City College Leaders Oppose Frida Kahlo Way Bike Lane Project

The City College of San Francisco leaders want to see changes made to a protected bike lane project on Frida Kahlo Way before they can support the plan.

The college’s Board of Trustees voted at their Feb. 22 meeting to oppose the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s Frida Kahlo Way Quick-Build Project unless the project is changed to address concerns from the college community. Some of the concerns listed in the resolution included blue parking zones, loading zones, drop-off zones, a proposal to relocate a 43 Masonic bus stop and the loss of parking spaces.

Additionally, the resolution stated that the board urged the transportation agency to continue meeting with the college community until there is an alternative proposal.

The project seeks to improve the safety of bicyclists and pedestrians and the accessibility and reliability of the 43 Masonic, the transportation agency said.

According to the transportation agency, there were five traffic collisions from 2013 to 2023. Of those five, two involved pedestrians.

In the latest proposal, the project would add a protected two-way bike lane on the east side of Frida Kahlo Way and continue on the south side of Judson Avenue west of Forester Street, install transit boarding islands for the 43, remove bus stops at the campus crossing and relocate a bus stop to Cloud Circle.

A total of 33 parking spaces would removed for the protected bike lane. An earlier proposed design last year had removed a total of 46 spaces.

Trustee Susan Solomon said it seemed the project team had received adequate feedback from the college community. Still, she added that all of the concerns were not addressed based on the input the agency received.

Solomon, the resolution's sponsor, called for a postponement of the project. She did not want to oppose the project, but rather to urge the transportation agency to make changes to the proposal.

“In the context of the Green New Deal community college resolution that we discussed and approved last month, we're facing a climate crisis that's becoming more obvious and more catastrophic each day,” Solomon said. “We as a society at large can't keep saying that this is just not the right time to make changes. If we keep finding raised reasons to keep us in vehicles that burn fossil fuels will never make progress.”

Student Chancellor Malinalli Villalobos read a resolution on behalf of the Associated Students Council that opposed the project due to the loss of parking and the potential effects on Frida Kahlo Way. The resolution also sought alternative solutions to improving transportation and accessibility needs.

Solomon amended to oppose the project proposal until specific improvements were made as the word “postponement” was vague and to align with the Associated Students Council, who she said included good ideas in their resolve clauses.

Transportation agency staff Tuesday presented an update on several of its quick-build projects to three directors on the agency’s board who sit on the Vision Zero Committee. The Frida Kahlo Way project is anticipated to make its way to the agency’s Board of Directors for approval in April.