Restaurant owner goes on hunger strike to protest cycle lane in San Francisco

The owner of a restaurant in San Francisco has begun a hunger strike in protest over a cycle lane that he and several other owners have blamed for a decline in customers and "killing business".

The protected cycle route in the centre of Valencia Street is 1.9 miles long and was installed last summer, following on from previous trials of a roadside bike lane, the city's Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) removing 71 parking spaces to build the infrastructure designed to make one of San Francisco's most important north-south routes safer for cyclists.

However, it has received an outspoken backlash from some business owners, many of whom believe customer volume has been negatively impacted by the scheme, especially because of the removal of on-street parking.

Eiad Eltawil, the owner of Yasmin, a Syrian restaurant on Valencia Street, is now one week into a 30-day hunger strike, during which he is sleeping in a parklet in front of his business, drinking only water and handing out flyers to passers by. A sign on the business accuses the authorities of "unfair, racist and Islamophobic policies" and he told FOX that the cycle lane had caused the "complete destruction" of business on the street.

"Just 100 per cent destruction. At least 20 businesses are gone. Five businesses went out last week," he said. "At least thirty more businesses [are] about to go out. Seventy one parking is gone. They made it for commercial parking. I don't want the bike lanes to be responsible for so many people losing their business.

"I've already suffered so much. At least this way, maybe someone in power will see my struggle and make some changes. It's a last resort for me."

> "A pointless waste of time and taxpayers' money": Bike shop owner slams cycle lane claiming it forced him to shut down business

Other business owners say they have suffered as customers cancel reservations after trying and failing to find parking, the owner of a music venue that closed in November telling the San Francisco Chronicle the street "no longer has its culture" and has "no soul".

"It's just another quiet, whitewashed community," Dave Quinby said.

Likewise, the owner of a Tunisian restaurant that closed last spring claimed: "If I was in New York, I'd have lines around the block. But San Francisco is killing business, and it's as simple as that." Mr Quinby and Mr Bouzidi are two of 10 business owners threatening legal action over the negative impact of the bike lane on business.

In its most recent update on the scheme, the SFMTA said it is "happy to see people who live, work and travel on Valencia share feedback" and had "received hundreds of emails, phone calls and petitions".

"A customer survey showed that eight per cent of shoppers along Valencia arrived by bike and 38 per cent arrived by foot," the SFMTA explained. "Valencia's previous design was failing those customers in part due to a huge increase in delivery services using the bike lane. We need to make sure that customers feel welcome arriving to Valencia businesses on a bike.

"We can't go back to the way things were because it just wasn't safe — this stretch of Valencia had one of the highest collision rates in the city. However, we've heard a lot of feedback that the centre-running pilot isn't working for everyone either. We've recently made some adjustments to improve kerb space needs for merchants. While we still need to evaluate the pilot, we are simultaneously turning over every last stone as we look into design alternatives.

> "If they can't park outside, they can't stop here": Cycle lane has "killed" village, local businesses claim (despite project adding 80 off-street spaces)

"We are eager to study more ambitious ideas for Valencia, including pedestrianisation or making the street one-way for cars. However, all those options require significant capital investment. They also require working closely with merchants and residents to address access, loading and other needs. It will take years to get consensus on design and identify capital funding. While we do that long-term work, we want to make sure that we address immediate safety concerns, using quick-build techniques and a pilot approach."

The SFMTA has since shared data from the first months of the scheme, noting that there was a 26 per cent decrease in vehicle volumes during the first three months, but a significant increase in loading activity, suggesting an increase in taxi visits and food delivery couriers.

"Passenger drop-offs by ride-hail services and taxis have increased by 126 per cent on Fridays," they said, although daily bicycle or pedestrian volumes have not changed significantly.

Just a minute, be right back!

'While cars were loading in the bike lane, we paused car traffic to create a safe route for bikes.'
~@safestreetrebel, Valencia Street in #SanFrancisco pic.twitter.com/EiMw3bH4L8

— Cycling Professor 🚲  (@fietsprofessor) April 5, 2024

The SFMTA addressed safety concerns about the design, admitting that "there were 11 collisions in the area of the pilot during the three-month study period" but stressed that half of those were "caused by illegal left or U-turns".

"We are taking immediate steps to address this, including installing additional turn restriction signage and coordinating with SFPD for additional enforcement," they said.

"The centre-running bikeway is a pilot, and pilots are meant to be evaluated and adjusted, or even redone if they're not working. But we cannot go back to unprotected bike lanes. They simply were not safe. While we're evaluating the pilot, we're also responding to immediate concerns and working on both short and long-term solutions," the SFMTA concluded.