change in recorded crashes, but significant reductions in bicyclists scanning and signaling behavior, suggesting a false sense of security for bicyclists. None of the locations evaluated in the Portland, Oregon study were similar to the intersection of Market Street, Octavia Boulevard and the Central Freeway, where conflicts have resulted primarily from illegal movements by motorists.

In referencing an August 2004 Board of Supervisors resolution, Mr. Thornley states: “The Board asked the Department of Parking and Traffic (DPT) and SFMTA to implement a number of safety measures at the intersection, including colored-pavement bike lanes.” Actually, the resolution asked SFMTA to consult with and seek approval from the CTCDC and Caltrans to use experimental devices, including colored bicycle lanes. SFMTA presented a request to experiment with colored bicycle lanes at the February 2006 meeting of the CTCDC; the CTCDC deferred any specific recommendation on the request to experiment, and instead asked that San Francisco seek approval from the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (NCUTCD). SFMTA plans to present our request to experiment with colored bicycle lanes at the next NCUTCD meeting in June 2007.

Mr. Thornley’s article suggests that colored bicycle lanes would improve safety at the intersection of Market Street, Octavia Boulevard and the Central Freeway. SFMTA is interested in studying the potential safety benefits of colored bicycle lanes, but feels that colored pavement across the mouth of the Central Freeway would do little to enhance safety in this location. It is already very clear that right turns from eastbound Market Street onto the Central Freeway are illegal – drivers making these right turns are doing so for the sake of convenience, and the addition of a green colored pavement is unlikely to change that behavior. This is why SFMTA is working with other City Departments to design additional physical deterrents to make this illegal movement much more difficult.