A new report has found that Valencia Street’s controversial center-running bike lane did not negatively impact businesses, despite claims from merchants. The City Controller’s Office report, which used the city’s taxable sales database to analyze the effects of the bike lane on businesses, stated that there was no statistical basis for linking the bike lane to the challenges facing the corridor.
Merchants along Valencia Street have been at odds with the city’s transit agency over the bike lane for almost a year. David Quinby, owner of Amado’s bar, blamed the bike lane for the closure of his business, despite facing other challenges such as a basement flood.
The report clarified that while some businesses may have been adversely affected by the bike lane, any negative impacts on individual businesses were offset by positive impacts on others. Therefore, there was no net effect on the corridor as a whole.
Following the report’s release, the city announced that the bike lane would be moved to a conventional side-running lane. However, some merchants asked the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency to postpone the work, believing it would harm their businesses. Despite this, officials indicated that the lane could be moved in a matter of weeks.
A splinter group of merchants, including Quinby, expressed concerns that implementing side-running bike lanes could be even more destructive than the current setup. Kevin Ortiz, co-founder of the VAMANOS splinter group, confirmed Quinby’s involvement. This is an ongoing story that will be updated as new information becomes available.