Following the death of bicyclist Tess Rothstein on Friday, the SFMTA says it will immediately be removing street parking on the north side of Howard Street between Fourth and Sixth Streets in order to extend the protected bike lane.

Cited as a "high-injury corridor" by the SF Bicycle Coalition, Howard Street has been due for further safety improvements which Mayor London Breed said she would try to expedite Friday in the wake of Rothstein's death. The Coalition had argued for the bike lane on Howard Street for years, and it was only just installed in late 2018.

As the Examiner reports via SFMTA spokesperson Paul Rose, new signage was set to be in place as of Tuesday morning, and the bike lane, which previously ended at 6th Street, will be extended two more blocks to Fourth to create "more space and protection between cars and cyclists."

Rothstein's collision occurred at 5th and Howard, and witnesses say that she swerved out of the way of a parked car whose door had just swung open, causing her to collide with an oncoming truck.

The SF Bicycle Coalition minced no words on Friday in a tweet, saying, "A protected bike lane would have saved this person's life. Where infrastructure stops, people die."

Coalition organizer Charles Deffarges tells the Examiner, "We recognize SFMTA’s urgent response here but again are frustrated that this sort of action only happens when a death occurs."

Previously: Female Bicyclist Killed In Collision With Truck Friday In SoMa [SFist]