The death of 24-year-old cyclist Amelie Le Moullac on August 14 marks the third this year by a truck, and the second by one turning right (known as a right hook) into the bike lane. Her death has set off a movement for safer streets in SoMa, S.F.
Streetsblog's Aaron Bialick has covered the many unfolding aspects of Le Moullac's death and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's subsequent work to ensure that these types of deadly truck/car vs. bicycle collisions don't reoccur, particularly in the fast-growing South of Market area (SoMa) district of San Francisco, the location of all three bicyclist deaths this year.
SFBC is asking San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee to "commit to the redesign of Folsom Street" where Le Moullac had been riding that would include converting the existing bike lane into a protected bike lane. As Bialick noted in a blog for SPUR in 2011, it is an example of an "outdated, 20th-century strategy of engineering downtown streets into multi-lane, one-way motorways."
Bialick and KRON’s Stanley Roberts observed that "few drivers seem to understand how to properly make a right-turn in a bike lane — they’re required to merge fully into it, like any other traffic lane, while yielding to people on bikes. Instead, many drivers turn across the bike lane, setting up bicycle riders for a “right hook” crash."
Right hooks were the causes of death for Le Moullac and Dylan Mitchell while they were biking this year. The third victim, Diana Sullivan, was reportedly run over while stopped at a red light at Third and King Streets. None of the truck drivers involved have been cited or charged.
This movement for greater bike safety in the South of Market Area (SOMA) region of San Francisco following the deaths of cyclists has been seen in other cities. We noted attempts to safeguard cyclists from 'right hooks' in Seattle in 2008 and with the installation of 'bike boxes' in Portland in 2008.
September 6th update from S
FULL STORY: At Safe Streets Rally, SFPD Blocks Bike Lane to Make Point of Victim-Blaming
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly
The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.
LA's Top Parks, Ranked
TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.