Cyclists Allowed (Use of Full Lane)
Ten years ago the process for designing Mission Street was drawing to a close. Lines were drawn and plans were printed up. Task force members, City Council members, and engineers congratulated themselves. Caltrans and the city council agreed to widen the street to allow four lanes of automobile traffic. Everyone was happy with the design, except for bicyclists. People Power's then-director, Ron Goodman, had lobbied for a three-lane street with bike lanes and a center turn lane—a configuration that is arguably better for slow-moving commercial traffic of all types. He was ignored. "I knew that people were going to get killed as a result of that decision and I told them that. There was too much pressure to increase the capacity for cars." People Power had 60 members at the time.
Roll the clock to last August, when high school teacher and experienced bike commuter John Myslin was killed at the corner of Mission and Bay. John was riding to the right of an 18-wheeler, where many drivers think we should be riding. The driver didn't see him and turned right into him. On April 8, another experienced cyclist, Chris Rock, was killed as he rode alongside the curb and was overtaken by a gravel truck that ran over him. The driver, again, didn't see the cyclist. The next day People Power organized a bicycle rights ride down the middle of the right lane of Mission Street. Over 200 cyclists rode to "take back the lane," wearing signs asserting their right to the lanes.
Both John and Chris would be alive if the city had designed the street properly with bike lanes. Both riders would also be alive if they had been in the middle of the right lane. Members of the cycling community, including People Power director Micah Posner, have been taking the full right lane on Mission safely for years. It is perfectly legal, according to California Vehicle Code section 21202, which states that cyclists may use the full right lane when the lane "is too narrow for a bicycle to safely ride to the side of a motor vehicle." Two deaths occurred while cyclists were riding along the curb. It's outrageous for anyone to claim that these lanes are wide enough to ride safely side-by-side.
None of this is to suggest that we should go out our of way to ride down the middle of the lane on Mission Street. In fact, cyclists should try to avoid Mission when possible by using King or California/Seaside. And the city is currently drawing up plans to improve King for cycling. The problem is that Mission is a major commercial and residential district. People live, work, and shop on Mission Street. Cyclists will always need to use this road to get to destinations on the street itself.
People Power has recommended that the city install signs on Mission reminding everyone that bicycles may use the lane. These signs, combined with more cyclists asserting our rights to the lane, would make it socially acceptable to take the full right lane—the safest way for competent cyclists to ride Mission.