The SFMTA has announced its goal of increasing the percentage of trips taken by bike in San Francisco from 3.4% t0 8-10% in the next 5 years. To do this, the agency has proposed three different plans. The proposals all have the same general focuses; more bike lanes, bike lane improvements and intersection improvement. The difference is really in the extent of these projects and the amount of money needed to make the projects happen. The cheapest proposed plan is for $60 million, the next for $190 million and the most expensive proposed plan is for $500 million dollars. This mother-of-all bike plans which would “add 35 miles of new bike lanes and improve 200 miles, outfit 200 intersections to better handle bicycles, add 50,000 bike parking spaces, roll out a bike sharing system with 3,000 bikes and 300 stations”, and would put San Francisco on the same bike-friendly level as Copenhagen and Amsterdam. The problem that faces all three plans, however, is that only $30 million dollars in funding has been allocated to bike projects over the next five years, which means that anywhere from $30 – 470 million dollars will have to be found from other funding sources.
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