San Francisco lays out $200 million in bike projects in next 5 years [San Francisco Examiner]

ANNA LATINO/SPECIAL TO THE S.F. EXAMINER

It will cost $200 million to implement all bike-related aspects of the SFMTA’s strategic five-year plan.

The City is proposing $200 million worth of changes to its cycling network in the next five years.

Building 12 new miles of bike lanes, upgrading 50 miles of existing paths and installing more than 20,000 new racks are all part of the plan.

By the numbers

• 71 percent: Increase in bicycling usage over past six years
• 3.5 percent: Percent of all transportation trips made by bicycle
• $200 million: Cost to implement all bike-related aspects of the SFMTA’s strategic five-year plan
• $30 million: Funding identified for plan
• Source: SFMTA

Biking has increased by 71 percent since 2006, and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which manages cycling policies in The City, is hoping to build out its network to meet the demand.

At the board of directors’ annual workshop meeting Tuesday, the agency is expected to discuss potential scenarios for bicycling expansion.

As part of its five-year strategic plan, the agency proposes to upgrade 50 intersections to accommodate bicycles and deploy and maintain 2,750 bikes as part of a grab-and-go bike-sharing network.

Along with the plans to upgrade 50 miles of the existing network and add 12 new miles of bike facilities, the total cost of the project could be $200 million. If completed, the agency hopes the share of bike trips in San Francisco increases from its current level of 3.5 percent of all travel to 8 to 10 percent by 2018; a separate goal of 20 percent has been set by the Board of Supervisors for 2020.

Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/transportation/2013/01/san-francisco-lays-out-200-million-bike-projects-next-5-years#ixzz2JVrMn32Z