A Resolution For Fell Street's Tow Truck Problem

A Resolution For Fell Street's Tow Truck ProblemPhoto: Bryce Bishari
Nuala Sawyer
Published on September 11, 2014
A couple weeks ago, in response to numerous tips from neighborhood residents,  we wrote about the controversial issue of tow trucks blocking the bike lane on Fell Street. A slew of commenters aired their views on the matter, and the post even hit Reddit.  
Did the response effect any change? It looks like it. If you've biked up Fell Street in the past couple weeks, you may have noticed that the ever-present tow trucks have pretty much disappeared from the bike lane (with the exception of yesterday, when the photo above was taken). Whether they're now idling in the lefthand car lane is another matter. 

Thanks to a reader who forwarded the article on to a friend working in the office of District 5 Supervisor London Breed, our article eventually ended up in her inbox. Then this happened. As Streetsblog reports, London Breed, Park Station police chief Raj Vaswani and Larry Nasey, the owner of Ted & Al's, all came to an agreement about the hot neighborhood issue. While tow trucks may still block the bike lane as they're coming and going from their facility, managers will encourage drivers to leave the bike lane open. 

“Public safety is my greatest concern,” said Breed. “When these tow trucks park in the bike lane, they force bicyclists into an active lane of traffic and jeopardize everyone’s safety.” 

SFPD Captain Vaswani has also pledged to enforce the law in this area. "Our permits officer has advised management at the tow company that they need to either stage at another location to make that left into their garage, but may not block/park in the bike lane ... I also have personally driven by there to make sure they are keeping that area clear".

So there you have it, Hoodline readers. Proof that a little community attention can sometimes effect real change in the neighborhood. Now let's see if the change sticks.