Octavia street onramp to gain traffic safety median

Photo(s) by Luke Thomas

By Emmett Berg

July 10, 2007

Local transit officials got approval today to build a raised median island to protect a Market Street bike lane and further reinforce a law banning right turns onto the Octavia Boulevard Central Freeway onramp.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 10-1 today to support the project. One of its sponsors, Supervisor Bevan Dufty, said the median was a trial that could last up to six months as officials and users gauge its usefulness. Board President Aaron Peskin voted no.

The intersection feeds southbound traffic from Octavia Boulevard onto the Central Freeway serving the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge and southbound U.S. Highway 101.

While turns from Market Street right onto the Octavia onramp are prohibited, scofflaws and others continue to ignore signage and speed past.

Collisions between cyclists and motorists, including a dramatic hit and run ending in an arrest, have marked the debut of the reconfigured onramp since its debut in fall 2005.

"We're sensitive of the vulnerability to cyclists at that intersection," Supervisor Bevan Dufty said. "But the more we do, the more we create an impression that it's safe. And that intersection is going to be potentially dangerous no matter what we do."

Supervisor Bevan Dufty

A California Highway Patrol officer was unable to confirm whether the bicycle crossing played any role in the solo fatal crash of a motorcyclist on June 28 at the intersection.

Engineering that San Francisco transit officials will perform at the site will help them determine the design of the median, Dufty said. Right now a no-right-turn sign is augmented by paint and mounted reflective plastic wands demarcating the bike lane.

Supervisors Ross Mirkarimi and Chris Daly also were co-sponsors of the resolution along with Dufty, who added that he appreciated the communication his office had received regarding the crossing.

The concerns expressed by motorists were well taken amid the focus on protecting cyclists and pedestrians, Dufty said.

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