Alemany protected bike lanes OPEN! Pedestrian Improvement in 2022!

COMMUNITY TO CELEBRATE NEW ALEMANY MAZE BIKEWAY 

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—On Sunday, February 28, District 9 Supervisor Hillary Ronen, community members, and state and local transportation agency representatives will gather to celebrate the installation of protected bike lanes along Alemany Boulevard and San Bruno Avenue at the US 101/I-280 interchange. The Alemany Interchange Bike Lanes Project includes new crosswalk striping, protected bike lanes, green painted bike left-turn boxes, and a lane reduction on Alemany Boulevard, making it safer and easier for people to bike and walk between the Portola and Bernal neighborhoods. 

These improvements were suggested by area residents from the Portola Neighborhood Association and later planned through the Alemany Interchange Improvements Study, a community-based effort funded by Caltrans and the SFCTA, which led the study.  The Phase 1 project was delivered by the SFMTA in partnership with Caltrans and SF Public Works. Funding for the project was provided by San Francisco’s half-cent sales tax for transportation.  

This celebration will mark the completion of the first phase of the Alemany Interchange Bike Lanes Project. The second phase of improvements, which includes a multi-use path and new signalized crossing of Alemany Boulevard near the Farmers Market, is scheduled for completion later this year.

What: Alemany Maze Bikeway Celebration and Bike Tour

Who: District 9 Supervisor Hillary Ronen, Portola Neighborhood Association, SF Bicycle Coalition, SFMTA Director Jeff Tumlin, SFCTA Director Tilly Chang, Caltrans 

When: Sunday, February 28th, 2021 at 11:15 a.m. 

Where: Meet at Alemany Farmers Market Entrance at 11:00 a.m. Brief remarks will begin at 11:15 a.m. This will be followed by a community bike ride to the Lunar New Year Celebration hosted by the Portola Neighborhood Association at 2675 San Bruno Ave. 

COVID Precautions: Please remember your mask and maintain distance with others at this event.

For More Information Contact: Paige Miller paige.miller@sfcta.org or 415-930-3132 

Let's increase pedestrian access to Alemany Farmers Market

For those who live in the Portola and Silver Terrace neighborhoods, pedestrian access to the Alemany Farmer's Market would be great.  Parking there is a bear, and really, who wants to drive to such a close local gem when we could walk?  Bernal Heights residents already have relatively easy pedestrian access, but because of the freeways, those of us just south of the farmers' market are made to feel like we need to drive.

Stuart Brady, a neighbor who wrote into The Portola Yahoo Group, recently wrote Supervisors Cohen and Campos about the possibility of increasing foot traffic to the market via a new walkway and some additional minor changes.  All seem like relatively low-cost, high-benefit ideas.  I hope this gains traction! 

In his letter to the Supes, he writes,

Dear Supervisor Campos & Supervisor Cohen, and all who help to make San Francisco a more pedestrian friendly city, I would like to propose that a walkway be built to connect the Portola District to Farmers Market in Bernal Heights.

Currently,  to walk from the Portola District to the Farmers Market,  you have to walk at least half a mile under the freeway, then sandwiched between the 280 fwy and 6 lanes of Alemany Blvd , only to be forced to cross Alemany Blvd at a freeway off-ramp.  I believe we can make a much safer and more pedestrian friendly connection between the two neighborhoods by adding a walkway between San Bruno Ave, under the South 101-280 connector, and into a new pedestrian gateway, at the East end of the Farmers Market.

In its simplest form this would require 4 main components:

-         Add striping for a crosswalk between the West Side of San Bruno Ave to the area under the freeway (crossing Alemany Eastbound).
-         Pave a pathway under the South 101-280 connector
-         Install a new traffic signal and crosswalk between area under the freeway and the East end of the Farmers Market, (crossing Alemany Westbound, approximately where Peralta Ave and Tompkins Ave meet).
-         Removal of some fencing between the Farmers Market and Alemany Blvd

Additional improvements that could be incorporated initially or in the future:

-         Grand Pedestrian Gateway for the "East" entrance
-         Landscaping along pathway
-         Improving walkway from the new "East" entrance of Farmers Market and Bayshore Blvd, at Cortland.

Fellow neighbors chimed in with some very worthwhile responses offering advice, information on other people to contact and projects that are being proposed.

Hopefully Ms Cohen and Mr Campos are reading this and can offer some advice on how to proceed with this great idea!