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In the SFMTA's continued efforts to please no one with their Polk Street Corridor Improvement Project, a new plan (PDF) was unveiled yesterday that would backpedal on separated bike lanes but still remove some permanent parking on Polk Street.

The new plan comes after a group of Polk Street merchants raised a ruckus over proposed plans to remove some parking to make room for pedestrian and bike safety improvements, most notably separated bike lanes. Merchants argued that removing street parking would negatively impact their business, although it's unclear how much business on Polk comes from drivers vs. foot traffic, public transit and bike-riders.

The new place preserves most of the parking on Polk between California and Union Streets, while calling for a protected lane along the southbound side of the street and a shared bike lane with painted green bike sharrows on northbound side. Curbside parking will be banned on the northbound side during morning commute hours, which could be a potentially confusing proviso. Altogether, the new plan would remove up to 20 of the existing 168 parking spaces on the Upper Polk segment and about 89 of 161 spots in the Lower Polk area, which should be enough to upset merchants while still failing to deliver on Supervisor David Chiu's promise of a bike-friendly corridor that mothers could feel safe riding with a child.

A July 25 open house to discuss the new recommendations will take place at the Old First Church (1751 Sacramento Street) from 5-8:30 pm.

Previously: Polk Street Parking Evangelists May Squash Bike Lane Plan, Overwrought Fringe Group Wants To Stop Polk Street Bike Lanes

[Examiner]
[Streetsblog]
[SFMTA PDF]

A contentious clash between cyclists, car-parkers and business owners over the Polk Street Corridor Improvement Project has caused the SFMTA to go back to the drawing board and offer some decidedly less bike-friendly alternatives to its original plan.

The plan, which is go into effect alongside a Polk Street repaving project in 2015, is aimed at improving bicycle and pedestrian safety and supporting businesses along the Polk corridor, but opinions are divided over which will positively impact the neighborhood: parking or increased bike traffic. Neighborhood groups have expressed particular concern over the issue of reducing parking spots to accommodate bike lanes, and it looks like the SFMTA is paying attention.

Bike advocates say that designated bike lanes are key to improving safety and fostering traffic along the commercial corridor. According to the SFMTA, people who visit businesses on foot or by bicycle spend 15% more overall than people who drive.

The SFMTA is currently accepting feedback on its 6 alternatives for Upper and Lower Polk, which include the following options:

Option A: A shared roadway that removes parking approximately 5% of the spaces within one block of Polk street for pedestrian safety enhancements but does not have designated bike lanes.

Option B: One bike lane in the uphill direction, with "sharrows" on the downhill direction, which would be more narrow than existing conditions. Approx. 5% of parking spaces would be removed.

Option C: Two designated bike lanes which would require parking removal of approximately 18% of parking within one block of Polk Street.

Previously: Overwrought Fringe Group Wants to Stop Polk Street Bike Lanes

[SF Appeal]
[SFMTA]

Two men attempting to save a woman from being attacked both received stab wounds for their brave behavior. On Sunday night on Polk near Civic Center, two guys, ages 33 and 22, were sitting on an apartment balcony when they heard a man and a woman fighting on the street below.

According to SF Examiner, "The 33-year-old went downstairs to assist the woman ... and ended up with stab wounds in the back and arm. The 22-year-old then came down to assist his friend and was stabbed in his torso."

Both men are expected to survive. The suspect has been described as "a man in his late 20s with a braided ponytail. And the woman? She fled the scene without so much as a thank you. Alas.

[SFEx]

One of Polk Street's many popular drinking establishments will be dark during this weekend's nightlife rush thanks to an unfortunate liquor license permit violation. Blur at Polk and Hemlock apparently forgot the ABC permit they acquired way back in 2004 required that the bar serve food — which they currently aren't doing. Since we all know what happens when you forget to have dinner, the bar will be blacked out until next Thursday at the earliest.

According to buzzkill ABC Investigator Erik Szakacs the liquor license suspension is a 10-day slap on the wrist. A fairly recent Yelp review from January, however, mentions that the bar's kitchen is closed for repairs. So, assuming this is all just a brief mixup and Blur gets their kitchen in working order next week, the bar should be back open for business in time for the customary Thursday night blackout session.

In the meantime, expect every other Polk Street bar to be ever so slightly more crowded as they pick up Blur's weekend refugees.

[SFEx]

We always assumed self-consciousness, not price, kept people from marking their bodies with tattoos. But here we see a gaggle of ink fans queued outside Let It Bleed tattoo parlor on Polk Street, waiting to take advantage of a Valentine's Day special. SFist contacted Let It Bleed for more details. They explained: "We had a sheet of Valentine themed tattoos for just $25."

And there you have it.

Let It Bleed: 1124 Polk (at Hemlock)

"Come On Down to the Polk Gulch" by Erik Wilson.

Exploring San Francisco through the lens of city blocks, Blocker is a regular series by Charles Hodgkins. Look for it on SFist every other Wednesday, around the lunching hour (the timing of this special Tuesday episode notwithstanding).

View the map of all published Blocker episodes.

Blocker, No. 30: Polk St. in Polk Gulch / the Tenderloin

It’s the dead of San Francisco winter and 46 degrees — 46 degrees! — but that’s not stopping certain hardy residents of the sizable apartment structure at 1214 Polk from opening their windows and drying their laundry au naturale. We’re impressed. 46 degrees in San Francisco, particularly along this gusty urban corridor between Bush and Sutter, feels like autumn in the Yukon.

This is the southern edge of Polk’s transitional zone, where it emerges from the sleazy chic of “nitespots” like Vertigo and Blur and slowly crawls toward more prim territory northward up into Russian Hill. The upstairs residences on this block are decidedly ordinary, but there’s a dichotomy at work between, for example, the stained glasswork at O’Reilly’s Holy Grail and the $5 haircuts and $20 facials across the road at the International College of Cosmetology II. Of course, Polk St. has always been known as one of San Francisco’s more diverse business thoroughfares.