SF's controversial bike lane being removed after 18 months; new design raises concerns

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Work has begun to remove San Francisco's controversial Valencia Street center bike lane which runs between 15th and 23rd streets.

The Valencia Street Center bike lane was initially a 12-month pilot project, but 18 months after it was installed, the city's transportation agency is removing it.

"I think the center bikeway was a bad idea," said Luke Bornheimer, Executive Director for Streets Forward. "It took the city too long to approve and begin construction on the curbside bike-way but I'm glad to see them do it now," he added.

The bikeway was supposed to create a safer pathway for cyclists to transit the street, but early on businesses began to report signs of struggle after 70 parking spots were removed.

MORE: SF's controversial Valencia St bike lane is one step closer to being removed. Here's the replacement

We followed Eiad Eltawil story. Eltawil was the owner of Yasmin, a family restaurant.

He partially blamed the bike lane for the decline in foot traffic on the once busy street.

He sued the city, went on a hunger strike and was vocal for over a year about the way the bikeway chanced the street. On Tuesday, we went back.

"It was very tough. I just don't want to deal with it anymore. It was too much. There is a lot of politics involved in it," said Eltawil.

MORE: SF business owner plans 30-day hunger strike in protest of Valencia St. center bike lane

Eltawil closed Yasmin two months ago and said goodbye to 40 years of family history.

Despite SFTMA working on removing the center bikeway now, Eltawil is focused on pushing forward "Rossi" his wife's art gallery on Valencia Street.

"100% of businesses will go out of business in San Francisco if this continues. There is no way you can survive this; we had five businesses in the past month that closed," said Eltawil.

Stories like this one can be seen throughout Valencia. We spoke to the owner of Yellow Moto on the phone. He also closed two months ago and said the bike lane played a major role.

SFMTA is now gearing up to change the center lane into a side running lane for cyclists.

In a statement the agency said in part:

"Switching to a curbside design demonstrates our commitment to the Valencia community by responding to feedback and creating a safe bikeway. We collaborated with all 26 parklet owners on individual solutions..."

Luke Bornheimer, Executive Director of the nonprofit Streets Forward, believes the side running bikeway will be safer for cyclists but is concerned about people riding their bikes between parklets and sidewalks.

"Fortunately, there are only three floating parklets that are planned, but my hope is that those floating parklets will be converted into curbside parklets as soon as possible. So that there are no crashes or conflicts between people walking between the parklet and someone on a bike," said Bornheimer.

As the changes begin, business owners who survived are worried about another batch of parking spots that were removed for this new design.

"There has been death in Valencia. So, we need to remedy that, but I wish that the city would think of ideas that are better than getting rid of more parking and interrupting more business," said James Choi, Owner of Rhea's deli and market.

SFMTA is projecting it will take two to three months to complete the new bike lane on Valencia Street.

SFTMA full statement:

"Since February of last year, we have worked extensively with merchants, street safety advocates and residents to find a new solution that meets the complex needs of the Valencia corridor. While space is constricted on the corridor, our project team was able to navigate this with extensive outreach and a block-by-block approach to create a design that balances safety with business and community needs. This way, we were able to ensure that we could find a solution that balances parking, loading and parklets while ensuring safety, accessibility for all ages and abilities along with essential emergency access. Switching to a curbside design demonstrates our commitment to the Valencia community by responding to feedback and creating a safe bikeway. We collaborated with all 26 parklet owners on individual solutions to safely incorporate their parklets within the new curbside design, so these outdoor spaces remain where businesses need them most. All of this resulting in the new curbside design that delivers a protected bikeway, clear traffic lane, and dedicated parking and loading lane -- giving everyone who drives, bikes or walks the Valencia corridor a more familiar and intuitive design."