tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182452014508393284.post8641785705616546984..comments2024-03-28T11:06:40.528-07:00Comments on Urban Life Signs: Street Design of Valencia StreetBrian Stoklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11152448009690142769noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182452014508393284.post-59383612604696573142012-10-30T12:19:58.286-07:002012-10-30T12:19:58.286-07:00One approach to improve bike safety is to place th...One approach to improve bike safety is to place the bike lane close to sidewalk, separated from car traffic by a parking strip. It's simple and effective (and better for peds, too): <br /><br />http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/201109_1st_2nd_aves_bicycle_paths_cb8.pdfAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182452014508393284.post-52531622454873617812012-09-19T12:31:33.246-07:002012-09-19T12:31:33.246-07:00Greg and B. Stokle,
Parking in a middle median is...Greg and B. Stokle,<br /><br />Parking in a middle median isn't legal at any time. <br /><br />SFPD ticketed & towed cars which were parked there in the evening when folks from other parts of town come to Valencia for the restaurants, bars, entertainment.<br /><br />However, a lot of people who have moved away from the Mission come back to their churches. Police ignored Sunday morning churchgoers' cars in the median.<br /><br />At any rate, it's a double standard.<br /><br />Since there is no longer a median in which to park it's a moot issue.<br /><br />Without the center median to serve as a de facto parking lot, both restaurants and churches have been adversely affected.CRSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182452014508393284.post-8830682865595275992012-08-10T12:57:05.906-07:002012-08-10T12:57:05.906-07:00Having streetcars or a, dare i say it, a modern ca...Having streetcars or a, dare i say it, a modern cable car, return to the Mission or Castro/Noe Valley would seem to be nice. I agree that the J Church (unreliable) and the 14 Mission (congested at times and too far from Guerrero and a block from Valencia) are less convenient. Adding a streetcar line down Valencia or a cable car down Castro from Market to 24th Street would be possible. However, on Valencia, the streetcar would in fact be slow and be "stuck" in traffic with Valencia's two lane street. On Castro Street, a cable car did once climb the hill over to Noe Valley, but as we know, cable cars are quite noisy, require a powerhouse where the cables turn, require much more maintenance than streetcars, and go quite slow. <br /><br />So I believe that both would probably not prove to be good investments. However, if you had a creative solution there may be a way in there to get streetcars or cable cars into the Mission or Noe Valley. In my opinion, a trolleybus (electric bus) down Guerrero Street would be the best. At one point a bus or streetcar did go down Guerrero, but was removed. At an equidistance between the J Church and the 14 Mission (2 blocks) it would be an idea location for a line. The only issue would be garnering support from locals along Guerrero and proving ridership would be high enough to justify a rail investment.Brian Stoklehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11152448009690142769noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182452014508393284.post-67689103027732926732012-06-10T12:10:51.852-07:002012-06-10T12:10:51.852-07:00Thanks for the history! I always wondered what hap...Thanks for the history! I always wondered what happened to the cable cars on that street. I'd love to see them return. The J Church and 14 Mission aren't nearly as pleasant to ride (especially with the current detour of the 14 to Van Ness).Omarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07868665882657626871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182452014508393284.post-29158368606323383372012-03-23T15:54:38.035-07:002012-03-23T15:54:38.035-07:00Good points Mary, it wasn't even close to bein...Good points Mary, it wasn't even close to being a bike lane in the late 90's. I've updated the post to reflect that it's wasn't really a defacto bike lane. I may need to revisit the wording.<br /><br />I was hoping to find some photos of Valencia in the late 90's when the median was "removed" but still had 4 traffic lanes. Do you know where to find any?Brian Stoklehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11152448009690142769noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182452014508393284.post-82917048940478743992012-03-21T23:27:02.614-07:002012-03-21T23:27:02.614-07:00Interesting history. One important clarification:...Interesting history. One important clarification: removal of the median in early 1990s did not create de facto bike lanes. Take a look at the lane width - the wide curb lane was just 12'. Nothing like the roomy comfort of today's Folsom street. It was truly awful to bike on Valencia as the lane was just wide enough for drivers to try and squeeze past. Change is good. <br /><br />Mary (of Landscapes of Mobility)marybrownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00593108146872135591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182452014508393284.post-44513731356147341132012-03-20T13:46:18.245-07:002012-03-20T13:46:18.245-07:00Another piece of information: The plans for track ...Another piece of information: The plans for track removal on Valencia are dated February, 1952, and refer to the "existing parking lane" beyond the 10-foot sidewalk, so the sidewalk narrowing must have already happened prior to that date.Eric Fischerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17717107532168518915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182452014508393284.post-84527699193501990532012-03-20T08:41:45.785-07:002012-03-20T08:41:45.785-07:00Greg, parking in the middle was very likely never ...Greg, parking in the middle was very likely never legal (except maybe on Sundays or hours of church services). I think you're dead on about people not mind getting a ticket. However I did see some cars get towed from time to time. Something that most of us DO MIND.<br /><br />The idea of repainting the remainder of the street with two lanes is great! We could even paint in a cycle track (with 7' lanes) as a test idea! You'd devote the remaining 5' on each side to a very wide buffer zone between parking and the bike lane. Right lanes would be added for turns so folks could see bikes before they turn.Brian Stoklehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11152448009690142769noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182452014508393284.post-23829588700718056732012-03-20T08:07:08.316-07:002012-03-20T08:07:08.316-07:00Rather than waiting around for the two-lane segmen...Rather than waiting around for the two-lane segment to be extended, I'd love for the City to go ahead and restripe the remainder so the turn lane is a normal width (10'), thereby allowing for nice, wide (7') bike lanes with a greatly reduced risk of dooring.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770410608706594730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182452014508393284.post-9336522304624063032012-03-20T07:34:27.999-07:002012-03-20T07:34:27.999-07:00i remember during the 3 lane era many times people...i remember during the 3 lane era many times people would park in the center lane.<br /><br />Was this EVER legal, or what? It seemed like enough people did it and either didn't get a ticket or didn't seem to mind getting one, but I never understood why people thought to do that in the first place.Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02639710572191340548noreply@blogger.com