SFMTA plans to add temporary protected bike lane to well-trafficked stretch of Panhandle

On Monday evening, the San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency announced plans for a protected bike lane on a busy stretch of Fell Street east of the Panhandle. In a post on its website, SFMTA wrote that the proposed lane would function as an "emergency response to COVID-19," labeling the lane a "temporary project."

In the proposed project, SFMTA would eliminate one of the four lanes allocated to vehicle traffic and paint a bike lane on the far left side of the road, allowing a line of parked cars to serve as a natural barrier. The project would also call for "safe-hit" posts to be installed between the parked cars and the bike lane.

On Twitter, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition celebrated the plan, giving credit to Supervisor Dean Preston, who represents the district east of the Panhandle, for pushing for the project with the transit agency.

"OK folks, this is BIG news," they wrote. "This is a critical step toward relieving congestion along the Panhandle pathway and making it safer for people walking and on bikes. This plan offers an opportunity to test out solutions to hopefully inform a longer-term design!"

Jamie Parks, the SFMTA's Livable Streets director, shared data on Twitter that bike traffic near the Panhandle saw a significant increase in the months after the shelter-in-place order.

"Counter nearby on Oak shows peak bike volumes on/near Panhandle are far higher than pre-COVID even as people need more space to be safe," Parks wrote.

Michael Rosen is an SFGATE digital editor. Email: michael.rosen@sfgate.com.