Plans to build a bike lane on a particularly busy stretch of Page Street between Octavia and Laguna streets have been in the works since last September. This morning, work began on the project.

The new bike lane will run down the center of Page Street, on the left side of eastbound traffic as it heads down the hill. In addition, a bike box will be installed at Page and Octavia prior to the crosswalk to help counter congestion, and green-backed sharrows will be painted on the street, to guide cyclists safely through the intersection. 

The new bike lane, bike boxes and sharrows are all part of the Octavia Boulevard Enhancement Project, an ongoing plan created by the SFMTA to improve safety and reduce congestion along Octavia. 

No parking spaces were removed for the bike lane, making it a relatively quick job of re-striping the street. Work is expected to be completed by the end of this week, if the weather forecast stays fairly dry. 

Photo: Google

Page Street has long been a tricky spot for both drivers and cyclists to maneuver. Commuter traffic often backs vehicles several blocks up the street, forcing cyclists to either travel to the right or left of stalled vehicles. Since traveling to the left of traffic within 100 feet of an intersection is illegal, a number of cyclists were ticketed at the intersection last summer.

"Conditions are most pronounced in the morning commute, when approximately 300 eastbound bicycles and 300 right-turning vehicles navigate this intersection during the peak hour," said Ben Jose of the SFMTA. "This low-cost improvement formalizes and makes safer the current practice of cyclists passing vehicles on the left, as well as reducing encroachment by bicyclists into the crosswalk when waiting for a green signal."

"This is a great example of city agencies responding to poor street design with safety improvements," Chris Cassidy of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition told us this morning. "People biking don't want to be hit by drivers turning right from Page onto Octavia, and now there will be a bike lane on the left side there, to accommodate that natural instinct."

What do you think of the new bike lane plan along Page? Will it help your daily commute?