"The Wiggle" is one of San Francisco's most beloved and cherished bike routes and guides riders the easiest way between two nasty hills. It even has its own Wiki page.
It's so popular, it is hard to stand there at any point of the day and not see mega helpings of cyclists passing thru! (Please note: This is a camera person's dream.) Recently, after a judge partially lifted a full ban (due to an injunction) on bike amenities, the SF DOT striped a unique combo to aid cyclist's safety and sanity. A green bike box on Scott Street - believed to be California's first - allows riders to safely wait and queue up for a dedicated left-hand turn lane which runs the length of the entire next block.
Andy Thornley from San Francisco Bike Coalition took us around to show how it works - and some riders voiced their appreciation.
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[music]
Andy Thornley: [0:07] We are right in the middle of The Wiggle. And if you don't know about The Wiggle, The Wiggle is one of San Francisco's most beloved bike routes. It goes from downtown and connects to the west side of town. If you're going to Golden Gate Park, it's a great way to get there. It wiggles between hills.</p><p>[0:22] What we've got here is a bike box, what we think is California's first ever green bike box. It does a really great job of giving bicyclists a place to stand and wait, and it cues folks up for a left turn. At the next intersection there's a beautiful left hand bike lane on Scott Street, and this bike box feeds bike traffic to the left and sets them up for this very convenient left turn onto Fell Street. It's a perfect system.</p><p>[0:49] All right. Let's try this bike box and this left-hand bike lane, shall we?</p><p>[musical interlude]
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<cite class="speaker_1" >Woman:</cite>
[1:05] 1: I have this green mark. It says, "Bikes Go Here." It says bikes are allowed to be here. And in fact cars, you have a place, too. We all have a place here on the streets of San Francisco.
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<cite class="speaker_2" >Man 2:</cite>
[1:15] It's less hectic, I think, than everyone trying to cram over to the side when the cars are here. I also like the fact they put a bike lane up there, sort of a dedicated path before you try to file through cars when you trying to make that left there. So I think it's pretty sweet.
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<cite class="speaker_3" >Man 3:</cite>
[1:29] At this Wiggle and this section of Fell actually we have an issue of bike congestion that I'm encountering a great deal with. There'll be a stack up of bikes in this bike lane flowing into the auto lane, so I think it needs to be expanded because we're already over capacity.
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<cite class="speaker_4" >Man 4:</cite>
[1:43] Wiggle, Wiggle, Wiggle.
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Clarence Eckerson Jr. has been making fantastical transportation media in NYC since the late 1990s. He's never had a driver's license and never will.
